Tumblr crosspost (2 September 2020)

[anghraine]

I was just watching an old Akallabêth video and remembered the AU idea I had where the Eagles rescue Míriel from the Meneltarma and take her to Elendil or something.

The idea was that she becomes ruler of the Númenórean kingdoms (in truth and not only in name), and though it’s another tragedy when Elendil is killed taking down Sauron, she lives to see Sauron defeated (fuck yeah!!). And she survives the war by a good while as the reigning Queen of Arnor and Gondor. And this creates a precedent for Ruling Queens in Middle-earth, so there are more of those along the way, and Fíriel also becomes ruling monarch (not Arvedui tyvm) and so. Things.

But mostly … Míriel! is! saved!!

Comments

[elperian]

I don't know who Arvedui is yet, but I like this idea so much! Also, have now decided to blame Christopher Tolkien for the lack of more women based on our comment exchange last week. The Shire had plenty of female characters, after all...

(Btw, pretty icon!)

[anghraine]

Thank you :D

Arvedui is from the LOTR Appendices! He was the last king of the line of Isildur (as King of Arthedain, one of the kingdoms that Arnor unwisely split into) and married to the Gondorian princess Fíriel. When her father and brothers died, he tried to claim the throne of Gondor as heir of Isildur (even though his father was still alive) and because Fíriel would have been heir to Gondor's throne under the laws of Númenor (even though that would make her the ruler, not him...). Gondor formally rejected the idea that the heirs of Isildur had any claim over Gondor or that the crown could pass through the female line (Fíriel's) and pointed out that Arnor/Arthedain didn't allow claims through the female line, either, and chose a different royal cousin to be king.

I've always thought Arvedui sounds sketchy as fuck, and specifically, that trying to claim that Fíriel's birthright should make him ruler of Gondor under Númenórean law was just a flat-out misrepresentation (Tar-Ancalimë would spin in her grave if it were still around!!). But obviously Gondor's "women can't inherit in Middle-earth because of *looks at smudged hand* war and nobody can inherit through women for, uh, reasons" isn't covering themselves in glory, either. So I always like a scenario where Fíriel becomes ruling queen!

tl;dr I'm an Arvedui hater who thinks his wife, Princess Fíriel of Gondor, should have been chosen and Aragorn's claim to the Gondorian throne should have derived from Fíriel rather than the heirs of Isildur.

(I'm torn about Christopher Tolkien because he did so much and got some of my favorite Middle-earth stuff out there, but he himself documented mistakes in how he put the Silmarillion together, and it's... weird how female characters vanished or got sidelined in the published Silm.)