Also known as: Mardil The Steadfast
The first Ruling Steward of Gondor, called the Steadfast. When King Earnur rode to Minas Morgul to answer the Witch-king's challenge and never returned, Mardil governed in his name — and since no one knew with certainty that the king was dead, and the royal line had no other heir, the Stewards thereafter ruled "until the king returns," a formula that hardened into nine hundred and seventy years of waiting. Mardil set the precedent of the Stewards' restraint: they never sat the throne, never wore the crown, and bore a white rod for their office — a patience vindicated, at very long last, by Aragorn's coronation.