#gondor headcanons

[baccarry]

Headcanon Gondor/Rohan. Marriage – Rules and Personal Quarters

Main Meeting Place:

Gondor: Among the nobility of Gondor (especially in Minas Tirith and larger cities), intimate and family life typically revolves around the wife’s quarters. The wife, as the keeper of the family hearth, is considered to "receive" her husband in her space and has the authority to decide whether to admit him or not.

Rohan: A nobleman in Rohan might own a spacious wooden hall (reminiscent of a "mead hall") where his household and companions gather for feasts. His personal "sleeping quarters" are often small annexes nearby or a designated corner of the hall. Husbands and wives often share one bed (a pallet or a bench placed against a warm wall). Only in cases of extended campaigns, large feasts, or hosting guests (when the lord may sleep directly in the great hall with his retainers) do the husband and wife sleep apart.

Permission for Intimacy:

Gondor: In the wife’s quarters, there is usually a guard or, at the very least, a personal servant or chambermaid who acts as a "gatekeeper." This person ensures security and protects the lady’s reputation. For the husband to visit his wife, his visit must be arranged—a sign or word of approval indicating that the wife is "ready and willing to see him."

Rohan: Women in Rohan do not hold formal ceremonies or rituals for such occasions—there are no guards at their doors or servants controlling the husband’s access. The communal lifestyle naturally assumes that decisions about privacy are made personally by the spouses themselves.

Taboo During Menstruation and Pregnancy:

Gondor: Traditionally, during what noblewomen consider "delicate periods" (such as menstruation or later stages of pregnancy), the husband is not allowed to visit his wife’s quarters at night. This practice is intended to ensure the woman’s comfort and rest and reflects the ceremonial approach of the Gondorian elite toward "purity" and "protecting the heir."

Rohan: While there are no formal barriers to the husband visiting his wife, families may follow an unspoken rule: "Do not disturb if the person is unwell or resting." This is resolved on a personal level, not through official "permissions." However, during periods of "uncleanness," a woman might be excused from work and relocate to a separate space where she can rest and recover. Relatives and neighbors often assist with household chores during this time.

Exclusive Territory of the Husband’s Quarters:

Gondor: The husband may also have his own quarters or even an entire wing where he keeps his weapons, conducts business, or meets with other men of his circle. While wives are not officially prohibited from entering, many women never visit this space; among the Gondorian nobility, it is often considered "exclusively male territory."

Rohan: In Rohan, men’s and women’s spaces are not strictly separated. Even if the husband has a personal workshop or armory, it is considered part of the shared household, and the wife can enter when needed. Rohan generally approaches family space more democratically, reflecting their communal way of life.

[parma-formenorion]

hc + ✂️ for a hair-themed headcanon | Gondorians

Gondorian women wear their hair long. Hair extensions aren't particularly widespread, and are in some periods, looked down on. Hair care products and services is a large cottage industry for women, particularly in the cities. Veiling is common after puberty, however not particularly expected outside of formal settings. Most women veil regularly after marriage, or failing that, around the age of 35 or so, depending on class. Veils are some what different for younger, unmarried or recently married women - simpler and often more sheer. A married woman's veil, particularly that of one who has been married for a while, tends to be more complex, sometimes including stiff hats or bands underneath to give the veil more shape. A variety of hats, caps and bonnets are also used, depending on geography, season, age and rank.

Short hair in men is seen as youthful, and particularly short hair is a usually sign of active military service. Men, particularly men of rank, will often grow out their hair as they get older, as longer hair on men, particularly as it goes grey, is seen as a sign of maturity and authority. A range of caps and hats are also used by men and head coverings of some kind are generally expected.

Most Men of Gondor have dark hair - blond hair occurs in small numbers in some places bordering Rohan, and a range of light brown to dark blond occurs in some mountain communities, particularly those to the West, also in small numbers. Black hair is associated with Númenórian heritage, though there isn't a particularly strong correlation in any real sense.

[byrobird]

My toxic tolkien trait is to draw boromir as if he survived and lived through all the Lotr events

[mushroomates]

thinking about boromir again

how does gondor grieve? it’s a dying country in it of itself, can anyone make the distinction between tragedies? how many men have fallen, and who buries the dead? where are the mass graves, the unmarked tombs, how many bodies lay beneath the eroded soil?

was there ever time, with the end of the world crashing down, to lay a flower on the grave of a loved one. did you mourn the men who fought for their country, or the country that fell along side them. is it easier to grieve the kingdom, or its people?

when aragorn reigns king, arwen is surrounded by death. i wonder what its like to loose an afterlife and be reminded of its contrary every day. she didn’t grow up with death like many of gondor did.

when boromir was a boy, he saw men fall. he grew up too fast, with his brother at his side, even though boromir tried to shield him by standing in front. all he knew was war. all he wanted was to end it.

he left everything behind to go on a journey so far from home with a slim, almost none, chance of success. to fight side by side with your begrudgingly rightful king, with a wizard, with an immortal elf seemingly untouchable. with the hobbit who’s entrusted with a power you perceive to be the solution to your problems.

it’s a wonder he wasn’t more resentful. the fellowship was full with things he was envious of. the hobbits easy life must have come as a shock, and i wonder if that’s why he wanted to protect them. meet people untouched by war, who have never fought nor gone hungry. he did not hate them for what they had, but wanted to protect them from the harsh reality he grew up with.

boromir is so inherently good it hurts. this man deserved to see the world he fought so hard for. his body lies so far yet so close from his homeland, from his brother. his final resting place is unfamiliar. he never got to go back home.

[inthehouseoffinwe]

So there’s a note in the Silm saying the Noldolantë was made ‘ere Maglor was lost’ which is why they know about it. So I think it’s safe to say he wrote and finished it before that final silmaril run.

I’m thinking he wrote it and before Elrond and Elros went to Gil Galad, they took a copy each. Maybe Maglor wrote it at their request. Maybe he sent it with them to make sure history wasn’t forgotten. Maybe they wrote it down as he sang in the empty rooms his little brothers once slept.

I think Elrond kept his copy close to his heart, hidden away for a time it would be safe to reveal. I think he would insert verses here and there in his own songs, until the entire thing was split over a hundred different pieces. I think he didn’t reveal it until he got to Rivendell, where he had several copies made.

I think Elros made his copy public, and it was well known across Numenor for many a year, until like many other things, it was lost in the Drowning. Possibly a little before when they wanted to distance themselves from the elves. I think it didn’t come back to Gondor and Arnor until Aragorn became king, a song he’d heard since childhood carefully transcribed in Elrond’s own hand.

With three verses added at the end.

One for Maedhros, lost to the fire.

One for Maglor, lost at sea.

And a final verse for Celebrimbor, caught in the Doom despite his kindness.

No wonder the Noldolantë didn’t make it into Pengolodh’s writings.

[anghraine]

I know that Boromir is explicitly compared to King Eärnur and I know why, but my baseless personal headcanon is that he's not that much of a fan of a king who got himself killed in tactically asinine circumstances rather than prioritizing his people, particularly when the end result of Eärnur's life choices is Boromir himself carrying the weight of protecting Gondor. Boromir's true icon is Tar-Telperiën, the proud unmarried queen who firmly maintained Númenórean autonomy and priorities, but who was the actual ruler when Númenórean forces first showed up on the coast of Lindon to save the Elves and kick Sauron back to Mordor.

The line about Boromir only being interested in lore when it came to military things—well, kicking Sauron's ass out of all of Eriador and forcing him to desperately flee counts as military lore! I imagine that Boromir knows and loves that story down to the most granular tactical details recorded. Whenever some hidebound loremaster goes on about Tar-Telperiën's reign being a period of total disengagement from Middle-earth's problems while Númenor only interceded under Tar-Minastir, Boromir goes from zzzzzz to "well AKSHUALLY" in about a quarter second.

(This is also aro-ace leadership solidarity in my mind, but mostly because Boromir thinks Telperiën's successful navigation of bullshit politics without marrying, while finding time to orchestrate the defeat of Sauron's armies, is awesome.)

[iamnotshazam]

Aragorn and Arwen have their son Eldarion twenty years after their wedding, and at least two or more daughters. That's the extent of canon info about their family after LotR. If we're going by what Tolkien's ghost would think is canonical pseudo-medieval gender roles, that's twenty years where the Reunited Kingdom has no heir.

Which is fine for Peredhel-turned-mortal Arwen, when elves can go centuries between having kids, and Dúnadan Aragorn, who knows he's got another 80-100 years in the tank before he *coughs politely* can't empty the tank. The Arnor Dúnedain, who for generations as an entire people have been crashing on Elrond's couch while larping at still having a kingdom, would understand this intuitively. But the people of Gondor (only a small percentage of which I think are Dúnedain?) may not quiiiiite understand this, not completely internalized it.

So they are hovering around Arwen, this beautiful alien creature that just landed in their backyard and snapped up the most available bachelor before he even came on the market, and she sometimes says outrageous things like "oh, I remember King Eärendur's wife liked this cookie recipe" and the servants and guests at tea cannot help but share a Look because that was 2160+ years ago, and does someone have to ask her if . . . if she knows what sex is?

In a pseudo medieval society it is the queen's duty to bear an heir, but like, she was raised an elf. Can we pressure her like we do our own kind into having grandbabies ASAP, or will she turn us into frogs? It's possible there are women who go through their entire reproductive years in between when Arwen has these kids. If Eldarion is her first then gossip in Minas Tirith for those twenty years must have been insane, waiting for an heir. Do elves even breed like we do? Did Beren and Lúthien spawn Dior Eluchíl in a pond? Did Tuor have to carry Eärendil like a seahorse? Do we have to catch a stork in the cabbage patch? Is Aragorn gonna have to lay eggs? What's the hold up?

[wakingupthetrees]

do you think boromir found out about hobbits becoming adults at 33 and immediately thought that gondor should Get On That

Boromir: you're the king right

Aragorn: yeah?

Boromir: i have a suggestion

[zepskies]

LOTR/THE HOBBIT MASTERLIST

(**Notes 18+ only and/or smut)

Aragorn

One-Shots:

One Promise After the battle at Helm’s Deep, you find it difficult to enjoy the victory feast. Aragorn notices your melancholy and tries to comfort you.

Eomer

One-Shots:

As Tradition Dictates** - Coming soon! Your marriage to the Third Marshal of the Mark has been arranged, in the hopes of renewing political ties between Rohan and Gondor. The morning after the ceremony, your new husband continues to defy your expectations.

Thranduil

One-Shots:

Coming soon...

Haldir

One-Shots:

Coming soon...

Main Masterlist

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[an-unexpected-sideblog]

In the LOTR books, Frodo hands Aragorn’s crown* to Gandalf at the Minas Tirith coronation. In the Jackson film, it’s Gimli. There’s plenty of good Doyalist explanations for this change, but please consider my Watsonian headcanon based on the following facts:

- Gimli is kin of the King of Erebor, and must accordingly be a high-ranking representative to have been sent to the Rivendell council meeting

- Gimli is the only dwarf at the coronation

- Thus, by rights, it would probably be more politically polite for Gimli to stand off to the side looking regal and official - the way Legolas does with a small group of (presumably) Greenwood elves

- A foreign noble handing off the crown could be seen as politically dicey at best or insulting at worst, to either or both parties

UNLESS (unless…)

- Consider that there hasn’t been an actual king in Gondor for nearly one thousand years (!!)

- No Steward would have worn the kings’ crown

- You gotta put something official on the new king

- Doesn’t that crown look an awful lot like the guard helmets? Not particularly ancestral or ornate?

My headcanon is that Gimli forged Aragorn’s crown himself. His smithing would be unparalleled by any Man in Minas Tirith, and he likely insisted on offering the work of his own hands to Gandalf/Aragorn as a proud craftsman! That would be his honor to provide and present such a gift for his friend.

(*In the books it’s stated that the previous Gondorian king left the crown in the royal tombs before he went off and died in battle, so later Faramir could pass that same crown to Aragorn. Known jock King Ëarnur sounds too impulsive to do that to me, but regardless, that’s official book canon! And ofc Gimli doesn’t even hand the crown off in the books, so this is all just Movie Conjecture.)

[sotwk]

Help I just watched the last episode of season 1 of The Gilded Age and now I'm stuck staring off into space daydreaming about waltzing around a ballroom with Boromir again.

[skeleton-in-a-cupboard]

Reblog if you think Boromir would OBIVIOUSLY date a bookworm

[teaandspite]

My Fourth Age Aragorn headcanon is that between ‘The hands of the king are the hands of a healer’ and Aragorn being raised in Rivendell by Elrond, Aragorn takes healthcare very seriously and personally. After a certain point, half of Minas Tirith knows that if the High King of Arnor and Gondor disappears for a few hours, he probably got called in over a tricky case. Up until that point, there’s a lot of running around panicking because where is the King he was supposed to be meeting with the Ambassador of Harad?? And the answer is Aragorn is technically still meeting with the Ambassador of Harad, they’re just in the houses of healing because he didn’t like the sound of the man’s cough and decided to do something about it.

[velvet4510]

Headcanon time:

King Elessar restored Númenor’s policy of absolute primogeniture in the line of succession to the Gondorian throne.

Thus, King Eldarion, who had two daughters and no sons, was eventually succeeded on the throne by his eldest. She was named Minyarían (minya = ‘first’; rían = ‘queen’) because she was destined from birth to indeed be the First Queen regnant.

And Queen Minyarían was later succeeded on the throne by her son, King Iorhael (Quenya for ‘Frodo’).

[mushroomates]

some boromir headcanons

he likes to eat spicy food. he cannot handle the spice, but keeps eating it anyways.

he stays up during merry and pippin’s watches during the night. half because he wants to keep them awake and give them company, half because he’s pretty sure they wont be paying attention.

best hugs. he will kind of pick u up while he hugs u.

would wear a fanny pack.

his favorite food is chicken. he likes any kind of chicken. also likes apples.

decent story teller. can recall gondor’s history easy. when he starts talking about it, he becomes very passionate and has been known to yell or cry while retelling events.

carries around a packet of dirt from gondor around with him for good luck.

tried to make his own brew. went blind for a little bit after trying it. gimli fuckin loves it tho, tried it at gondor and brought a batch with him.

has dogs. took in a stray while patrolling the city, named him Minas. Minas lived a long and happy life, and afterwards Faramir brought him a puppy who he named Ithil.

he is also allergic to dogs. insists otherwise.

his men call him “big brother boromir” behind his back. he pretends not to know.

once pippin called him dad and he coasted on that high for weeks

afraid of heights. will not admit it.

great with babies. would carry faramir around. his dad let him even though boromir was only five at the time, and faramir would try and wiggle out of his arms.

he whittles!!! or carves. works with wood. he made little trinkets for the hobbits in his spare time during the journey. he made pippin a little wooden dog and merry a rabbit because merrys kinda afraid of dogs. he made a bill the pony for sam after moria and was working on a cat for frodo before he passed away. it was in his pocket, half made. the didn’t spot it before he sailed away.

made faramir toys when they were younger- whole barnyard full of animals and some important gondor land marks. also a mini version of their family. faramir passed this down to pippin, who passed it down to his kids. it’s now a family heirloom.

dyslexic. faramir would read to him while he carved trinkets and such.

the fellowship goes out of their way to visit this shrine. he also has one in gondor, rivendell, and just outside of lorien.

boromir tried to teach merry and pippin wood carving once. pippins carving tools were quickly confiscated but merry learned how to make a boat.

merry officially took up wood carving after his death. he makes little boats for the hobbitlings and they have a race every summer down stream.

he also taught the hobbits how to make said boats, so when they’re older they hold the race themself. afterwards, they take the winning boat down to the graveyard.

boromir has a grave in the shire that the hobbits put gifts on, including said boats. it’s on the edge of the forest by the river. the fellowship all come to visit. some things left include: flowers, hot sauce, wooden toys, notes, homemade jam, pretty rocks, and some of farmer maggot’s produce. farmer maggot does not know of this.

[inthehouseoffinwe]

HCs about Aragorn and Arwen’s kids!

Eldarion is tired oldest brother to five or six younger sisters and gives the blandest look when people say he’s ‘lucky it’s not boys.’ I mean. Have you met their parents? The girls are total terrors when they want to be.

Identical twin daughters. Need I say more?

One of their daughters has silver hair courtesy of Celebrian, and the other a beautiful gold from Gilraen. Their hair *gleams* in lamplight to something definitely not human.

Eldarion is Responsible Older Brother TM but leave him with Elboron and Elfwine and all hell breaks loose. Best friend chaos trio since they were born.

One of the girls takes a liking to Rohan and spends several years there with Éomer and Lothíriel

Elrond’s foresight allowed him to see all of Estel and Arwen’s children and he wrote several letters to each of them before he left so they know their grandfather loves them.

All of them learn healing fighting and battle strategy. Plants are easier for tiny kids to handle than wooden swords. And it’s important to emphasise that yes their job is to keep the kingdoms safe, but more importantly to help heal their people.

Éowyn is the only one who can wrangle all of them other than their parents. Faramir tries but collapses under ‘pleeeaaaase Uncle Faramir!’ *insert puppy dog eyes*

All the parents look after all the kids. Éomer, Lothíriel, Éowyn, Faramir, Aragorn, Arwen. They’ll close with all the children and collectively parent them

Legolas is a common visitor. Gimli comes as much as he can. They’re both enablers for chaos and subsequently favourites.

Elladan and Elrohir can’t visit as often as they like, now managing Rivendell’s final affairs. But the kids do visit Imladris a couple of times and whilst it’s a little emptier than in Aragorn’s youth, it still holds the warmth of the Last Homely House. Eldarion is particularly taken with it.

Glorfindel and Erestor are vindicated Elrond’s children have to deal with their own chaotic kids. They are also enablers. Glorfindel trains them while they’re there and follows them back to Gondor for some time until he’s happy with their progress. He comes again when they’re older and heading out.

Eldarion’s a history nerd. I take no argument.

Yes his sisters make fun of him for it. But Eru help anyone else who dared do the same

Elboron and Elfwine, and their siblings are the exceptions

Agree? Disagree? Got any of your own? Add them on! I’ll probably make a pt2 at some point.