lord of the rings ladies week day four | women of the south | ellanel meldatári | @lotrladiessource
Ellanel was the daughter of Evrindil, daughter of Elessar and Undómiel. She was dear to her uncle King Eldarion, and when he advancing in years had no children of his own, he named her his heir in the tradition of Númenor. Thus upon his deathbed, Eldarion surrendered the scepter to his niece, and she was named Ellanel Meldatári, First Ruling Queen of the Dúnedain in Middle-earth and Third High Monarch of the Reunited Kingdom. In her first years as Queen, she faced an attempted coup in the form of the Cult of the Dark Tree, but with the aid of her younger brothers Prince Tondir the Just and Prince Malfinor the Wise, she subdued the rebellion and prevented the rise of a New Shadow like unto the one vanquished by her grandfather King Elessar. Queen Meldatári ruled wisely and justly for nearly a century, much beloved by her people, and traveled far and wide, treating with her neighbors in their own lands and strengthening many alliances that would hold for generations after her reign.
[Ellanel is a Sindarin name altered from Ellonel, a rejected name for Arwen. Strictly it translates as “elf-daughter,” but I’ve chosen to interpret it as a compound of elda (“elf”) and aranel, meaning alternately “elf king” (as in Dior Aranel) and “princess” (as in Emerwen Aranel), which would give the translation “elf princess.” Meldatári is a Quenya name meaning “beloved queen.”]
