Estëhildi



The principal healers of Gondor were the Estehildi, the Followers of Este. This order actually possessed Valinorean roots, and was first brought to Middle-earth by the Noldor; but the Dúnedain did not acquire its lore until the Elves of Eressëa shared it with them in Númenor. In Gondor, the Estehildi ran the famous "Houses of Healing" located in every major city or town. Unlike the Selli Niennava, the Followers of Este accepted both men and women into their ranks and were dominated by entire families whose affiliation with the order stretched back many generations—often to Númenor itself. Less mystically oriented than some of the Selli, the leading families among the Estehildi occasionally claimed some special rapport with the Valië of their order.