The Last King of Gondor

Earnur, son of Earnil, became King of Gondor in 2043 Third Age and he lacked his father's wisdom. "He was a man of strong body and hot mood; but he would take no wife, for his only pleasure was in fighting, or in the exercise of arms. His prowess was such that none in Gondor could stand against him in those weapon-sports in which he delighted, seeming rather a champion than a captain or king, and retaining his vigour and skill to a later age than was then usual" (p. 332, The Return of the King). It was Earnur who rode valiantly against the Witch-king years ago though his horse gave way. And the Witch-king never forgot the role Earnur played in the defeat of Angmar.

So when Earnur became King the Witch-king, now the King of Minas Morgul, challenged him to single combat. This aligned with Earnur's greatest pleasures. Adding further fuel to the fire the Witch-king noted that Earnur fled before him the last time the two had met. "For that time Mardil the Steward restrained the wrath of the king" (p. 332, The Return of the King). For Minas Tirith, where the King's resided, stood ever vigilant against the evil of Minas Morgul and could not afford for it's King to ride out to a duel.

"Earnur had held the crown only seven years when the Lord of Morgul repeated his challenge, taunting the king that to the faint heart of his youth he had now added the weakness of age" (p. 332, The Return of the King). At this Earnur's wrath was stoked and none, Mardil included, could stop the King from going forth (I wonder if, perhaps, he had a wife if she could have talked him down?). Earnur rode forth with a small escort of knights and none was ever seen or heard from again. Mardil, known as the Good Steward, ruled Gondor in Earnur's name for many years since there had been no witnesses of his (all but certain) death.

This left Gondor in a potential crisis. Many Dúnedain were killed in the Kin-strife as well other wars and battles. As the population waned many decided to give up their lineage and take wives who were not of Númenorean descent. "So it was that no claimant to the crown could be found who was of pure blood, or whose claim all would allow; and all feared the memory of the Kin-strife, knowing that if any such dissension arose again, then Gondor would perish. Therefore, though the years lengthened, the Steward continued to rule Gondor, and the crown of Elendil lay in the lap of King Earnil in the Houses of the Dead, where Earnur had left it" (p. 332-333, The Return of the King).

Middle-earth timeline: Third Age, 2043-2050
Today's reading comes from: The Return of the King, pages 332-333