#vorondil

*Tolkien wrote of the foundation of the Stewardship:

The Kings of Gondor had no doubt had “stewards” from an early time, but these were only minor officials ... He [Húrin of Emyn Arnen] was evidently the chief officer under the crown, prime counsellor of the King, and at appointment endowed with the right to assume vice-regal status [note: that is, the status of a viceroy or regent granted the powers and responsibilities of the king in his absence], and assist in determining the choice of heir to the throne, if this became vacant in his time. These functions all of his descendants inherited.

**Except the very elderly, obviously—but otherwise, every described Dúnadan of Gondor has dark or black hair (Boromir's is dark and longish by his death, while Faramir's is black and likely longer). Nearly all described Southern Dúnedain have grey eyes as well, including Boromir, Faramir, their uncle Imrahil, random soldiers, Rangers, messengers, etc, while Denethor has dark, glowing eyes (the color unknown). The members of the House of the Stewards, specifically including Boromir, also have enough of Elros's blood to inherit his beardlessness.

Hello everyone: Today I’m sharing a coloured sketch of my boy Vorondil! I played him during a DnD oneshot about the Fall of Gondolin and I had so much fun that I decided to draw him a few years after the events.

Genus : bovine

Name meaning : wild ox of Oromë

History : Legends claimed they were descendants from Oromë's personal herd of cattle, so they were named Kine of Araw (Araw being the sindarin form of Oromë). They were the quarry of Vorondil the hunter, an ancestor of the ruling stewards of Gondor, and it was he who cut the horn from a kine and made the Great horn out of it, that would later be used by Boromir before his death.

Description : They're barely described at all, save for a brief mention of 'wild white kine' in the appendices of the Lord of the rings, which seems to hint that eventually the Kine of Araw in middle Earth became a sub-species found only "near the Sea of Rhûn" as opposed to being pure Kine of Araw. Which is also supported by the consistent use of the phrase 'wild kine/ox' when describing the history of Boromir's horn. They're also said to be hardier and wilder than any other species of ox in middle Earth.

Influences : In an unpublished manuscript in the Bodleian library, tolkien likens the wild kine to aurochs, an extinct wild ox species that domestic cattle stem from.

Similar species to use as a reference :

Aurochs

"These are a little below the elephant in size, and of the appearance, color, and shape of a bull. Their strength and speed are extraordinary; they spare neither man nor wild beast which they have espied. These the Germans take with much pains in pits and kill them. The young men harden themselves with this exercise and practice themselves in this sort of hunting, and those who have slain the greatest number of them, having produced the horns in public, to serve as evidence, receive great praise." - Julius Caesar describing aurochs in his History of the Gallic War.

Since aurochs had been extinct at the time tolkien lived and so little is mentioned about the wild Kine of Araw, its impossible to know how closely tolkien imagined the two species to look, however there are a number of breeds that still exist today that have similar colouring, confirmation and behaviour to both aurochs and wild kine of Araw.

Pajuna cattle

The closest living relative to aurochs in the world, certain lineages are thought to share similar colours and markings with the aurochs and they share the same forward facing horns. They're extremely hardy cattle that have adapted to harsh living conditions.

Heck cattle

Bred by Heinz and Lutz Heck to be a modern auroch in the 1920s - 1930s, they naturally share alot of traits with the aurochs, they are one of the largest breeds in the world and are extremely aggressive, but they are still smaller than an actual auroch

Indian Gaur

One of the largest and most aggressive breeds of wild cattle, if left undisturbed they are more wary of humans but when in regular / semi-regular contact with humans they become aggressive. They've been known to charge without provocation, kill domestic cattle in fights and there's even been reports of them killing tigers.

Chianina

The largest breed of cow in the world, and is also white which technically makes them closer to the canonical description of the wild kine of Araw than others mentioned. They are more docile than the others on this list, due to working closely with humans and being bred for farm work (pulling carts, ploughing etc)

the line of elros ❖ stewards of gondor ❖ headcanon disclaimer

Both seem clearly associated with spiritual power, Malbeth with foresight, the Stewards with the ability to read the hearts and minds of others (going by Denethor and Faramir at least).

But the key difference it seems is that for all their spiritual power, the Húrinionath are pragmatists at heart, and seem to have a flair for the political. Malbeth on the other hand doesn't seem to know or care (telling the king to name his son last king is not a good way to inspire confidence in your dynasty!)

I also find it interesting that the decision for the Dúnedain that Malbeth talks about, is arguably the one taken by Pelendur. Putting Eärnil II on the throne of Gondor. The more hopeful, pragmatic choice, the one a Steward would always take regardless of signs and omens.