Have Island, Will Rebel - Page 5
© Michael Martinez
The Council were able to prevail upon Ancalime to take a husband, and in one anecdote it is suggested that the Council tried to find Ancalime when she was in hiding, even though Aldarion worked to distract them. The Council members seem to have a measure of independence and influence that the kings could not simply ignore even if the laws of Numenor and the actual governance of the realm flowed directly from the throne. Even when Sauron was taken prisoner to Numenor by Ar-Pharazon the king was reluctant to move against Amandil in part because Amandil was still popular and held in great esteem by the people. Council members, at least in Tar-Meneldur's day, were selected because they were respected by the people in their regions.
So a reasonable inference is that the various regions of Numenor were led by a few families, the leaders of whom were the "chieftains" of the Dunedain, and from the most prominent of these families developed the eventual hereditary lordships. The Lords of Andunie, for example, were descended from Valandil, son of Silmarien, eldest daughter of Tar-Elendil the fourth king. Silmarien married Elatan of Andunie, who may have been a descendant of Beor from a lesser line. Erendis' father, Beregar, was a Beorian descended from Beleth, the sister of Baragund and Belegund, the nephews of Barahir, Beren's father.
Elatan's son may have been elevated to the lordship of Andunie because he was a king's grandson, but it could also be that Elatan was the most respected leader in Andunie and would himself have been made lord of that region if there had been a need for one. That Valandil was made the first Lord of Andunie seems to imply there weren't many people in that region until his day, or perhaps Tar-Meneldur expanded his council, or established the first Council of the Sceptre. Unfortunately, Tolkien doesn't say much about Numenorean history, because most of its historical records were lost.
Since at the end of Tar-Meneldur's reign only two members of his council (Valandil and Hallatan of Hyarastorni) were descendants of Elros, it may be that the various regions of Numenor were developed under the auspices of the wealthier chieftains. The initial wealth of these families could have come from land-grants made by the kings (Tar-Meneldur specifically gave extensive lands in Emerie to Erendis as a wedding gift), but it may be that Elros allowed men to claim lands they broke and settled. Any man who could establish a community would become its leader, and the leaders may have been the chief farmers, ranchers, and herdsmen in their regions. It would eventually become necessary for these chieftains to select a representative to speak for them on the Council of the Sceptre.
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