A title used for any of the great Valar, and especially Manwë. The twentieth King of Númenor, Ar-Adûnakhôr, attempted to usurp this title - it is the meaning of his name.
| The Valar |
The Valar or Powers descended into Arda after its creation, and at first they dwelt in Middle-earth. After their home of Almaren was destroyed by Melkor, they crossed the Great Sea and made a new land for themselves, Valinor in the Uttermost West. Hence the Valar, the Powers of the World, are collectively referred to as the Lords of the West. |
| Manwë |
Though any of the Valar might have been named one of the Lords of the West, as an individual title the honour was especially bestowed on Manwë, the Elder King of Arda and chief of the Valar. From the heights of Taniquetil Manwë looked down over the Earth with his spouse Varda, the Queen of the Stars. |
| Ar-Adûnakhôr |
Though the title 'Lord of the West' was in general reserved for the Valar, one mortal did assume it. The twentieth King of Númenor chose to overturn tradition by taking a royal name in Adûnaic, the native tongue of the Númenóreans, rather than Elvish. The name he chose was Adûnakhôr, which meant 'Lord of the West' in that language. This choice of name was considered by the Faithful to be presumptuous or even blasphemous. |
Notes
1 |
The timeline for this entry shows the rule of Ar-Adûnakhôr in Númenor. As immortal beings, a timeline for the Valar or for Manwë would extend across the entire span shown here, and forward and backward beyond each end of the line.
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2 |
These various overlapping 'wests' will perhaps bear a little further explanation. Númenor lay far westward of Middle-earth (a fact that gave it its name) but not so far westward as the Blessed Realm of Aman, which is commonly referred to as 'the West'. Thus Ar-Adûnakhôr could claim to be a 'Lord of the West' as seen from Middle-earth, but he was not a 'Lord of the West' as the capitalised 'West' would usually be understood.
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- Updated 1 June 2022
- Updates planned: 1
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