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The Men Who Would Be Steward - Page 13

© Michael Martinez

Faramir could easily have said, "Well, the Line of Isildur has already been considered and rejected. Gondor will not revisit that issue." Instead, he accepted the assertion that only an heir of Elendil would be acceptable to Gondor. By implication, Aragorn's claim was reuniting Gondor with Arnor. Faramir's decision thus ensured that Gondor's power would be extended far to the north. If the Stewards were indeed descended from Anarion, then Faramir's recognition of Aragorn was the final action by the family of Anarion. Aragorn was indeed descended from Anarion through Arvedui's wife Firiel, but the last vestiges of the Line of Anarion ceased to exist under the law. All claims were laid aside in favor of the House of Elendil. In effect, Faramir laid to rest ancient conflicts which, like the Dead Men of Dunharrow, had to wait through the centuries for an Heir of Isildur to give them release. He brought closure to the ancient question of succession, and in doing so discharged the final obligations of his office. The Stewards' peculiar role in Gondor's history ended on a much more graceful note than that on which it had begun. Had Tolkien truly modelled his Stewards on the historical Pepinids, Faramir would have rejected Aragorn's claim, and he would have taken the throne for himself. But eventually Gondor would have been divided among his descendants, and the ancient realm his family had been entrusted with would have ceased to exist. That, of course, was what actually happened in Arnor. The High Kingship was set aside and the northern realm divided into three lesser realms. Denethor's remark to his son about "other places of less royalty" was thus a subtle rebuke to the northern kings who set aside their heritage. But it also emphasized the fact that, despite all its tribulations, Gondor had survived. It had proven itself worthy of the rightful king, should he return to claim the throne. And it had done so under the rule of the Stewards. They had proudly remained humble, curbing their ambitions. And they did so because they were Stewards, not men who would be kings.

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