The following is a small scroll newly placed upon the Shelves of the Scholar's Stair. The Author you may not have heard of as anyone staying in Bree-town at this time, though the name is clearly Elvish. The hand-writing is neat with a quill-pen on parchment.
A Treatise on the Geneology of the Dúnedain
~ And ~
Their Spread of Elvish Blood to Men
By Finnasar
~ Abstract ~
In the ancient days, Man and Elf were much closer than they seem to be in contemporary times, putting aside ancestral relations. When one considers that the far-ancestor of the Dúnedain to be Finwë himself, and the unbroken line of generations since then, we are aroused to consider precisely how far has this blood-line spread, and how many Men living today may trace their lineage to this bloodline, and thus, to the Eldar of old.
~ Methods ~
Historical records are used to prove that the familial line is unbroken, as well as gleaning some insight into the inter-mingling of family lines and number of offspring which survive to reproduce, not to mention the spread of the Númenórians. However, as records are not complete re birth rate and so forth, inferences must be made using contemporary data.
~ Results ~
It is best to first draw attention to the aforementioned unbroken line, beginning with the Elf Finwë. What follows is a list of named descendants and any other appropriate data:
Finwë
Fingolfin
Turgon
Idril
Earendil
Elros
Vardamir Nolimon
Tar-Amandil
Tar-Elendil - last King of Numenor of this line
Silmarien
Valandil - First Lord of Andunie
Earendur - Fifteenth Lord of Andunie
Numendil - Seventeeth Lord of Andunie
Amandil - Eighteenth and Last Lord of Andunie
Elendil - First High King of Gondor and Arnor, and Dunedain
Isildur
Valandil
Eldacar
Arantar
Tarcil
Tarondor
Valandur
Elendur
Earendur
Amlaith
Beleg
Mallor
Celepharn
Celebrindor
Malvegil
Argeleb I
Arveleg I
Araphor
Argeleb II
Arvegil
Arveleg II
Araval
Aaraphant
Arvedui
Aranarth
Arahael
Aranuir
Aravir
Aragorn I
Araglas
Arahad I
Aragost
Aravorn
Arahad II
Arassuil
Arathorn I
Argonui
Arador
Arathorn II
Aragorn II
These records were kept safe in the libraries of Lord Elrond of Imladris as well as those libraries of Minas Tirith of Gondor. By this count, there are 69 generations between the contemporary King of the Dúnedain and the Elf Finwë, yet only 66 generations between the last pure-blood Elf Idril of the House of Fingolfin.
What follows is more speculation than fact, as the records beyond this point are not well-kept. Indeed, there are some Lords of Andunie that are not mentioned by name at all, and so the number of their children cannot be known. However, it is known that by the year 600 of the Second Age the Númenóreans had begun sailing to colonize Middle-earth, and that by the year 1800 they had dominated its shores, particularly in the South, the regions of Umbar and Haradwaith, and of Gondor. In the last years of the Second Age, the Faithful abandoned the doomed isle of Númenór and sailed East as well. We can see thus that the Men of Númenór have been populating the lands of Middle-earth throughout the Second Age.
If we take the minimum number of generations reasonable, that of 40, starting with the first High King of Gondor and Arnor Elendil, and we assume that each offspring took a mate outside of the family line, and that each mating produced two offspring, we would expect there to be an impossible number of 1.2 trillion Men living today who can trace their lineage back to this main line. If we assume a less reasonable two children for every three generations, with the aforementioned rules, we find there would still be over ten-thousand Men living today with Elvish blood in their veins.
We must consider not just the number of children born and survived to produce children of their own, but the geographical spread. It is clear that the Númenórean influence is strong in the South, particularly of Gondor and Haradwaith, but we know also the Dúnedain spread North, and still operate near Angmar and about Lake Evendim. We know also that many Dúnedain inter-bred with the Men of Bree-lands. Shall we predict they mingled with the Lossoth as well? Perhaps the Easterlings? If so, it is very reasonable to assume there are families, branches of this noble line, living in every corner of Middle-earth.
~ Conclusion ~
Given that the gaps in this information cannot ever be closed, due to missing records and so forth, the true answer cannot be known. However, when one considers the long lives of the Dúnedain and the sheer number of generations with which this splintering could have occurred, as well as the high numbers resulting from even the most unlikely scenario, reason dictates that it must be true: there must be thousands, nay, tens of thousands of Men living in Middle-earth who may claim heritage and familial relation with the House of Finwë.
The lives of Elf and Man are not so distant after all.
