Princes of Dol Amroth

The Princes of Dol Amroth belonged to the noble House of the Faithful, from Gondor. The male heirs of the House were known as the Princes & they were descendants of Galador [1] who was the first Prince.

The Princes of Dol Amroth governed the kingdom of Dol Amroth that was under Gondor. The House of Faithful had settled in Gondor after fleeing Numenor. Before the Downfall began, the land between the Gilrain & Ringlo rivers was known as Belfalas. This land later became part of Gondor & the House of Faithful had a stronghold on the rocky terrain that was located near the Bay of Belfalas. The House of Faithful originally from Numenor, were related to Elendil & thus were descendants of the House of Elros. The Princes were originally recognized as just noblemen, but when King Elendil rose to the post of the High King, he bestowed on these noblemen, the title of the Princes of Belfalas. Later they came to be better known as the Princes of Dol Amroth.

While Earnill II was reigning in the lands of Gondor in the year III 1980, the Dwarves of Khazad-dum released a demon called a Balrog to destroy the kingdom. This adversity was a catastrophe to such an extent that the population fled the land of the Mountains of Moria. The bravest, including Nimrodel & Amroth of Lorien, ran for their lives abandoning their place. An elf maiden by the name of Mithrellas also accompanied Nimrodel when he fled. She got lost on the way but Amroth waited for her at the Elf-haven of Edhellond. The haven was located on the western side of the Bay of Belfalas. When the ship decided to move ahead without her, Amroth dived into the bay waters near the castle, later be known as the castle of the Princes of Dol Amroth.

Mithrellas was ultimately found by Imrazôr the Númenórean [2] who fell in love & they got married on this journey. A branch of the descendants of Numenor shifted to Lossarnach, where Morwen Steelsheen married the Thengel of Rohan. The Dol Amroth line was linked to the Stewards of Gondor & Kings of Rohan when Morwen and Thengel married. Since Morwen was a daughter of the family, Thengel’s son Theoden & grandson Eomer carried the bloodline of the Princes of Dol Amroth forward. Mithrellas later gave birth to her two children, Gilmith & Galador.

Galador enjoyed a double noble ancestry because his father Imrazor was pure of Numenorean descent & his mother Mithrellas was a descendant of the Silvan Elves of Lorien. He became the first prince of Dol Amroth and his line - that was most recognizable by their grey eyes & tall heights - continued for a long time throughout the Third Age without being broken. In fact, his line continued through the time of the War of the Ring & even extended beyond it. Their emblem engraved everywhere was a swan ship in silver with a background of blue.

Imrahil was the 22nd Prince of Dol Amroth. He reigned from TA 2955 - FO 34, & was uncle to Boromir & Faramir. Thengel’s grandson Eomer, was married to Imrahil’s daughter Lothiriel. The origin of Imrahil’s line has different accounts by Tolkein. In the first instance, Imrazor & Mithrellas founded the House in accordance with the tradition of the House of Numenor. Imrazor who belonged to Numenor had rescued Mithrellas, the elf maiden, who accompanied Silvan from Nimrodel during the destruction of the lands of Gondor. They lived together in TA 2000 near the Bay of Belfalas & she bore two half-elven children - a baby girl who was named Gilmith & a baby boy named Galador. Based on his bloodline, Galador established the line of the Princes of Dol Amroth & became the first prince. Mithrellas was not mentioned anywhere afterward. Although the second instance is not a part of The Lord of the Rings, it is described by the people of Minas Tirith, when they speak about their perception of Imrahil, and also by Legolas when he met Imrahil.

The people of Minas Tirith say that they knew that there was elvish blood in the line of Imrahil, in the place where the people of Nimrodel lived. Legolas said that although the people of Nimrodel had left the woods of Lorien, not everyone sailed from the haven of Amroth. To define the exact lineage, Tolkein had started working on a genealogical table but he left it incomplete because there were too many blank spaces & gaps that would have been hard to explain. So when he started to explore the history of the ties between Gondor & Rohan, well after the publication of The Lord of the Rings, he said that the title of “Prince” was given to Dol Amroth, by King Elendil himself, as the Dol Amroth family had headed the colonization of Numenor. The time when Adrahil fought Calimehtar in TA 1944 against the Wainriders also belonged to the later version of this exploration.

1. ^Galador and his descendants.
2. ^Imrazôr the Númenórean.