The mounted knights of Dol Amroth and Belfalas, who rode beneath the blue-and-white swan-ship banner of the Princes of Dol Amroth. These knights came from the nobility of Belfalas, and are described as tall, dark-haired and grey-eyed, being descended in large part from the ancient Númenóreans (and, it was rumoured, also carrying Elvish blood in their veins).1
During the War of the Ring, PrinceImrahil led a company of his swan-knights to the defence of Minas Tirith, accompanied by seven hundred men at arms, and they played an important part in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. It was the swan-knights of Belfalas who led the sortie that rescued Faramir early in the engagement, and later in the battle they rode out once again in the vanguard of Gondor's armies, riding to fight in the final defeat of Sauron's forces.
After the Battle, when the Captains of the West set out to force a confrontation with the Dark Lord, Imrahil and his swan-knights followed them on the hopeless journey to the Black Gate of Mordor. As the Morannon opened they made their last stand alongside the other soldiers of Gondor and the Riders of Rohan, but were saved from destruction when the Ring was unmade and Sauron'sDark Tower fell.
Notes
1 | It is known that there was a strain of the blood of the Elves in the line of the Princes of Dol Amroth (from the Elf-maiden Mithrellas) but rumours of Elvish descent extended beyond the direct line of the Princes to the knights and nobles of Belfalas. Given that Mithrellas'half-elven children Galador and Gilmith were born twenty generations before the War of the Ring, it is indeed perfectly possible that some among the swan-knights could also claim distant descent from the Elf-maid Mithrellas. |
See also...
Battle of the Pelennor Fields, The Ship and the Silver Swan
Indexes:
About this entry:
- Updated 13 July 2017
- Updates planned: 1
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