Amandil Father of Elendil; last Lord of Andunie in Numenor. Amandil was the son of Numendil, the seventeenth Lord of Andunie. He had a younger brother named Elentir. Amandils son Elendil was born in 3119 of the Second Age. Amandil was a great ship-captain and he was esteemed by many Numenoreans. Amandil became the eighteenth Lord of Andunie. Andunie was a haven on the west coast of Numenor. The Lords of Andunie were high-ranking nobles who were descended from Silmarien, the daughter of the fourth King Tar-Elendil. They served on the Council of the Sceptre and they were loyal to the rulers of Numenor, but they were also among those who remained friendly with the Elves and faithful to the Valar. Amandil was the leader of the Faithful in the years leading up to the Downfall of Numenor. The Elves gave Amandil seven palantiri which could be used to see and communicate from afar. In his youth, Amandil was friends with Pharazon, the son of the King Ar-Gimilzors second son Gimilkhad. In 3255, Pharazon married his own cousin Miriel who was the rightful heir to the throne and usurped the Sceptre from her. Ar-Pharazon took a fleet to Middle-earth and demanded the surrender of Sauron who was extending his domain into the Numenorean territories on the coasts. Sauron submitted and allowed himself to be brought to Numenor in 3262 because he intended to corrupt the Numenoreans from within. He convinced Ar-Pharazon to worship Morgoth, the Lord of the Darkness. The Faithful were persecuted and many were sacrificed to Morgoth. Amandil alone of the Kings councillors remained uncorrupted by Sauron. He was dismissed from his position. He retreated to Romenna on Numenors east coast where many of the Faithful lived and he gathered others to him. Amandil learned that Sauron wanted to destroy Nimloth, the White Tree that had been a gift to Numenor from the Elves. Amandils grandson Isildur risked his life to steal a fruit from the tree before it was cut down and burned. Amandil planted the fruit and blessed it and a sapling grew that later became the White Tree of Gondor. In 3310, Ar-Pharazon began to build the Great Armament to attack the Undying Lands in a misguided attempt to gain immortality. Amandil decided to make a plea to the Valar as his ancestor Earendil had done. The Valar had forbidden the Men of Numenor to come to the Undying Lands but Amandil was willing to risk punishment on behalf of the Faithful. Amandil told Elendil to gather their people and possessions on ships and be prepared to leave Numenor. Amandil set out with three servants in a small ship either in 3310 or in 3316. They first sailing eastward to avoid detection by Ar-Pharazon and then turned westward toward the Undying Lands. Amandil and his companions were never seen again. It is not known what became of them or whether they ever reached the Undying Lands. When Ar-Pharazon launched his attack in 3319, Numenor was not spared and the island and its people drowned beneath the Sea. But the ships of the Faithful were blown eastward by a great wind to Middle-earth where Elendil and his sons founded the Kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor.
Posted on: Sun, 05 Oct 2014 07:04:19 +0000
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