Vardamir
Vardamir Nólimon (Q, pron. [ˈvardamir ˈnoːlimɔn]) was the brief second King of Númenor.
History
As the eldest of the four children of Elros Tar-Minyatur, Vardamir was the heir to the Sceptre of Númenor. He was called Nólimon, because his chief love was for ancient lore gathered from Elves and Men. Throughout his life, Vardamir had four children: three sons, Amandil, Aulendil, and Nolondil; and one daughter, Vardilmë.
Upon the death of Elros, the Sceptre of Númenor fell to Vardamir. However, due to the extraordinary length of Elros' life, Vardamir was 381 years old at the time in which he inherited the Scepter - old even for a Númenórean of royal blood. Instead of ascending the throne, Vardamir immediately passed on the Sceptre to his eldest son Amandil, who would rule as Tar-Amandil. Probably because of this decision, unlike all the rulers of Númenor who took royal titles in Quenya, the prefix tar- ("high") was not added to his name. Despite this decision, Vardamir was still officially counted as the second King of Númenor, being deemed to have ruled nominally for a single year.
Legacy
Vardamir's abdication of the Scepter to his son Amandil, began the custom wherein which future rulers of Númenor would pass on the Scepter to their heir before dying of their own free will while still being in good health and mind. This tradition lasted for many generations until the reign of Tar-Atanamir.
Etymology
Vardamir is Quenya. Its meaning is not glossed, but Paul Strack suggests it probably means "Varda-jewel". It is probably a compound of Varda ("the name of the Valië of the stars, the spouse of Manwë", "exalted", "lofty", "sublime") and mírë ("jewel").
His sobriquet Nólimon is Quenya. Its meaning is not glossed, but Paul Strack suggests it means "Learned One". It seems to be a compound of nólë ("lore, knowledge") and the agental suffix -mo ("one", "anyone", "someone", "somebody").
Other versions of the legendarium
In a text written around 1959 and published in The Nature of Middle-earth, it is said that either the slow maturity of the Half-elven, or the "choice of kindred" extended to the second generation, suggesting that Vardamir, like Arwen, was among the Half-elven. In the same text, Vardamir was said to have lived to be 391, apparently being ninety-one years older than the usual Númenórean age of 300.
Referencias
1. Esta ficha se ha importado inicialmente de TolkienGateway.net el día 31/05/2026.
