Hills I will die on:
Fíriel’s claim to the throne of Gondor and Arvedui’s claim to the throne of Gondor are not the same!
Arvedui tries to claim the throne for himself through Fíriel, under the pretense argument that that’s how it worked in Númenor. But in Númenor, Fíriel would be Ruling Queen, and Arvedui her consort, not the other way around. The only men who claimed to be king through their wives’ birthrights were usurpers. And Fíriel never claimed the Gondorian throne in her own right.
Arvedui also claims the throne as heir of Isildur (sort of—iirc his father was actually alive at the time?). This is the sole claim that Arvedui and Fíriel’s descendant Aragorn makes later, which perhaps suggests that he sees it as more legitimate or at least more persuasive. Regardless, it’s a separate matter from Fíriel’s rights, and I think the lines between the two distinct claims that Arvedui makes get blurred a lot.
Tagged:
#'fíriel should have been ruling queen' is fair (i wrote fic about it in my youth!) but also never under discussion in the story #and aragorn himself gives no indication of thinking he should be king as /fíriel's/ heir—only isildur's #and we know vanishingly little about fíriel's life much less her opinions #my headcanon is that she went back to minas anor with her daughters and lived in state as a princess of gondor #but #we don't know what she felt or did or anything #so it's always kind of weird when people defend arvedui's false representation of númenórean law bc fíriel got treated unfairly #jka;dfad it's not exactly everything that makes me defensive on aldarion's behalf #but like #arvedui: my wife being daughter of the king means i should be king actually #aldarion and ancalimë: *spinning in their watery graves* #yes i've talked about this before and yes i will talk about it forever
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