Crown of Gondor
In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings, the Crown of Gondor is the chief token of royalty of Gondor. It is also referred as the Winged Crown, the Silver or White Crown, and the Crown of Elendil.
Description
Tolkien describes the crown in The Lord of the Rings thus:
It was shaped like the helms of the Guards of the Citadel, save that it was loftier, and it was all white, and the wings at either side were wrought of pearl and silver in the likeness of the wings of a sea-bird, for it was the emblem of kings who came over the Sea; and seven gems of adamant were set in the circlet, and upon its summit was set a single jewel the light of which went up like a flame.
In a letter Tolkien describes the crown as "very tall, like that of Egypt, but with wings attached, not set straight back but at an angle." He also made a sketch of the crown, reproduced in J. R. R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator.
History
The first Crown was the helmet that Isildur had worn at the Battle of Dagorlad. His brother Anárion's helmet had been crushed by the stone that killed him during the Siege of Barad-dûr.
Later during the reign of King Atanatar II Alcarin (), a new crown was made of silver and jewels. This Crown was worn by all the subsequent Kings of Gondor. Traditionally, a father passed the Crown to his heir before he died. If the heir was not present when the King died, the Crown was set in the King's tomb and his heir would later go alone to the Hallows to retrieve it.
In 2050, the Lord of the Nazgûl challenged King Eärnur to single-combat. Eärnur left the Crown on the tomb of his father Eärnil II and he went to Minas Morgul and was never seen again. From that time on, the Stewards ruled Gondor in the absence of a King. The Crown remained in the Hallows, and the Stewards bore a white rod as the token of their office.
Before the coronation of Aragorn, King Elessar, the Steward Faramir went to the Hallows and retrieved the Crown from Eärnil's tomb. The Crown was placed in a casket of black lebethron wood bound with silver and was carried to the Great Gate of Minas Tirith by four Guards of the Citadel. Aragorn lifted the Crown and, quoting Elendil as he arrived at Middle-earth, said:
"Et Eärello Endorenna utúlien. Sinome maruvan ar Hildinyar tenn' Ambar-metta!"
("Out of the Great Sea to Middle-earth I am come. In this place I will abide, and my heirs, unto the ending of the world.")
Then at Aragorn's request, Frodo Baggins brought the Crown forward and gave it to Gandalf, who set it upon Aragorn's head. As King, Aragorn bore both the Crown of Gondor and the Sceptre of Annúminas that was the chief token of royalty of Arnor, and the two Kingdoms were reunited under his reign. Before his death in the year 120 of the Fourth Age, Aragorn passed the Crown and Sceptre to his son and heir Eldarion.
Adaptations
Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King features a radically different crown. It does not follow Tolkien's descriptions very well; for example, it is a circlet rather than a helm.
See also
- Star of Elendil
- Sceptre of Annúminas
External links
nl:Kroon van Gondor