Ar-Gimilzôr

Ar-Gimilzôr was the 23rd ruler of Númenor. "He was the greatest enemy of the Faithful that had yet arisen; and he forbade utterly the use of the Eldarin tongues, and would not permit any of the Eldar to come to the land, and punished those that welcomed them. He revered nothing, and never went to the Hallow of Eru" (p. 223, Unfinished Tales). He commanded anyone discovered to be of the Faithful be relocated to the eastern shores of Númenor away from the Western shores so they could not welcome any Elven ships from Eressëa. Many of the Faithful took ship to Middle-earth and sought aid and fellowship with Gil-galad. And Ar-Gimilzôr did not hinder this action hoping to rid the land of all the Faithful and cut all ties with the West. "But all they did was known to Manwë, and the Valar were wroth with the Kings of Númenor, and gave them counsel and protection no more; and the ships of Eressëa came never again out of the sunset and the havens of Andunië were forlorn" (p. 268, The Silmarillion).

The Lords of Andunië were significant in Númenor descended from Silmarien, the daughter of Tar-Elendil. They were loyal to the Kings and were always counted among the chiefs of the King's council. "Yet also from the beginning they bore especial love for the Eldar and reverence for the Valar; and as the Shadow grew they aided the Faithful as they could. But for long they did not declare themselves openly, and sought rather to amend the hearts of the lords of the Sceptre with wiser counsels" (p. 268, The Silmarillion).

Inzilbêth was woman from the Lords of Andunië and Ar-Gimilzôr took her for a wife. She was secretly of the Faithful and had no love for Ar-Gimilzôr but the Kings were proud and no one opposed their will. She bore him two sons: Inziladûn the elder and Gimilkhâd the younger. Inziladûn was in like mind with his mother where as Gimilkhâd was similar to Ar-Gimilzôr. "To him Ar-Gimilzôr would have yielded the scepter rather than to the elder son, if laws had allowed" (p. 269, The Silmarillion). Gimilkhâd was born in the year 3044, and he died in 3242" (p. 223, Unfinished Tales)

Also in the days of Ar-Gilmilzôr the White Tree, a gift from the Elves of Eressëa, was neglected and began to wane. Ar-Gilmilzôr ruled for 75 until his death in 3177. I am reminded in some sense of the Israelite kings, for the most part they seemed to get progressively worse in the sense of neglecting God and becoming proud. Ar-Gilmilzôr, as the text stated, neglected the worship of Eru. Occasionally there is a bright spot, a king who attempts to turn things around for Israel. I think we are about to see Númenor's version of such a person with Inziladûn.

Middle-earth timeline: Second Age, 2960-3177

Today's reading comes from: Unfnished Tales, page 223 and The Silmarillion, pages 268-269