Eldacar of Gondor

This page is about the King of Gondor and slayer of Castamir the Usurper. For the King of Arnor, see Eldacar. 

King Eldacar of Gondor was the 21st King of Gondor, born as Prince Vinitharya. He took the crown in Third Age 1432 and ruled for five years before he was deposed. For ten years, he remained in exile, and took back his crown in 1447, ruling until his death in 1490.

To strengthen the bond between Gondor and the Northmen, Eldacar's grandfather Rómendacil II brought many of those people into his service, and showed especial favour to King Vidugavia of Rhovanion. Rómendacil II sent his son Valacar to live with Vidugavia as the ambassador of Gondor, to learn the language and culture of the Northmen.

Vidugavia's daughter, Princess Vidumavi was fair, noble, courageous and beautiful, and Valacar fell in love with her. They married, and their son Vinitharya lived in the realm of Vidugavia for five years until the family returned to Gondor in TA 1260. Upon their return, Vinitharya was renamed Eldacar, but the marriage and heir of Valacar were not well received by many of the lords of Gondor, who thought ill of the mixing of blood in the royal line.

As a Northman, Princess Vidumadi had a much shorter life span than the former Númenórean were used to, and she died in TA 1332 while Valacar's father Rómendacil II was still the king. Her early death sowed the seeds of the Kin-strife in Gondor, as some of the Lords worried the life span of the line of Kings would diminish similarly.

After the death of Rómendacil II, Valacar for 66 years, but his rule was plagued by increasing resentment, and finally open rebellion in the southern provinces during his last years, in refusal to let Eldacar, son of a Northman, to sit on the throne of Gondor. The Kin-strife had started, and it broke out into full bloom when Valacar died in 1432.

During the civil war, the capital of Osgiliath was destroyed, and its palantír was lost into the Anduin, and later reclaimed by agents of Carn Dûm. Eldacar fled to the north, while his distant cousin Castamir usurped his throne and executed Eldacar's eldest son Ornendil.

Returning to Rhovanion, the lands of his kin, Eldacar spent ten years gathering loyal Northmen and Dúnedain, as well as Gondorians from Calenardhon, Anórien and Ithilien, and returned to claim his kingship from the Usurper. At the Crossings of Erui, Eldacar personally slew Castamir, and chased his sons back to Pelargir, where he laid a siege. The siege held until the sons of Castamir gathered ships from the port of Pelargir and sailed to Umbar. This ended the Kin-strife, but spawned the creation of the Corsairs of Umbar, who would hate Gondor for all time.

King Eldacar died at the age of 235, showing the fears of the diminished longevity of the royal line were unfounded. He was succeeded by his one remaining son, Aldamir. He was honored with a statue and plaque in the Pier of Minas Tirith.