Herendil

Herendil was a Númenórean man and the son of Elendil in earlier versions of the legendarium in The Lost Road.The History of Middle-earth, Vol. V: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part One, III: The Lost Road, (ii) "The Númenórean chapters", pgs. 59-68
==Biography==
Herendil was a daring diver, but he was prideful of his talent. In the aftermath of one such dive, his father, Elendil, observed that he seemed to have grown drastically and told Herendil that he had the makings of going into a fine man.
Herendil rebuked his father in response, believing that the comment was made in mockery of him. He claimed that Elendil already knew that he had a lesser height than others his own age, and that he was tormented by that. Herendil stated in evidence that he was barely of height to Almáriel's shoulder.
Herendil then informed his father that though the two of them were the blood of kings, his peers called him names such as Terendul the day prior, and accused him of being a "half-Noldo". Herendil admitted, however, that it was at least better than "being called half a Gnome".
Elendil responded by saying that it may then be dangerous for Herendil to be his son as his own father's name, Valandil, meant "God-friend".
==Etymology==
Herendil is a name in Quenya meaning "fortune-friend". It was a compound of heren ("fortune, governance") and (-n)dil ("friend"). Éadwine was its Old English cognate.The History of Middle-earth, Vol. I: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three, "The Etymologies", entries "KHER-", "NIL-, NDIL-" which means "Fortune-friend".The History of Middle-earth, Vol. V: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part One, III: The Lost Road, (i) "The opening chapters", II: Alboin and Audoin, pg. 46
Terendul was a name in Quenya meaning "slender and dark", containing the elements teren ("slender") and nulla ("dark, dusky, obscure").The History of Middle-earth, Vol. I: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three, "The Etymologies", entries "TER-, TERES-", "NDUL-"
==In other versions==
In an earlier draft of The Lost Road, Herendil was called Eärendel in scorn or mockery by a man named Poldor rather than being called Terendul by anonymous peers.The History of Middle-earth, Vol. V: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part One, III: The Lost Road, (ii) "The Númenórean chapters", pg. 70 (note 5)
Tolkien eventually abandoned his work The Lost Road, yet many elements of Herendil were merged into the character of Isildur within The Lord of the Rings.
==References==
Category:Precanonical Men
Category:Númenóreans
Category:Quenya names & words