| Adrahil | |
|---|---|
|
Dates |
b. 2917 - d. 3010 |
|
Title |
Prince of Dol Amroth (2977-3010) Lord of Belfalas |
|
Spouse |
Olwen |
|
Siblings |
Aerandir (half-brother) |
|
Children |
Ivriniel, Finduilas, Imrahil |
|
Grandchildren |
Boromir and Faramir; Elphir, Erchirion, Amrothos and Lothíriel |
Adrahil, son of Angelimir, is the twenty-first Prince of Dol Amroth. With his wife, Olwen, he had three children: Ivriniel, Finduilas and Imrahil.
Early Life[]
Adrahil was born in 2917, but at some point a few years earlier, his father Angelimir sired a bastard son named Aerandir,[1] whom Adrahil appears to have known from an early age.[2]
Early on, he was taught Haradric, which he learned to speak fluently and which served him well as Prince of Dol Amroth.[3][4] He may or may not have had a minor infatuation as a boy with Lord Gildor of Edhellond.[5]
As a young man, Adrahil trained as an esquire, and apparently also in the navy.[6] During a sea-journey, however, he contracted a fever so severe that he was unable to complete his military training for some years, by which time he had decided to put such pursuits aside in favor of honing his skills in governance.
It is unknown at what date Adrahil courted and married Olwen, but it must have been prior to 2947, when his eldest daughter, Ivriniel, was born.
Family Life[]
Growing up, Adrahil had at least one sibling, a bastard half-brother. This half-brother, Aerandir, was acknowledged and ennobled. There seems to have been little in the way of bitterness between the two of them: Aerandir went on to become a Swan Knight, the steward of the Princes' residence in Minas Tirith and commander of its detachment of Swan Knights, as well as a trusted confidant.[7] [8]
Adrahil had three children, two of whom, Finduilas and Imrahil, went on to marry and have grandchildren - Boromir and Faramir; Elphir, Erchirion, Amrothos and Lothíriel, respectively - all of whom Adrahil lived to see and help raise for a time. He also served as warden to the daughter of a close friend and former Swan Knight, Ohtar, when Ohtar and his wife perished at sea. Adrahil grew to love Ohtar's daughter, Nimrien, as if she were his own child,[9] and was well-pleased when Imrahil eventually wed her in 2986.[10] He had less success in courting the affections of Finduilas's husband, Denethor, though he had the Steward's respect firmly in hand.
In 2971, Imrahil, who had been to Harad on a diplomatic journey, brought home a young man he had found and rescued in Umbar, Andrahar.[11] Although initially displeased and fearful that this decision had been ill-founded in nothing but the mercy of a moment, Adrahil soon came to see that his son's judgment of other men's character was nowhere near so poor as his judgment in other matters, and he sponsored Andrahar's entry into the esquire ranks. Fifteen years later, Adrahil formally adopted Andrahar into his family, albeit the spur to action was political.[12] Politics and feeling did, however, coincide in this instance, and years after Adrahil's death, Andrahar was still able to use his adoptive father's name as a part of his own when the occasion called for it.[13]
Adrahil's relationship with his son and heir seems always to have been good, despite the trials that Imrahil's youthful indiscretions and recklessness posed.
Ruling Prince[]
Date discrepancies[]
The precise duration of Adrahil's reign is inconsistent between People of Middle-Earth and the Unabeauverse. According to POME, Adrahil's father, Angelimir, died in 2977; however, in the Unabeauverse, Adrahil is already ruling prince (and appears to have been for some time) by 2974, when the events of Kin-Strife unfold.
Events[]
As ruling prince, Adrahil won a reputation as a highly skilled negotiator and diplomat, serving the Stewards on behalf of Gondor and also the needs of his own Principality, both in Gondor's council chambers and in foreign relations. He travelled at least once to Harad after his ill-fated journey, during which time he encountered Lord Isfhandijar, the khan of Bakshir, whose son, Andrahar, would later serve Adrahil's household.[14]
During Adrahil's reign, the Corsairs of Umbar built up their strength, while Gondor and Harad officially maintained peaceful relations, renewed by treaty every five years. In 2980, he lent a large naval force, bearing marine and Swan Knight companies, to Thorongil's assault on the Corsair shipyards.
Five years later, he was involved again in the peace treaty negotiations with the Haradrim at Pelargir, which were unusually complex due to factional politics among the Haradrim. Due to the balance of power within the Haradric delegation, Adrahil was not able to have any direct part in crafting the treaty, but he was partially responsible for Imrahil's being put in a position in which sole authority to treat with Harad rested with him. During this diplomatic mission, Adrahil helped to defuse a potentially dangerous clash between the Haradric and Gondorian guards, gaining in the process an adoptive son in Andrahar.[15]
Meta[]
Adrahil first played a role in the Unabeauverse in Ultimatums.
For a family tree of Adrahil in the Unabeauverse, see the entry for Imrahil.