Isildur

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section may need to be cleaned up and rewritten because it describes a work of fiction in a primarily in-universe style. Please edit it according to the guidelines on writing about fiction, or discuss the issue on the talk page. Editing help is available.

Character from Tolkien's Legendarium
Name	Isildur<tr><th> Titles<td> High King of Arnor and Gondor<tr><th> Race<td> Men<tr><th> Culture<td> Númenórean<tr><th> Date of birth<td> S.A. 3209<tr><th> Date of death<td> T.A. 2<tr><th> Book(s)<td>The Lord of the Rings The Silmarillion Unfinished Tales

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, Isildur was a Dúnadan of Númenor, elder son of Elendil. He was (briefly) the second king of Gondor and Arnor. His name means "devoted to the moon". In a note written well after the initial publication of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien gave Isildur's height as 7 feet tall.

Isildur was born in the year 3209 of the Second Age in Númenor, the first son of Elendil son of Amandil, the last Lord of Andúnië. He had a younger brother, Anárion. Isildur had four sons: Elendur, Aratan, Ciryon, and Valandil.

In his youth, Númenor's King Ar-Pharazôn was becoming corrupted by Sauron who urged the White Tree to be cut down. Isildur went to the courts of the king in disguise and stole a fruit of Nimloth, though the guards were alerted and he was severely wounded in his escape. He lay near death for a time but his sacrifice was not in vain, as Nimloth was cut down and burned shortly afterwards, and Isildur's deed continued the line of the White Tree.

Isildur, together with his father and brother, fled to Middle-earth when Númenor was destroyed by Ilúvatar. Isildur and Anárion landed in the south and established the realm of Gondor, and their father landed in the north, founding the realm of Arnor.

Isildur settled on the east bank of the Anduin and established the city of Minas Ithil (which would later be named Minas Morgul), as well as the province of Ithilien and setting his throne alongside his brother Anárion in city of Osgiliath. However, in 3428 Sauron captured Minas Ithil and destroyed the White Tree. Isildur and his family escaped down the Anduin by boat, bearing with them a seedling of the tree. They sailed to Lindon, seeking Gil-galad and his father in Arnor. Meanwhile, Anárion managed to buy time for Gondor by defending Osgiliath and driving the Dark Lord back to the mountains, while Elendil and Gil-galad marshalled their forces.

He returned with his father and the Elven High King Gil-galad in the Last Alliance of Elves and Men in 3434. After the Alliance was victorious over Sauron's host at the Battle of Dagorlad, they advanced into Mordor and laid siege to Barad-dûr. With Minas Ithil recaptured, Isildur sent his younger sons Aratan and Ciryon to man that fortress, which would prevent Sauron and his forces from escaping that way. Isildur was accompanied throughout the war by his oldest son Elendur. The campaign in Mordor was long and bitter, and Anárion was slain by a stone from the Dark Tower.

After seven years of besieging the Dark Tower, the enemy was all but defeated and Sauron came forth. During the final challenge on the slopes of Mount Doom, Elendil and Gil-galad were both were slain in combat with the Dark Lord. Isildur took the hilt-shard of his father's sword Narsil, which had broken beneath Elendil when he fell, and cut the One Ring from Sauron's finger. Sauron's spirit then fled and did not reappear (in his old form) for many years.

Despite the urging of Elrond and Círdan, lieutenants of Gil-galad, Isildur did not throw the Ring into the fires of Mount Doom, instead claiming it as an heirloom for his House, and as weregild for the deaths of his father and brother.

After the fall of Sauron, the greater part of the army of Arnor returned home while Isildur stayed in Gondor for a year, restoring order and defining its bounds. He planted the seedling of the White Tree in Minas Anor in memory of Anárion. As his brother's helm had been crushed during his death at Barad-dûr, Isildur left his helm from the overthrow of Sauron as the replacement for Gondor's crown. He placed Anárion's son Meneldil in charge of Gondor, and returned north to Arnor with his three sons. His wife and fourth son Valandil had stayed behind in Rivendell throughout the War of the Last Alliance and the aftermath, and Isildur also sought further counsel from Elrond.

At the Gladden Fields, Isildur's party was ambushed by roaming Orcs of the Misty Mountains. The Dúnedain were surrounded and outnumbered, and with Ciryon slain and Aratan mortally wounded in a failed attempt to rescue him, Elendur urged his father to flee. Isildur put on the ring, hoping to escape under the cover of the Ring's power of invisibility. Fleeing to the Anduin, he cast off his armour and tried to swim to the other side of the river but the Ring slipped (of its own volition) from his finger. Despite the darkness, the Elendilmir that he was wearing gave his position away to the orcs, on the far bank seeking survivors from the attack, and Isildur being unarmed was killed by their poisoned arrows. Isildur's squire Ohtar saved his sword Narsil from the enemy, fleeing into the valley before the orcs encircled Isildur's company.

The Elves from the realm of Thranduil quickly got word of the attack though they were too late to save any of the Dúnedain. They organized a counter-attack, destroying the orcs before they could mutilate the bodies of Isildur's company.

During the War of the Ring, Sauron's servants had been searching the Gladden Fields but failed to fine any traces of Isildur's remains. Their efforts were hampered by Saruman who had deceived Sauron's servants — indeed, the White Wizard had got there first before the Dark Lord. After the overthrow of Saruman and the opening up of the Orthanc, Gimli found a hidden closet which contained the original Elendilmir, which was presumed lost forever when Isildur perished, as well as a gold chain which had likely once borne the One Ring.

Isildur was the last king to rule both Gondor and Arnor, as Meneldil and his successors had effectively ruled the South-Kingdom independently, until King Elessar reunited the kingdoms at the beginning of the Fourth Age.

In the riddling rhyme "Seek for the Sword that was Broken," the Ring is referred to cryptically as "Isildur's Bane".

[edit] Portrayals in adaptations

In the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy by Peter Jackson, Isildur briefly appears in the first scenes of the first film, and in an extended flashback scene later on. In the movie, Isildur apparently is the last king of Gondor; Anárion and heirs do not appear at all, and Arnor does not feature at all. However, in the Extended Editions both Arnor and the House of Anárion are mentioned, and at times it is clear that Isildur was not the last King (though he was the last High King), so this might be dialogue error, or may have been intentionally glossed over for the sake of reducing the film's already prodigious running time of over 3 hours.

The story of Isildur's succumbing to the temptation of the Ring affects Aragorn, who fears that he could succumb to the same weakness (a fear that is not evident in the books). Later, he and Elrond go to the Crack of Doom where he refuses to destroy the Ring, mirroring Frodo and Sam in the future; however, Tolkien never wrote that he went to the Crack himself, only that he was advised to (as said above).

The disaster of the Gladden Fields is depicted in the movie as Isildur's column of mounted troops or cavalry being ambushed on a (dark) forest road. In The Silmarillion, it (from the viewpoint of the Eldar) stated that Isildur had set no guard in his camp at night, deeming all his foes had been overthrown. In Unfinished Tales, Tolkien writes that Isildur was assailed during sunset, and though the first Orc sortie were beaten off, they regrouped and surrounded Isildur's party to prevent his escape. When nightfall came, the Orcs assaulted him from all sides. Unfinished Tales also states that the original Elendilmir, which had presumed to be lost forever when Isildur died, was found in the Orthanc by Gimli after Saruman's overthrow.

[edit] External links

Isildur at The Thain's Book

Preceded by: Elendil	High-King of Arnor and Gondor 3441 SA – 2 TA	Succeeded by: Aragorn II
Preceded by: Elendil	King of Arnor 3441 SA – 2 TA	Succeeded by: Valandil
Preceded by: Elendil	King of Gondor 3318 SA – 2 TA	Succeeded by: Meneldil
Preceded by: Sauron	Bearer of the Great Ring 3441 SA – 2 TA	Succeeded by: Déagol

[edit] House of Elendil

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td colspan="6" rowspan="2" style="border: 2px solid black; padding: 0.2em; ">Elros</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td></tr><tr align="center"></tr> <tr align="center"><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" style="border-right: 1px solid black;">

</td><td rowspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2"></td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2"></td></tr><tr align="center"></tr> <tr align="center"><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td colspan="6" rowspan="2" style="border: 2px solid black; padding: 0.2em; ">Kings of Númenor</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td></tr><tr align="center"></tr> <tr align="center"><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" style="border-right: 1px solid black;">

</td><td rowspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2"></td></tr><tr align="center"></tr> <tr align="center"><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td colspan="6" rowspan="2" style="border: 2px solid black; padding: 0.2em; ">Silmariën</td><td colspan="2" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed black;">

</td><td colspan="6" rowspan="2" style="border: 2px solid black; padding: 0.2em; ">Elatan of Andúnië</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td></tr><tr align="center"><td style="border-right: 1px solid black;">

</td><td>

</td></tr> <tr align="center"><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" style="border-right: 1px solid black;">

</td><td rowspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2"></td></tr><tr align="center"></tr> <tr align="center"><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td colspan="6" rowspan="2" style="border: 2px solid black; padding: 0.2em; ">Valandil of Andúnië</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td></tr><tr align="center"></tr> <tr align="center"><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" style="border-right: 1px solid black;">

</td><td rowspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2"></td></tr><tr align="center"></tr> <tr align="center"><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td colspan="6" rowspan="2" style="border: 2px solid black; padding: 0.2em; ">Lords of Andúnië</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td></tr><tr align="center"></tr> <tr align="center"><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" style="border-right: 1px solid black;">

</td><td rowspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2"></td></tr><tr align="center"></tr> <tr align="center"><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td colspan="6" rowspan="2" style="border: 2px solid black; padding: 0.2em; ">Númendil</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td></tr><tr align="center"></tr> <tr align="center"><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" style="border-right: 1px solid black;">

</td><td rowspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2"></td></tr><tr align="center"></tr> <tr align="center"><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td colspan="6" rowspan="2" style="border: 2px solid black; padding: 0.2em; ">Amandil</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td></tr><tr align="center"></tr> <tr align="center"><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" style="border-right: 1px solid black;">

</td><td rowspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2"></td></tr><tr align="center"></tr> <tr align="center"><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td colspan="6" rowspan="2" style="border: 2px solid black; padding: 0.2em; ">Elendil</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td></tr><tr align="center"></tr> <tr align="center"><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td>

</td><td style="border-bottom: 1px solid black;">

</td><td colspan="2" style="border-bottom: 1px solid black;">

</td><td style="border-right: 1px solid black; border-bottom: 1px solid black;">

</td><td style="border-bottom: 1px solid black;">

</td><td colspan="2" style="border-bottom: 1px solid black;">

</td><td style="border-bottom: 1px solid black;">

</td><td rowspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2"></td></tr><tr align="center"><td style="border-right: 1px solid black;">

<td>

</td><td colspan="2">

</td><td style="border-right: 1px solid black;">

</td></tr> <tr align="center"><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td colspan="6" rowspan="2" style="border: 2px solid black; padding: 0.2em; ">Isildur</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td colspan="6" rowspan="2" style="border: 2px solid black; padding: 0.2em; ">Anárion</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td></tr><tr align="center"></tr> <tr align="center"><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td>

</td><td style="border-bottom: 1px solid black;">

</td><td colspan="2" style="border-bottom: 1px solid black;">

</td><td style="border-right: 1px solid black; border-bottom: 1px solid black;">

</td><td style="border-bottom: 1px solid black;">

</td><td colspan="2" style="border-bottom: 1px solid black;">

</td><td style="border-bottom: 1px solid black;">

</td><td rowspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" style="border-right: 1px solid black;">

</td><td style="border-bottom: 1px solid black;">

</td><td colspan="2" style="border-bottom: 1px solid black;">

</td><td style="border-bottom: 1px solid black;">

</td><td rowspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2"></td></tr><tr align="center"><td style="border-right: 1px solid black;">

<td>

</td><td colspan="2">

</td><td style="border-right: 1px solid black;">

</td><td>

</td><td colspan="2">

</td><td style="border-right: 1px solid black;">

</td><td>

</td><td colspan="2">

</td><td style="border-right: 1px solid black;">

</td><td>

</td><td colspan="2">

</td><td style="border-right: 1px solid black;">

</td></tr> <tr align="center"><td colspan="6" rowspan="2" style="border: 2px solid black; padding: 0.2em; ">Elendur</td><td rowspan="2" style="border-right: 1px solid black;">

</td><td rowspan="2">

</td><td colspan="6" rowspan="2" style="border: 2px solid black; padding: 0.2em; ">Ciryon</td><td rowspan="2" style="border-right: 1px solid black;">

</td><td rowspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td colspan="6" rowspan="2" style="border: 2px solid black; padding: 0.2em; ">(3 unknown daughters)</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td colspan="6" rowspan="2" style="border: 2px solid black; padding: 0.2em; ">Meneldil</td></tr><tr align="center"></tr> <tr align="center"><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" style="border-right: 1px solid black;">

</td><td rowspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" style="border-right: 1px solid black;">

</td><td rowspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" style="border-right: 1px solid black;">

</td><td rowspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2"></td></tr><tr align="center"></tr> <tr align="center"><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td colspan="6" rowspan="2" style="border: 2px solid black; padding: 0.2em; ">Aratan</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td colspan="6" rowspan="2" style="border: 2px solid black; padding: 0.2em; ">Valandil</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td colspan="6" rowspan="2" style="border: 2px solid black; padding: 0.2em; ">Cemendur</td></tr><tr align="center"></tr> <tr align="center"><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" style="border-right: 1px solid black;">

</td><td rowspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" style="border-right: 1px solid black;">

</td><td rowspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2"></td></tr><tr align="center"></tr> <tr align="center"><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td colspan="6" rowspan="2" style="border: 2px solid black; padding: 0.2em; ">Kings of Arnor</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td colspan="6" rowspan="2" style="border: 2px solid black; padding: 0.2em; ">Kings of Gondor</td></tr><tr align="center"></tr> <tr align="center"><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" style="border-right: 1px solid black;">

</td><td rowspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" style="border-right: 1px solid black;">

</td><td rowspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2"></td></tr><tr align="center"></tr> <tr align="center"><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td colspan="6" rowspan="2" style="border: 2px solid black; padding: 0.2em; ">Kings of Arthedain</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td colspan="6" rowspan="2" style="border: 2px solid black; padding: 0.2em; ">Ondoher</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td></tr><tr align="center"></tr> <tr align="center"><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" style="border-right: 1px solid black;">

</td><td rowspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" style="border-right: 1px solid black;">

</td><td rowspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2"></td></tr><tr align="center"></tr> <tr align="center"><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td colspan="6" rowspan="2" style="border: 2px solid black; padding: 0.2em; ">Arvedui</td><td colspan="2" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed black;">

</td><td colspan="6" rowspan="2" style="border: 2px solid black; padding: 0.2em; ">Fíriel</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td></tr><tr align="center"><td style="border-right: 1px solid black;">

</td><td>

</td></tr> <tr align="center"><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" style="border-right: 1px solid black;">

</td><td rowspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2"></td></tr><tr align="center"></tr> <tr align="center"><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td colspan="6" rowspan="2" style="border: 2px solid black; padding: 0.2em; ">Chieftains of the Dúnedain</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td></tr><tr align="center"></tr> <tr align="center"><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" style="border-right: 1px solid black;">

</td><td rowspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2"></td></tr><tr align="center"></tr> <tr align="center"><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td colspan="6" rowspan="2" style="border: 2px solid black; padding: 0.2em; ">Aragorn II</td><td colspan="2" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed black;">

</td><td colspan="6" rowspan="2" style="border: 2px solid black; padding: 0.2em; ">Arwen (Daughter of Elrond)</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td></tr><tr align="center"><td style="border-right: 1px solid black;">

</td><td>

</td></tr> <tr align="center"><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td>

</td><td style="border-bottom: 1px solid black;">

</td><td colspan="2" style="border-bottom: 1px solid black;">

</td><td style="border-right: 1px solid black; border-bottom: 1px solid black;">

</td><td style="border-bottom: 1px solid black;">

</td><td colspan="2" style="border-bottom: 1px solid black;">

</td><td style="border-bottom: 1px solid black;">

</td><td rowspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2"></td></tr><tr align="center"><td style="border-right: 1px solid black;">

<td>

</td><td colspan="2">

</td><td style="border-right: 1px solid black;">

</td></tr> <tr align="center"><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td colspan="6" rowspan="2" style="border: 2px solid black; padding: 0.2em; ">Eldarion</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td colspan="6" rowspan="2" style="border: 2px solid black; padding: 0.2em; ">(At least two unknown daughters)</td></tr><tr align="center"></tr> <tr align="center"><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" style="border-right: 1px solid black;">

</td><td rowspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2"></td></tr><tr align="center"></tr> <tr align="center"><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td colspan="6" rowspan="2" style="border: 2px solid black; padding: 0.2em; ">Kings of the Reunited Kingdom</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td><td rowspan="2" colspan="2">

</td></tr><tr align="center"></tr>

</table>bs:Izildur ca:Isíldur cs:Isildur es:Isildur fr:Isildur id:Isildur it:Isildur he:איסילדור hu:Isildur nl:Isildur ja:イシルドゥア pl:Isildur pt:Isildur ru:Исилдур fi:Isildur sv:Isildur tr:Isildur zh:埃西鐸