Everything Fans Know About The Feud Between Númenor And The Elves
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Viewers spent a lot of time in Númenor during the last two episodes of The Rings of Power and witnessed the people’s prejudice against the Elves. Queen Míriel wants Galadriel gone because of the Palantir’s prophecy but that doesn’t explain the hatred from the other Númenóreans. Here’s everything fans know from Tolkien’s works.
In the first age, the Edain fought with the Elves against a common enemy Morgoth. As a reward, the Valar granted them the isle of Númenor along with strength and vitality. The first king of Númenor was Elros, Elrond’s brother. The siblings were descended from both races and were given the choice to live as men or to live as elves. Elrond chose the Elf’s path while Elros became the leader of the people of Númenor.
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For a while, the Númenóreans followed the ways of the Elves until the 20th king, Tar-Calmacil chose to reject a Quenya (Elvish) name and outlawed the language, choosing instead a name in the language of the Númenóreans. His successors followed the same path until the 24th king Tar-Palantir returned to the Elven ways and chose his name in Quenya. Númenor wouldn’t persecute elves anymore, but they were still far from welcome.
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Over time, the people of Númenor began to resent the elves for their immortality and freedom to sail to the undying lands of Valinor. At their creation, Eru Illúvatar granted men the gift of mortality and a special place granted to them after death that remained a secret between Eru and the departed.
As their pride and fear of death grew, the Númenóreans began to establish colonies on Middle-earth and took the wood for shipbuilding from Minhiriath and Enedwiath since it was forbidden to cut down Númenórean trees. This led to a feud between the Númenóreans and the men of Middle-earth.
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In Tolkien's work, Ar-Pharazôn is the key to the fall of Númenor. Sauron manages to corrupt King Ar-Pharazôn against the Valar, using his fear of death and hatred of the elves as fuel for the fire. Pharazon and his fleet set sail to Aman to take on the gods. As expected, the men never stood a chance as the fleet was destroyed by Eru Illúvatar. Eru took this moment to bend the flat earth into a globe shape, thus flooding Númenor, but certain men of the kingdom survived and went on to build Gondor. Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings is a descendant of these Faithful Númenóreans who stood fast by the Elves while their kingdom rebelled.
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Source(s): The Digital Fix, WION, Collider, Digital Mafia Talkies