By Oshun
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The brief biographical description of Tar-Vanimeldë found in Unfinished Tales is a loaded one, as notable for the details that it lacks as it is for the ones that are included. It raises as many questions as it answers. Tar-Vanimeldë, who was born in the year 2227, succeeded her father Tar-Telemmaitë to become the third and last of the Ruling Queens of Númenor: "The sixth King [Tar-Aldarion] left only one child, a daughter. She became the first Queen [i.e. Ruling Queen]; for it was then made a law of the royal house that the eldest child of the King, whether man or woman, should receive the sceptre."1
Of Númenor's twenty-five rulers over a period of 3,287 years, only three were women: Tar-Ancalimë, Tar-Telperiën, and Tar-Vanimeldë. (Tar-Míriel should have been in line to become a fourth Ruling Queen but her right to the throne was usurped from her by her spouse and cousin--the most infamous and last King Ar-Pharazô,n whose deeds of infamy resulted in the destruction of the island paradise.)2
Tar-Vanimeldë is said to have given
little heed to ruling, loving rather music and dance; and the power was wielded by her husband Herucalmo, younger than she, but a descendant of the same degree from Tar-Atanamir. Herucalmo took the sceptre upon his wife's death, calling himself Tar-Anducal, and withholding the rule from his son Alcarin; yet some do not reckon him in the Line of Kings as seventeenth, and pass to Alcarin.3
When I first read the above passage years ago, I thought, "Now there is an untold story that must involve some fascinating political maneuvering!" I tried to think of a real-life historical inspiration. There are many possibilities if one only consults English history and alone and does not even look into the usual myths and legends that Tolkien likes to add to the bones from which he makes his soup. Tolkien says in "On Fairy Stories,"
...I feel that it is more interesting, and also in its way more difficult, to consider what they [fairy tales] are, what they have become for us, and what values the long alchemic processes of time have produced in them. In Dasent's words I would say: 'We must be satisfied with the soup that is set before us, and not desire to see the bones of the ox out of which it has been boiled.'"4
Sorry, not sorry, Professor, I cannot resist stirring around in that pot and trying to find some of those bones. The best I could come up with is accounts of real-life female protagonists on the world stage like, for example, Eleanor of Aquitaine. Her history and historical fiction about her often feature her as being primarily notable for her promotion of music, poetry, and courtly love, when she was all about real power--a formidable political opponent, an inveterate plotter and fomenter of revolts, who outlasted her husbands who tried to rule around her and/or contain her. Is it possible that Tar-Vanimeldë was, instead of being an obsessively artsy-fartsy type (or even some kind of genius patron of the arts), one of those women with a great deal of interest in politics (too much perhaps for the men of her time)? Maybe Herucalmo was not simply stepping in to fill a political gap but to withhold power from her.
It appears extremely unlikely, in light of textual details, that her husband Herucalmo’s wielding power on her behalf was entirely benign. We are told that "Herucalmo took the sceptre upon his wife’s death, calling himself Tar-Anducal." It is further detailed that he withheld the right to rule from his own son Alcarin. Yet, when Herucalmo finally dies himself, his own right to be reckoned as seventeenth is taken from him and passed instead to Alcarin.5 Even if one assumes his wife had no desire to take upon herself the responsibilities of governance, then one is led to wonder why he prevented his son from automatically succeeding her as ruler upon her death, if, indeed, Herucalmo served merely as a type of chief minister on his wife’s behalf for the duration of her reign as Ruling Queen.
Pejorative vocabulary choices within the Unfinished Tales’ texts might tip one off, at the very least, to a hunger for power upon the part of Herucalmo (i.e., that something was indeed rotten in the state of Númenor). Twice in the Index in Unfinished Tales the term usurp is used to describe his assumption of rule upon her death. First,
*Herucalmo Husband of Tar-Vanimeldë, the third Ruling Queen of Númenor; after her death usurped the throne, taking the name of Tar-Anducal.
And, again, later:
*Tar-Anducal Name taken as Ruler of Númenor by Herucalmo, who usurped the throne on the death of Tar-Vanimeldë his wife.6
While working on this biography, I sought to engage various writers and friends within the Tolkien fandom on their interpretations of Tar-Vanimeldë (and read a fair bit of the readily available fanfiction and discussions focusing upon her).7 In a discussion on my own Dreamwidth page, Oloriel offered some cogent insights:
I've seen various interesting interpretations of Tar-Vanimeldë - one in which she genuinely didn't care for politics, but did a lot for the arts, which just wasn't valued by the chroniclers, for example, and another one in which Vanimeldë actually did all the work, but governed through Herucalmo (basically she pretended to be absent from politics and leave it all to him, but all his policies were her own, she just didn't want to have them all contested simply because she was a woman, and found it easier to let Herucalmo put his face forward). Both were compelling interpretations, and there are probably more.8
We do read in Unfinished Tales, however, that Herucalmo refused to relinquish the sceptre to their son and clung to it until his death twenty years later, choosing his own regnal name. In subsequent histories of the Kings of Númenor, Herucalmo (aka Tar-Anducal) is removed as the seventeenth ruler, and that ranking is instead given to his son Tar-Alcarin as the rightful heir of Tar-Vanimeldë.
These are the names of the Kings and Queens of Númenor: Elros Tar-Minyatur, Vardamir, Tar-Amandil, Tar-Elendil, Tar-Meneldur, Tar-Aldarion, Tar-Ancalimë (the first Ruling Queen), Tar-Anárion, Tar-Súrion, Tar-Telperiën (the second Queen), Tar-Minastir, Tar-Ciryatan, Tar-Atanamir the Great, Tar-Ancalimon, Tar-Telemmaitë, Tar-Vanimeldë (the third Queen), Tar-Alcarin, Tar-Calmacil, Tar-Ardamin.9
Tar-Vanimeldë is at least given posthumous recognition as one of Númenor’s Ruling Queens and monarchs, no matter the reason or degree to which Herucalmo tried to appropriate that birthright during her lifetime and immediately after her death.
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