In his TNG movie reviews and the Picard discussions Mike repeatedly pointed out how Patrick Stewart influenced the writing and pushed for certain scenes, which lead to multiple out of character moments. The TNG movies are almost "black tanktop movies" in a way, Picard rides a dune buggy, just because Stewart loves driving, he is an action hero that saves the day, he flaunts rules and direct orders, he's a rebel, overly emotional, he gets the beautiful lady, and so on.

But after re-watching TNG as an adult I noticed that this process seems to have already started in the show. In the early seasons Picard gets initially characterised as a reserved and introverted man that is primarily interested in intellectual pursuits. But over the course of the show Picard increasingly gets episodes where he's the action hero and ladies man, with multiple beautiful women swooning over him, he saves the Enterprise by fighting a terrorist gang singlehanded in Starship Mine, basically Die Hard in space, the Vash episodes. It really feels like Stewart pushing for "manlier" scenes, where he can be the irresistible and dashing hero.

Curiously he also continues to show up in clothes that reveal his chest hair ... No Patrick, that's supposed to be Riker, you are supposed to be the older, more reserved captain. This basically amounts to stealing scenes and episodes from his co-star, who'd be the much more appropriate character for it. It felt very blatant when rewatching. I guess the producers still constrained Stewart somewhat, so it didn't go completely overboard like in the movies, but it was already happening in the show. Anyone else noticed this?

Both the Balrog and Gandalf spent eons in the Timeless Halls, before the creation of Eä. Assuming that the number of Ainur wasn't countless but more in the hundreds to low thousands, then they surely must have come across one another constantly. Since Ainur are by nature spirits and masters of ósanwe both the Balrog and Gandalf surely should have recognised each other when they met in Moria, yet the text gives no indication that this is the case? What is your explanation? I wish Tolkien had added a small line to indicate that Gandalf actually knows the identity of the Balrog.

Expanding an earlier post I made, about the Dúnedain in Gondor. I reworked it in parts and wanted to repost, because I'm curious what some of you think about the numbers in particular.

The Númenóreans had an extended lifespan, three times that of normal men, 200 years on average, in rare cases up to 225, very seldom up to 250 (Nature of Middle-earth, The Ageing of the Númenóreans). They also aged differently compared to normal humans, retaining their strength into very old age. The royal line of Elros however always had a longer lifespan of up to 400 years. This is why the lifespans of the Kings of Gondor and Arnor should not be taken as indicative of the life expectancy of normal Dúnedain in the T.A., as descendants of Elros they were a special case. When for example King Tarondor reached an age of 221 in the 18th century, it is therefore safe to assume imo that a contemporary common Dúnadan probably had a markedly lower lifespan of maybe 130-150. That is to say: even during Gondor's heyday the lifespans had already decreased significantly.

The royal line decreased on average by 2,6 years per generation after the Downfall, from Meneldil (281) to Telumehtar (218) - a decline of 63 years over 24 generations. Imo it would make sense to assume that the decline was percentual depending on the (original?) overall lifespan. This would mean that an average Dunadans lifespan roughly declined by 1-2 years per generation. In the 19th and 20th century the decline then fastened, maybe due to the stress that came in the wake of the Wainrider wars. Calimehtar only reached 200, a marked decline compared to his grandfather Telumehtar, and Eärnil even less, only 160 years.

Since members of the royal house, as descendants of Elros, lived longer and married at a later date the generations do not align (so 30 royal generations would correspond to maybe 40 normal Dúnedain generations). In the 20th and 21st century the average lifespan was then probably in the 110-130 year range, which would align with the Steward Mardil Voronwe (120 years) and his immediate predecessors (Pelendur, Vorondil) and successors (lifespans ranging from 110 to 130). Ca. 200 (original lifespan) - (40 generations x 2 years) = ca. 120 years (lifespan 20th century).

I found these two blog posts very interesting: this one about the lifespans of the Kings, and Lifespans of the Stewards. Highly recommended, the data is straight from Tolkien.

Two things stands out to me. First the lifespan difference between the northern and southern kings, with the kings of Gondor living on average 20-40 years longer than their northern counterparts. It is not a fluke, it is consistent, starting with Meneldil (280 years) and Valandil (260), up to Calimehtar (200) and Araphant (175). The trend reverses in the 20th century, with King Eärnil II (160 years) having a markedly shorter lifespan, more in line with the later northern chieftains, probably a deliberate creative decision to signify Gondor's decline and that Eärnil came from a rather distant cadet branch.

And second: whereas the lifespan of the Kings only ever goes downwards, even if only by 1 or 2 years per generation, the lifespan of the Stewards (and therefore of normal Dunedain in general I assume), fluctuates wildly from generation to generation. Another creative decision I guess, to signal that a long lifespan was no longer guaranteed anymore, over 2000 years after the Downfall, but a matter of ancestry and pure chance. It also could just be the normal lifespan fluctuation that had always been present among normal Númenóreans (ca. 200-250 in the beginning), whereas the royal line consistently reached around 400 years, only now on a markedly lower level in the late T.A. (ca. 110-150 in the first half of the third millennium, later ca. 100-120).

The steward Hador for example lived to 150 in the 24th century, he was the last to achieve such an age though. At the time of LotR the Dúnedain lifespan "had now waned to little more than that of other men", so probably around 85 - 95, with only a select few "passing 100 with vigour". This decline affected the Dúnedain in the south and the north imo. Aragorn's mother, Gilraen, reached 100 years for example, but she was a (distant) member of the House of Isildur and therefore a special case.

Apart from an extended lifespan they also had a superior height of 7ft, superior strength and endurance, as well as immunity to sickness. Their mental faculties were superior to normal humans as well:

>Númenórean mental development was also assimilated to some degree to the Eldarin mode. Their mental capacity was greater and developed quicker than that of ordinary Men; and it was dominant. After about seven years they grew up mentally with rapidity, and at 20 years they knew and understood far more than a normal human of that age. (Natur of Middle-earth, Lives of the Númenóreans)

Like the Elves they also had superior control over their bodies and a rapid healing factor:

>In addition the people, tall and strong, were agile and extremely "aware": that is they were in control of their bodily action, and of any tool or material they handled, and seldom made absent-minded or blundering movements [...] Accidents were thus unlikely to occur to them. If any did, they had a power of recovery and self-healing, which if inferior to that of the Eldar, was much greater than that of Men in Middle-earth.

It's not quite so obvious in LotR, but this is a race of 7ft tall superhumans basically. Not only extremely strong physically, but also supremely intelligent as well.

In late T.A. Gondor the Númenórean gifts had declined markedly and they had become susceptible to illness, but they still retained some of the gifts in only a slightly diminished fashion, foremost their physical appearance (pale, grey eyes, dark hair), probably a somewhat greater physical strength and endurance, and last but not least their height. According to Tolkien Boromir for example was ca. 1,93m. Impressive compared to the indigenous human population, but still 20cm less than the average Númenórean height of 2,13m (7ft). The average late T.A. Dunadan was probably shorter, but not by much I guess (let's say on average 1,85m).

That is to say: the decline affected the different Númenórean characteristics differently. Lifespan was most affected, until it was almost that of normal men in the late T.A., after that came their mental power / superior intelligence, though that one is harder to quantify, but it seems likely to me that the loss of skill and technology that Gondor experienced in the latter half of the T.A. could largely be attributed to that development.

Another Númenórean gift was the ability to accept the Gift of Ilúvatar willingly, that is: to die of their own free will at a time of their choosing. Did the Dúnedain retain that gift in exile? Could this be an explanation for the shorter lifespan of the northern Kings, that they laid down their life at an earlier point more willingly? Somehow it has always been my impression that the Dúnedain of the T.A. lived into old age and then died naturally, but there is no proof of that in the text. Maybe the Kings at least retained that ability? Be that as it may, I find the following admonishment from Gandalf towards Denethor a bit curious in this context:

>‘Authority is not given to you, Steward of Gondor, to order the hour of your death,’ answered Gandalf. ‘And only the heathen kings, under the domination of the Dark Power, did thus, slaying themselves in pride and despair, murdering their kin to ease their own death.’

Granted, Gandalf is talking about suicide here, especially done out of despair. But what is the ability to just lie down and peacefully let go of your spirit, if not suicide with extra steps? The Númenóreans did in fact very much possess the "authority to order the hour of your death". I chalk it up to Tolkien's catholic sensibilities creeping into the text, but it is a bit curious when you really think about it.

According to DriveDX my SSD has 130 TB written, and a health of 91% (9% used). However I've read that the 256 GB SSDs normally have a TBW of 150 TB, so shouldn't the health be much lower, over 80% used? Is DriveDX accurate? I try to conserve Ram, but still end up using roughly 50GB daily, probably due to swapping (I have the 8 GB model). Has anyone a similar experience? Thanks!

According to DriveDX my SSD has 130 TB written, and a health of 91% (9% used). However I've read that the 256 GB SSDs normally have a TBW of 150 TB, so shouldn't the health be much lower, over 80% used? Is DriveDX accurate? I try to conserve Ram, but still end up using roughly 50GB daily, probably due to swapping (I have the 8 GB model). Has anyone a similar experience? Thanks!

According to DriveDX my SSD has 130 TB written, and a health of 91% (9% used). However I've read that the 256 GB SSDs normally have a TBW of 150 TB, so shouldn't the health be much lower, over 80% used? Is DriveDX accurate? I try to conserve Ram, but still end up using roughly 50GB daily, probably due to swapping (I have the 8 GB model). Has anyone a similar experience? Thanks!

Tolkien describes Númenor as being extremely advanced technologically. Gondor is supposed to be an echo of Númenor, almost rivalling its glory. The country was not only expressly founded as a Númenorean state, for all intents and purposes it started out as being Númenor, since the Númenorean colonies along the coast formed the nucleus of the new state. Pelargir was a Númenorean city, as were the many other unnamed cities and settlements. For those colonists the Downfall arguably didn't even change all that much, life was going on as before, their culture didn't suddenly stop or immediately deteriorate.

Even after the Downfall Gondor was achieving architectural feats that are far surpassing what the Roman Empire was capable of at its peak, bordering on science-fiction (Orthanc, the Argonath, Minas Anor). So how do you imagine early Gondor, in the first half of the Third Age? How advanced was it, how magical? Tolkien states that Númenor itself had a population of ca. 15 million at the time of the Downfall, so it's probably safe to assume that the population in the colonies must have been substantial. I'd like to imagine that Gondor (at least for the Dúnedain living in it) was still decidedly Númenorean in that time period, if only on a lesser scale. A mini-Númenor so to speak.

The appendices state that the Rammas Echor was built when Ithilien "first fell under the shadow of the enemy", during the rule of the Steward Denethor, but the text does not specify which Denethor, the first one or the second. So when was the wall erected?

In this context "shadow" does not necessarily have to mean direct control, but could also refer to the fact that Ithilien was threatened, which interestingly was already the case during the Wainrider Wars. Imo Denethor I. makes the most sense, when the Uruks swept over Ithilien in 2475. Gondor had to fight a long war to hold them at bay and finally win back Ithilien. Not only was Ithilien "under the shadow" during that time, but the capital itself was threatened by enemy forces stationed right across the river. Creating an additional buffer to protect the townlands from raiding bands was probably a strategic necessity.

Imo it would therefore make the most sense to assume that Denethor I erected the wall, not Denethor II. The fact that Osgiliath was finally abandoned after the Uruk attack also fits, the deserted city may have provided the necessary building material for the massive undertaking. The historical inspiration for the Rammas may have been the Anastasian Wall, a massive fortification shielding Constantinople, erected in late antiquity. The purpose was the same: protect the capital of an empire in decline from raiding barbarians. Against a massive army with siege equipment the overlong wall was less effective however, another similarity. Even the length fits: the Rammas Echor is ca. 30 miles long, the Anastasian wall was ca. 35 miles.

This is another reason why I'd argue that an earlier construction date would make more sense, when Gondor was still richer and more powerful compared to the time of Denethor II. The Anastasian wall was a massive infrastructure project. The Byzantine Empire of the 5th century was able to achieve it, the later Empire of the 13th or 14th century would not have had the necessary manpower or resources I'd argue.

That being said, Tolkien may have intended that the wall was erected during the rule of Denethor II., the text of the novel seems to imply as much. For example how Denethor insists on the walls defence because it was made with "so great a labour". Would he phrase it like that when the erection lies in the rather distant past, over 500 years ago?

What do you think?

In the first half of the T.A. there were still many Elves living in and around Edhellond in southern Gondor. At least hundreds, probably thousands? So Elves were living in Gondor while the Kin-strife happened, the Corsair wars, the Wainrider wars ... just a curious tidbit, considering that they don't seem to have played a big role in the history of Gondor? Was Edhellond legally part of Gondor, or did they form a separate realm under their own rulers? How much did the populations mingle? Did some of them even fight in Gondor's wars?

Isn't it strange that Arnor/Arthedain gets portrayed as the Realm in Exile that seemingly had a deeper relationship with the Elves, whereas Gondor had an actual elven population living inside its borders? I'd like to imagine that the Dúnedain had regular contact with those Elves, after all the cultures were pretty similar at this point in history. Maybe some Elves were even living in Osgiliath and Minas Anor, at the royal court?

The text states that most of the Dúnedain lived in Minas Tirith and Belfalas in the late T.A. But how many were there in total? Let's take a look at Belfalas first, because we have actual numbers we can use to extrapolate.

>But beyond, in the great fief of Belfalas, dwelt Prince Imrahil in his castle of Dol Amroth by the sea, and he was of high blood, and his folk also, tall men and proud with sea-grey eyes.

The later passage describing the arrival of Imrahil's retinue makes it clear that "folk" does not just refer to the immediate family here, but to a sizeable portion of the people under Imrahil's rule. Here's the relevant section:

>And last and proudest, Imrahil, Prince of Dol Amroth, kinsman of the Lord [...] and a company of knights in full harness riding grey horses, and behind them seven hundred men at arms, tall as lords, grey-eyed, dark-haired, singing as they came.

The description makes it clear that these are all Dúnedain, ca. 900 in total. Because of the threat of the Corsairs Imrahil had to hold back much of his forces to defend the coast, which leaves us with maybe a couple more thousand Dúnedain soldiers he left at home. Townsfolk in Minas Tirith were commenting that the fiefs could only send a tithe of their strength because of the Corsairs, but that should maybe not be taken literally. This is a conservative estimate, let's therefore assume that Imrahil sent maybe a fifth of his overall strength, also that many of the remaining soldiers in Belfalas may have been common men and not Dúnedain, and we'd arrive at a total force of ca. 3000 Dúnedain men.

These men don't exist in a vacuum though, they have parents, siblings, wives, children, and so on. And they are not just culturally Dúnedain, Tolkien explicitly mentions "high blood", i.e. ancestry. Let's assume that they constituted 20% of the overall Dúnedain population in Belfalas, which would be an extremely high mobilisation rate for a pre-industrial country like Gondor, but this was an existential war and the Dúnedain constituted the aristocracy, getting supported by a much larger population of farmers. We would then arrive at a total Dúnedain population in Belfalas of at least 15 000.

Again, this is a very conservative estimate, assuming that almost every able-bodied Dúnedain male in Belfalas served in the army, which would however fit Faramir's lament that the Dúnedain are now forced to value martial prowess above all else and deem other pursuits a luxury. The population could very well be double that. I guess that that the overall Dúnedain population, including Minas Tirith and the surrounding townlands, was at least 50k, maybe double that, with Gondor's overall population being around 1,5 million.

Thoughts? Does this make sense?

Many have noticed the similarities between Gondor and the Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire respectively. For me that aspect was one of the most interesting in LotR, how Tolkien managed with just a few nods to evoke a certain image in the reader's mind that felt exotic but at the same time culturally familiar and immediately "recognisable". Just for the fun of it I compiled a list of all the similarities I noticed. Some of them may not even have been intended by Tolkien, but it's fun to speculate nonetheless.

- both countries started out as the eastern half of a larger united empire, while the western half of the empire fractured and collapsed (Western Roman Empire - Arnor)

- like the ERE Gondor reaches a height that rivals the glories of the past, but

- ultimately both suffer defeat after defeat until they are a mere shadow of their past self

- both are multi-ethnic empires, and both were the supreme naval superpower in their heyday

- legendary economic wealth in their prime (Atanatar II Alcarin, "precious stones are pebbles in Gondor, for children to play with" - this shouldn't be taken at face value of course, it's an outsider's perception of Gondor, but it parallels how medieval Europeans perceived the wealth of Constantinople at its prime)

- architectural feats that seem alien and magical to visitors from less developed countries, with an emphasis on domes, with one domed building being especially famous (Hagia Sophia - Dome of Stars in Osgiliath)

- catastrophic civil war(s) that weaken the country

- Justinian Plague - the Great Plague, both of which were extremely destructive

- as a reaction to the different crises both countries slowly develop some feudal aspects, but never become outright feudal or "medieval"

- The oath Pippin swears in front of Denethor is similar to the military oath of the Roman Empire (sacramentum militare). It's also noteworthy that Pippin swears loyalty first and foremost to Gondor (the country) and only afterwards to its steward (that is the office!) and not to Denethor personally. In other words: Pippin gets employed by the state, not by Denethor as a person, and he has to obey his commands because of the office he occupies

- Like the ERE Gondor has: a currency, a professional standing army and navy with thousands of soldiers and sailors (all of whom have to get equipped, trained, housed and paid), complex infrastructure, large cities even late in its history, a well organised multi-lane road network, etc. All of this is hard to imagine without an accompanying bureaucracy to manage and maintain all of this, even though it doesn't get explicitly mentioned

- an unrelenting eternal enemy in the east and south (Arabs/Turks - Easterlings/Sauron/Haradrim), catastrophic defeats in those wars (Battle of Manzikert - Battle of the Plains, Disaster of the Morannon; accompanying loss of eastern provinces, i.e. Anatolia / western Rhun). Both serve as a bullwark, protecting an ignorant and ungrateful hinterland (western Europe - Eriador). Without the ERE blocking them the Caliphates would have swept over Southeastern Europe in the 7/8th century, just as Sauron would have easily conquered Middle-earth if Gondor had not been there to oppose him

- Wainrider/Balcoth wars are reminiscent of the wars during the migration period in late antiquity

- both seek help from northern barbarians and employ them in the army (Germanic auxiliaries, Varangian Guard - Northmen from Rhovanion)

- a higher civilisation giving a barbarian tribe (the Rohirrim) land to settle in return for aid in war is very reminiscent of the foederati in late antiquity, with the obvious difference that Rohan remained loyal and never betrayed Gondor like the Goths did

- a determination to preserve tradition, a cultural focus on history / longing for the past; both countries appreciate and preserve ancient learning, while it gets lost or forgotten everywhere else and

- maintain a higher civilisational standard even late in their history, compared to more primitive but also more energetic neighbours (Huns, Germanic tribes, later Slavs and Bulgars - Rohan). Gondor is full of elaborate architecture made of stone, Rohan's dwellings, even its capital and royal palace, are made of wood. Gondor is an organised state, sophisticated, refined, ancient, world-weary. Rohan as a contrast is medieval and feudal, underdeveloped, rustic, rural, but also youthful and energetic. The dichotomy is obvious: Gondor is the (Eastern) Roman Empire, Rohan is Germanic / Anglo-Saxon. This is an idealised version of the relationship between the Empire and the germanic tribes, the Empire being generous without ulterior motives, and the Barbarians being grateful and loyal to the end

- the capital is the largest and most impressive human city in the world, a living echo of the ancient past. Like Constantinople Minas Tirith stores ancient artefacts and documents that are well over a thousand years old. But just like Constantinople in the 13th century the Minas Tirith of the late T.A. is in decay with a population in decline and large sections of the city underpopulated

- Minas Tirith / Constantinople has multiple walls, as well as a massive outer wall, to deter barbarian raiding parties (Anastasian wall - Rammas Echor). Even the length fits: the Rammas Echor is ca. 30 miles long, the Anastasian wall ca. 35 miles. Keep in mind that the RE was built relatively late in Gondor's history, probably during the reign of Denethor I, in the 25th century. I'd argue that an outright early medieval society from ca. 700-1000 AD would not have been able to accomplish massive infrastructure feats of this scale

- the old original capital lies in ruin (medieval Rome - Osgiliath) and is only sparsely populated (Osgiliath until 2475, later abandoned). This one doesn't fit 1:1, but the inspiration is obvious. The old capital, now ruined, stands for the bygone glory of the past (Ancient Rome for the Byzantine Empire - early Gondor of the Kings for the Gondor of the late T.A.)

- a beacon system to raise alarm and transmit messages to and from the capital

- big domed mausoleums with impressive sarcophagi, burial place of past rulers (Church of the Holy Apostles - The Houses of the Dead). During the 4th crusade the church and its sarcophagi were pillaged and defiled, exactly what Denethor wanted to prevent by burning the place to the ground

- Imo the Gondor of the late T.A. more or less aligns with the ERE of the 12/13th century (somewhat idealised of course), albeit with a smaller overall population. Gondor is past its prime, but at the same time not quite as deep in decline as the ERE before the Fall of Constantinople (15th century). Tolkien mixes different aspects of the ERE, combined with other inspirations, early Gondor was also far more advanced compared to the Roman Empire, so it is not a 1:1 fit of course. The Anastasian Wall was already no longer in use in the 12/13th century for example, the entire culture and demographics are different, but the parallels are numerous and obvious. Again, this does not mean that Gondor is a fantasy "transplant" or "allegory" for the ERE, that's not the point, as other have already mentioned. But the historical parallels are "applicable".

We all have our head canons, and sometimes they might clash with what Tolkien wrote. Some of us may also wish that he had written certain segments differently, or abandoned certain concepts. Do you think Bombadil is superfluous? Should the world always have been round? I'll start with some of my nitpicks.

1. I always disliked how Galadriel came to rule Lorien relatively late in the T.A., only after Amroth left. Imo it would feel better if she had already become a ruler in the S.A. and had ruled the place for millennia. Basically remove Amdir and Amroth, have Galadriel be the ruler from the start (or rather: let the Silvan Elves in that region choose her as ruler). It always felt weird to me that she "only" ruled Lorien for 1000 years. Imo it narratively diminishes a character that is supposed to be legendary even to her peers, that out of all the prominent elven Lords she ruled the least amount of time. Even though she's supposed to be the most powerful by far? I'd also give her a more prominent role during the War of the Last Alliance, whereas in the original text she doesn't get mentioned at all. Amdir/Amroth could be moved to Edhellond instead, Elves were living there anyway till relatively late in the T.A. Have a separate elven realm there that slowly diminishes in the first half of the T.A. until it finally vanishes just as the royal line comes to an end in Gondor.
2. It is a bit weird how Tolkien never explicitly describes how the Orcs actually look. If I was a writer, then I'd establish the look of my primary antagonistic race as soon as they appear in the story (Moria in Tolkien's case). He clearly had an image in mind, but then proceeded without actually describing it to the reader. Odd.
3. The mythological / historical backstory and how it is presented in LotR. There are multiple instances were older and more experienced characters explain the history of the world to the reader. The three most important imo: Gandalf and Frodo in FotR, Elrond during the Council, and Faramir and Frodo / Sam. Ask yourself: if you had never read the Silmarillion and knew nothing about this universe, would you have a sufficient grasp of the overall story from those segments alone? Some things should remain vague imo, like Sauron's origins for example, what even is this ancient evil? It adds to the mystique of the world. But, that being said, I just wish that Tolkien had found a better way to convey the general cosmology and basic history (especially of Arnor/Gondor) to the first time reader. Granted, pure exposition is boring, so this is tricky.
4. Small oddities. Granted, this gets brought up all the time, but why does the Mouth of Sauron not use some grandiose title for his master instead of what is, for all intents and purposes, an elvish insult? For example "The most excellent King of Arda", "The Lord of this World", "Tar-Mairon" or just "your God-king" to be extra provocative. It always breaks my immersion. I prefer to imagine that he actually did, and that what we read is a transmission error. Another example: why does Elrond introduce Boromir as just "a man from the south". This always felt weird, almost disrespectful to me. This is a Númenórean lord and the heir apparent of the oldest and most powerful human kingdom. He is not just a "man from the south". Something like "and here, sent by his father, the High Steward of the Númenórean Realm of Gondor, is Boromir" ... would've felt more appropriate imo.
5. I wish Tolkien had expanded Gondor just a bit more. The population, the culture, what life in Pelargir looks like, etc. For example he could've described Harlond in more detail when Aragorn landed there. Or describe ancient ruined towns and villages when Frodo and Sam travel through Ithilien. What did Linhir look like? He only mentions it in passing. What about Dol Amroth? Denethor's wife grew up there, a few sentences would make sense, maybe to establish a contrast between the more care free atmosphere in the coastal city and the rather austere life in Minas Tirith, right at the front. This would tie right back to Denethor's personality.

Something I always found a bit puzzling is that the Kings of Gondor, discounting those that fell on the battlefield, lived, on average, ca. 30-40 years longer than their northern counterparts. I can't imagine that this was some oversight by Tolkien, so how could one try to explain this divergence? It's evident right from the start. Discounting Anarion and Isildur (who didn't have a natural death), Valandil (first King of Arnor after Isildur) lived to 260, whereas Meneldil (first King of Gondor after Isildur) lived to 281. A 21 year difference, and the divergence becomes only greater with the following Kings. What could be the cause? If there is a cause at all, this could just be genetics at play. Curiously it begins to level out with the last two kings of Gondor, with Earnil living to 160, comparable to the last kings of Arthedain and the later chieftains of the Dunedain.

Decline of the Numenoreans