Imrahil

[Manwe Sulimo]

Imrahil, the Prince of Dol Amroth in Gondor, is the center of a question that has been bouncing around in my head ever since I had reread Return of the King.

At length they came to the Prince Imrahil, and Legolas looked at him and bowed low; for he saw that here indeed was one who had elven-blood in his veins. 'Hail, lord!' he said. 'It is long since the people of Nimrodel left the woodlands of Lórien, and yet still one may see that not all sailed from Amroth's haven west over water.'

But if

There were three unions of the Eldar and the Edain: Lúthien and Beren; Idhril and Tuor; Arwen and Aragorn. By the last the long-sundered branches of the Half-elven were reunited and their line was restored.

than where did Imrahil's elven blood come from? He was a "kinsman of the steward", so his family was originally from Númenor, so he must be descended from either Elros or an unrecorded union of Dúnedain and Elf. If he was descended from Elros, then he was also an Heir of one of the Kings of Númenor (not Silmariën, but another sibling of a King). So, if the Heir of Anarión (Eärnur) and the Heir of Isildur (the fathers of Aragorn) were both killed, wouldn't Imrahil be next in the line of succesion? I'm really confused....

[ July 29, 2002: Message edited by: Manwe Sulimo ]

[Daniel Telcontar]

Imrahil's elven blood comes from the elves that lived in Anfalas, with whom Amroth stayed with when he waited on Nimrodel. When it says that there is only three unions between men and Eldar, then the words excludes silvan elves, and it is most likely that Imrahil's ancestor were a silvan elf.

[Manwe Sulimo]

But Silvan elves were Eldar. (Silvan = Nandor = Teleri = Eldar)

[Dimaldaeon]

Imrahil's elven blood comes from when one of the Elves in Nimrodel's company married his great great (something) grandfather.

[Ravenna]

Quote from the index of The Silmarillion.
Silvan Elves - Also called Woodland elves. They appear to have been in origin those Nandorin Elves who never passed west of the Misty Mountains, but remained in the Vale of Anduin and Greenwood the Great.
The Nandor were those elves who turned back from the great journey. Although Teleri in origin, they cannot be counted as part of the Eldar, as they never travelled to Valinor or saw the light of the two trees.
Thus if Amroth were descended from a union of mortal and one of these elves, it would not be a union of mortal and Eldar, just mortal and elf and so have nothing to do with the three great marriages mentioned.
Also don't forget that Legolas was himself a silvan elf from Mirkwood, and could therefore have recognised a very distant kinship. There, I think I've rambled enough, hope I made myself clear.

[Legolas]

It is speculative that there is a fourth union, one between Imrazor (a man of Numenorean blood from Gondor) and Mithrellas(a Silvan elf who, speculatively also, was a friend of Nimrodel). The Princes of Dol Amroth all descended from this union.

It probably isn't counted with the three as Ravenna just indicated.

[ July 29, 2002: Message edited by: Legalos ]

[Tarthang]

That it is apparent Imrahil has elvish blood, just means that his bloodlines are more strongly Numenorien than most. Which means somewhere in his family tree he is a descendant of Elros. Although it may be possible that he had both Noldor and Teleri ancestry.
As far as the title of Prince, his bloodlines may have made him a possible claimant to the throne of Gondor. (I'm at work and don't have anything handy to reference, in order to summarize why Gondor remained under the rule of the steward's, but JRRT explains this in the appendixes of ROTK I believe). Although it may be a title similiar in rank to that of a Duke, whereas "Prince" means of royal blood, opposed to a lesser noble bloodline.
Or, given that Dol Amroth is a principality of Gondor, Prince may be the titular denomination given to the heads of Gondorian principalities, whom more than likely had royal blood, or a type of lesser King. Which opens up the possibility for more than one Gondorian "Prince."

[*Varda*]

Accoding to the same traditions Galador was the son of Imrazor the Numenorean, who dwelt in Belfalas, and the Elven lady Mithrellas. She was one of the companions of Nimrodel, among many of the elves that fled to the coast about the year 1980 of the Third Age, when evil arose in Moria, and Nimrodel and her maidens strayed in the wooded hills, and were lost. But in this tale it is said that Imrazor harboured Mithrellas, and took her to wife. - Unfinished Tales, Of Galadriel and Celeborn

Since these were Imrahil's ancestors, he did indeed have elven blood in him.