Tradition of Isildur

Elendil fell in the War of the Last Alliance, and when his son Isildur later travelled the lands of Gondor, he selected a hill in the centre of the realm to hold his father's tomb. There, he created a secret hallow and built a mound to hold Elendil's remains, the location of which was a secret known only to the Kings of Gondor and their heirs. It was said that Isildur had placed the hallow under the protection of the Valar, and indeed it remained inviolate throughout its history.

The secret was originally passed on from father to son through word of mouth, but as the dangers facing Gondor grew greater, King Rómendacil I became concerned that it might be lost. He created a scroll containing the tradition, to be passed on to a King's heir should the King himself be lost before he could deliver the secret. In this way the Tradition ultimately became known to the Stewards, after they took on the rule of the South-kingdom.

The last Steward to visit the Tomb of Elendil was Cirion, who chose that place to seal his Oath with Eorl, in which he granted Gondor's northern region of Calenardhon to the Horsemen of the North. Recognising that Amon Anwar (the Halifirien in the tongue of Eorl's people) was no longer at the mid-point of Gondor, Cirion removed the memorial of Elendil to Minas Tirith, and the long Tradition came to an end after twenty-five centuries.