[elea24]

I was wandering if someone could help answer a niggling question of mine.

As the ruler of Dol Amroth came to possess the title 'Prince' as a hereditary title in itself (that is, not a Prince because they were the son/grandson of the King) would that mean that he would be the only member of his family to be called by the title of prince?

Basically, were Imrahil, Elphir, Erchirion and Amrothos all called 'Prince' and Ivriniel, Finduilas and Lothiriel all called 'Princess' when Adrahil was still Prince of Dol Amroth or were they all simply 'Lord' or 'Lady' with Imrahil (and subsequently Elphir in turn) claiming the the title when his father died.

I am assuming it is the latter and that the only member of the family that could hold the title was the ruling lord, but I would appreciate any insight others may have.

Thanks in advance.

[vladazhael]

I would assume the latter as well, though for all my Gondor obsessiveness I have no evidence to back that up. In fact, I don't know if there is any evidence - Tolkien was thorough, but inevitably more so with some things than others. At least if nobody else manages to dig up anything, you can safely assume few if any will be able to prove you wrong in whatever you decide to write.

[GirlfromGondolin]

Good question, and it's something I've wondered about myself.

Without specific reference to Tolkien (since he's sort of silent on the subject), I think your latter assumption is correct. The term "Prince" refers to the ruler of Dol Amroth, and therefore, only Adrahil (and later Imrahil and Elphir) are referred to by that title. Similarly, the term "Princess" would refer only to the wife of the Prince. Their children and siblings would simply be lords or ladies of Dol Amroth.

[elea24]

Thank-you.

I had assumed it was that but it is nice to have my theory supported.