Gondorian Cultural Information
(From the Encyclopedia of Arda)

Edain
The name given by the Elves to the Three Houses of Men who first came to the lands west of the Blue Mountains and fought alongside them in the Wars of Beleriand. Whereas Edain is strictly Elvish for all Men, it is normally only applied to those of the Three Houses who remained faithful to the Elves and were given the island of Elenna (Númenor) as a reward.

The Three Houses of the Edain, in the order in which they came to Beleriand, were: The House of Bëor, The House of Haleth (the Haladin), The House of Hador (the descendants of Marach and his people).

Númenoreans
The Men of Númenor, descendants of the Edain of the First Age, who were granted the island of Elenna as a dwelling place. They turned against the Valar, and their island home was destroyed in the last years of the Second Age.

Dúnedain
A term used in Middle-earth for the Men of Númenor and (especially) their descendants in Arnor and Gondor after the Downfall in II 3319.

Gondor
The second of the two great nations of Men founded in Middle-earth by Elendil after the Downfall of Númenor, the other being Arnor in the north. Gondor was at first ruled jointly by Elendil's sons Isildur and Anárion. Both Elendil and Anárion were lost in the Siege of Barad-dûr, and his brother Isildur soon afterwards in the Disaster of the Gladden Fields, and so the Kingship of Gondor fell on Anárion's son Meneldil. Thus, the Kings of Gondor were descendants of Anárion through many generations until the time of Eärnur.

When Eärnur was lost in Minas Morgul in III 2050, the rule of Gondor was taken up by the King's Steward, Mardil Voronwë; the death of Eärnur was not certain, and so Mardil and the Stewards who followed him pledged to rule 'until the King comes back'. Unlikely though this seemed, it happened almost a thousand years later in III 3019 when Aragorn II Elessar, descendant by right line of Isildur, elder brother of Anárion, reclaimed the throne of Gondor.

Arnor
Founded by Elendil in the last years of the Second Age, Arnor was the great kingdom of Men in the north of Middle-earth. It lay between the Misty Mountains in the east, and the Blue Mountains on the borders of Lindon in the west, and encompassed the area where the Shire would be founded many years later. Its capital, and the seat of its Kings, was at Annúminas on Lake Nenuial.

Elendil fell in the Siege of Barad-dûr in II 3441, and his eldest son Isildur, who would have taken the rulership, was lost two years later as he journeyed back from the southlands with his three eldest sons, who were slain with their father at the Disaster of the Gladden Fields. Isildur's youngest son Valandil, however, had not gone to the war, and was kept safe in Rivendell; he was accounted the third King of Arnor, though Isildur had never taken the throne.

The tenth and last King of Arnor was Eärendur. After his death in III 861, his three sons each made claims of succession. This led to the break-up of Arnor into three separate but related kingdoms; Arthedain, Cardolan and Rhudaur. Eärendur's eldest son, Amlaith of Fornost, became King of Arthedain, and is considered the true heir to the line of Isildur.

Gondorians
The people of Gondor, the South-kingdom of the Dúnedain, whose rulers were descended from the Númenórean exiles who fled to Middle-earth with Elendil in the late Second Age.

Minas Tirith
The seven-tiered citadel of the Kings of Gondor, originally named Minas Anor. After the destruction of Osgiliath, Minas Tirith became the seat of power in the South-kingdom.

Minas Arnor
The Tower of the Setting Sun; the original name for Minas Tirith in Gondor, changed after the capture of Minas Ithil by the Nazgûl.

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Human Facts (from www.lordoftherings.net)

· Men are mortal and bred more quickly than any other race besides the evil Orcs.

· Men are subject to age, disease and the rough elements of Middle-earth.

· Men are not perceptive to the minds of others, can not see into the future and are less skilled in lore and crafts than other races. They are considered weak compared to the immortal Elves.

· Men are a very diverse race. Physically they come in all shapes and sizes and inhabit many different parts of Middle-earth.

· Hobbits call Men "Big Folk" or "Big People."

· Throughout the ages of Middle-earth, Men rose and eventually became the dominant race.

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