Just a regular reminder that in the time after cutting the One Ring from Sauron's hand and refusing to cast it into the fire, Isildur spent two years setting up his (ingrate) nephew Meneldil as King in Gondor, and then started on his way to Imladris to reunite with his wife and lil son, aaaaaand to give the Ring to Elrond. And he was just about there when he was killed.
He may have initially refused to give up the Ring but he yielded to better judgment once he had more context (i.e. finding out that it could not be used for good, as he had intended), and not only set aside his pride to return to one "greater" than himself, but resisted using it to save himself. Tolkien takes great pains to show that Isildur had every reason to believe his journey from Osgiliath to Imladris would be without issues and that he was well-prepared for any trouble that could be anticipated.
Oh, and his sons loved him very much. Isildur Defence Squad forever! Peter Jackson did him so, so dirty.
A Revisiting of the Disaster of the Gladden Fields, aka the death of Isildur and his sons and the losing of the One Ring
Ok having not read this section of Unfinished Tales before, and my memory being a bit blurry on what the Fellowship book says about this, I think the majority of my perception of this situation comes from the movie (Fellowship), which in my opinion casts Isildur in a much more negative light, (not to mention completely omits Elendur, his son and heir).
--Now after scanning these obscure tags, I found there are a few posts on here that get into this topic as well, so please go read those too, but I continue--
Upon being assailed by the orcs, Elendur asks Isildur about using the ring to their advantage, and Isildur admits that he is not strong enough to wield it (of course he says he has not yet found the strength, meaning it was a thought in his mind to use it, but we go on), and he admits that it should go to someone more powerful, i.e., "to the Keepers of the Three." Despite being under the Ring's influence, there is still much more wisdom in these thoughts than we maybe give Isildur credit for.
Now I want to turn the focus to Elendur, Isildur's son, because his heroics, though fleeting, are not sung of enough. Elendur, with his brothers dead or dying, and their company facing certain death, tells (nay, commands) his father to flee and take the ring to the Keepers, "even at the cost of abandoning your men and me". What bravery and sacrifice to take on certain death, as the heir to the crown, and let your father be the one to take a chance at escape! And Isildur's response:
"King's son, I knew that I must do so; but I feared the pain. Nor could I go without your leave. Forgive me, and my pride that has brought you to this doom."
Bro. ("King's son" like can't you hear his defeated voice as he beholds his son in the darkness amid death and battle and what will be his final hours???) Talk about heart-wrenching. Now maybe this isn't the point and I don't deny the influence of the ring over him, but here I see an Isildur who is not power-hungry or self-serving or completely consumed by desire for the ring like a wraith, but I see an Isildur who has realized the weight and danger of this ring, the death it has brought by his own pride, and an Isildur that has resolved to bring the ring to the Keepers, on the words of his son whom he is leaving for dead.
His son, "who should afterwards have been King, and as all foretold who knew him, in his strength and wisdom, and his majesty without pride, one of the greatest, the fairest of the seed of Elendil, most like to his grandsire." Sound like anyone familiar? Yep, Elrond thought so too (from the appendix): "those (such as Elrond) whose memories recalled him were struck by the great likeness to him, in body and mind, of King Elessar, the victor in the War of the Ring, in which both the Ring and Sauron were ended for ever."
And I love this addition in the appendix: "Elessar...was the descendant in the thirty-eighth degree of Elendur's brother Valandil. So long was it before he was avenged." I love that the sacrifice of Elendur is remembered here, and the thread between these two not broken.
Lastly, a note to the one who miraculously survived the slaughter that killed Elendur and his brothers. The esquire of Elendur, Estelmo. Yes, the one who overheard the parting words of Isildur and Elendur, who carried the history back with him, was named Estelmo. Another connection to the future King of Gondor, Estel, a name given him by Elrond.
I love this history, thank you for reading.
All quotes from Unfinished Tales by JRRT "Disaster of the Gladden Fields"
ok so WHY have I never heard of Elendur son of Isildur before now???
Expect to be hearing from me soon on this compelling 2-paragraph character that I have some thoughts about, and consequentially the entire series of events leading up to Isildur losing the one ring.
"But as the host of Fingolfin marched into Mithrim the Sun rose flaming in the West; and Fingolfin unfurled his blue and silver banners, and blew his horns, and flowers sprang beneath his marching feet, and the ages of the stars were ended."
— J.R.R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion, (Of the Return of the Noldor).
