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How Old do the Dunedian Women Marry?
http://arwen-undomiel.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=13220
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Author:  Ashwise [ December 27th, 2006, 10:37 pm ]
Post subject:  How Old do the Dunedian Women Marry?

Just wondering, how old do you think a Dunedain woman must be in order to marry. I saw it in The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen and it dosen't say. I'm guessing around Thirty.

Author:  Princess of Ithilien [ December 27th, 2006, 11:43 pm ]
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Thirty??? Oh, that's right! I was mixing up Dunadain with Gondorian. You mean because of the extended life span? That's a good question.

Author:  Aerandir [ December 28th, 2006, 7:30 am ]
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Just the fact that their lifespans are extended doesn't change how early they can marry. I'd say closer to 25.

Author:  Princess of Ithilien [ December 28th, 2006, 5:59 pm ]
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I suppose...

So, like, when Aragorn is around 90 years old, but looks in his 40's, because he is a Dunadain. That doesn't affect his maturity suchlike?

[I'm struggling to get across what I want to say...]

I'm trying to relate this to hobbits, who live longer, and grow more slowly. For instant hobbits live around 100 years. That evens out, according to the book, to 20's=teens [hence tweens]. Humans generally marry around 20's-30's [although there are several cases that are above and below that frame], but a hobbit wouldn't marry in what would be the equivalent of teenagers, would they? [Sam was in his mid-thirties when he married Rosie]

Wouldn't the same concept apply to the Dunadain [who live to over 200 years old]?

Author:  Aerandir [ December 29th, 2006, 4:28 pm ]
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I think the Dunédain mature at the same rate as the rest of us normal humans, they just don't age so rapidly once they're past they've stopped growing.

Author:  tindomerel [ December 30th, 2006, 10:26 am ]
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I see what you mean Princess of Ithilien, and I think personally, that you may be right. I mean look at Aragorn... yes he was waiting for events to come, but he and Arwen were in love for many years before they finally married. I think the lives of such Rangers would equal an older ago of marriage, I mean they're like traveling soldiers, protecting the realm, wandering... so yes I don't see them marrying at 20 years old, but more like 30-40's, after they've helped in a few quests as it were and had time to grow into their adulthood and role- not as in maturity but as in experience as their race, before settling down.

Author:  Aerandir [ December 30th, 2006, 10:35 am ]
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I'd say it really depends on personal choice--whether or not they wish to get married young. If the person they want to marry (if he's a Dunédain, that is) feels that he should remain single until a certain time, well, that's a personal decision.

However, if the Dunédain woman wants to marry a non-Dunédain human, which means a normal lifespan, and they were born at the same time, she probably wouldn't wait that long. It really depends on the person their marrying. With Aragorn & Arwen, it didn't really matter how long they waited, since Arwen was immortal, and Aragorn would live for a couple hundred years anyways. With other Dunédain, who didn't have such a huge agenda against Mordor, who weren't required to travel all over the place, etc., they might choose to marry earlier.

Author:  [ December 30th, 2006, 11:24 am ]
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^Well said Aerandir. I was browsing the thread earlier and wanted to say something like that but the words wouldn't place themselves in coherent sentences!
Also it surprises me that none of the Tolkien-scholars around haven't backed this up with a quote from the letters of Tolkien. This seems to be one of the things the professor would have written about...
But so far I agree that the Dunedain would have probably married when they felt like it, perhaps a little later than ordinary humans. I see no reason why they shouldn't :-)

Author:  Aerandir [ December 30th, 2006, 1:30 pm ]
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Thanks, Ea.

To elaborate on my previous statement (and hopefully make it clearer), I think that the Dunédain would fall in love as young as any of us might, but they have a lot longer of a lifespan, so they could choose when they want to get married (if they want to get married), etc. Just because they live longer doesn't mean it's longer before they fall in love. Some of them might live years before they did so, but others might wish to get married when they were as young as 18 or something.

Author:  Princess of Ithilien [ December 30th, 2006, 11:18 pm ]
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I could see that...

Yeah, that seems reasonable. Ok, sticking with that explanation.

Author:  Shadowcat [ January 8th, 2007, 12:53 am ]
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ok, that's what i was going to say. *pout* idea stealer =P

Author:  Aerandir [ January 8th, 2007, 5:02 am ]
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I do that all the time :) Nice new banner, btw.

Author:  Hanasian [ January 15th, 2007, 10:24 pm ]
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The only reference that comes to my mind on age and marriage of the Dúnedain is in the appendices in the back of the book Return of the King. In Appendix A, Part V titled Tale of Aragorn and Arwen it says:

'Arador was the grandfather of the King. His son Arathorn sought in marriage Gilraen the Fair, daughter of Dírhael, who was himself a descendant of Aranarth (who was the son of Arvedui and the first Chieftain of the Dúnedain). To this marriage Dírhael was opposed: for Gilraen was young and had not reached the age at which the women of the Dúnedain were accustomed to marry.
' "Moreover," he said, " Arathorn is a stern man of full age, and will be chieftain sooner than men looked for; yet my heart forebodes he will be shortlived."
'But Ivorwen, his wife, who was foresighted, answered, "The more need of haste! The days are darkening before the storm, and great things are to come. If these two wed now, hope may be born for our people; but if they delay, it will not come while this age lasts."


In Appendix B - Tale of Years it states that Gilraen was born in the year 2907 and married Arathorn in the year 2929, making Gilraen 22 years old. Aragorn II was born March 1, 2931, and Arathorn was slain in 2933 at sixty years of age. So Arathorn was 56 and Gilraen was 22 and that was considered not reaching the accustomed age to marry. What the accustomed age was is open to speculation.

Of course they could fall in love in the teen years, for Aragorn was only 20 when he was smitten by the sight of Arwen.
;)

Author:  Aerandir [ January 16th, 2007, 4:18 am ]
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Thanks, Hanasían--it's been a while since I read that part, so it was rather useful.

Author:  Hanasian [ August 28th, 2007, 10:10 pm ]
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You're welcome! :)

Any other speculation on this?

Author:  Aerandir [ August 31st, 2007, 10:23 am ]
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Well, once again, I think it comes down to personal choice, because by the time of Aragorn, I think the Elvish blood was really faint and weak--and after being immersed in mere human cultures for so long, I think that they would lean towards human customs, too. So I still think it comes down to personal choice on when to marry, etc.

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