|Titles||Steward of Gondor|
|Birth||T.A. 1879 |
|Death||T.A. 1998 (aged 119)|
|House||House of Húrin|
Pelendur was a descendant of Húrin of Emyn Arnen, an earlier Steward. All Stewards since Húrin had been chosen from among his descendants; after Pelendur the Stewardship became hereditary within the House of Húrin.
In T.A. 1944 King Ondoher and his two sons, Artamir and Faramir fell in battle north of the Morannon. With the king and all of his male heirs dead, Pelendur ruled Gondor until a new king could be selected. There were two claimants for the throne: Prince Arvedui of Arthedain and general Eärnil who had defeated both the army of Harad near the River Poros and the Wainriders in the Battle of the Camp.
Arvedui’s claim was based upon his descent from Isildur and upon his marriage to Fíriel, Ondoher’s only remaining child. Pelendur played the chief part in rejecting Arvedui's claim. He contended that the crown belonged to the heirs of Meneldil, son of Anárion, since Isildur had relinquished the realm of Gondor. Also, he stated that the heritage of royalty was reckoned only through the sons. Although Arvedui countered Pelendur with strong arguments, in the end the Council of Gondor chose Eärnil, by virtue of his outstanding victories and because he was of the royal house (to the Dúnedain of Gondor the realm in Arthedain seemed a small thing and all of them gave their support to Eärnil).
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