- House of the Kings
In
J. R. R. Tolkien 's fictionalMiddle-earth legendarium, the House of the Kings is a burial place of the Kings ofGondor . The House of the Kings was located inRath Dínen , the Silent Street, in the Hallows on the fifth level ofMinas Tirith — which stood on the rocky spur joining the City to MountMindolluin . TheHouse of the Stewards was nearby. The Kings of Gondor were laid to rest in tombs covered by marble statues carved in their images.The last King of Gondor to be buried in the House of the Kings in the Third Age was
Eärnil II , who died in 2043. Eärnil's sonEärnur went toMinas Morgul in 2050 and was never seen again. The Crown of Gondor remained on Eärnil's tomb in the House of the Kings, and the Stewards ruled Gondor until the end of theThird Age .During the reign of the Steward
Cirion , the remains ofElendil — the first King of Gondor — were moved from the sacred burial site on the hill ofHalfirien to the House of the Kings.In the year 120 of the Fourth Age,
Aragorn , King Elessar, went to the House of the Kings, where he passed the kingship to his sonEldarion and lay down to die. He was the first King of Gondor to be buried in the House of the Kings for over 1,000 years. It is said that theHobbit sMerry Brandybuck andPippin Took — who had died some years previously — were moved to rest beside Aragorn in the House of the Kings.ources
*"The Return of the King": "The Siege of Gondor," 99-100
*Appendix A of "The Lord of the Rings": "Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion," p. 332-33; "The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen," p. 343-44
*Appendix B of "The Lord of the Rings": "The Tale of Years," p. 378
*"Unfinished Tales": "Cirion and Eorl," p. 310
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