He is the keeper of the Houses of the Dead, and the summoner of the spirits
of the slain. He forgets nothing; and he knows all things that shall be,
save only those that lie still in the freedom of Ilúvatar. He is the Doomsman of the Valar."
Today, on Nerd of the Rings, we cover the vala Mandos.
While more commonly known as Mandos, his actual name is Námo, meaning “Judge.” The
name Mandos comes from the name of his halls, which translates to “Castle of Custody.” The
Halls of Mandos stood on the northern shores of Valinor and were said to be great cavernous
delvings that grew in size as the world aged. The Halls themselves are lined with the tapestries of
Namo’s wife Vaire the weaver - whose tapestries told of the events unfolding throughout Arda.
These halls, also referred to as “The Halls of Awaiting”, were the gathering place of the
spirits of elves who had died. After a respite, the immortal elves would be re-embodied and
return to their kin in the lands of Valinor. Their time in the halls would vary, however.
We see Glorfindel is re-embodied quite soon after his death, because he died fighting a balrog in
the Fall of Gondolin, sacrificing himself to save the refugees of the city - including a
young Earendil. On the flip side, there is Feanor, who dies after bringing death and
division among the elves - who will wait in the Halls of Mandos until the ending of the world.
Mandos knows and remembers nearly everything that has been and everything that shall be. In
his role as Doomsman, he pronounced judgements at the bidding of Manwe. While these two valar
understand most clearly the Vision of Iluvatar, even they do not know the full doom of Arda. One
thing that Mandos and Manwe are alleged to know is the ultimate fate of men. The
elves believed that the spirits of men would likewise go to the Halls of Mandos,
before going on to Iluvatar for their final fate. Aside from elves and possibly men, we
also find that the Halls of Mandos is where Melkor is held during his captivity before the First Age,
and that no one, not even the mighty Melkor could escape the Halls without the permission of Mandos.
Throughout history, Mandos would pronounce prophecies regarding
the fate of things to come. In one of their earliest councils,
the Valar discussed their concern that the elves would awaken in a world of darkness.
Manwe bids Mandos to speak and he proclaims that the age of the Children of Iluvatar approaches,
and it was the doom of the elves to wake under the stars and revere Varda. Thus,
Varda sets to her greatest work, creating new stars for the First Children of Iluvatar.
When Melkor is first defeated by the Valar in the Battle of the Powers - the defeat
which lands him in Mandos’ Halls, the Valar debate on whether to summon the elves to
Valinor. When most of the Valar overrule Ulmo’s desire to leave them in Middle-earth,
Mandos breaks his silence by simply saying “So it is doomed.”
Long years later, in YT 1490 after Melkor has been pardoned and sows discord among the Noldor,
Feanor in anger draws a sword upon his half-brother Fingolfin. For this offense,
Mandos decrees that Feanor should be banished from Tirion for 12 years.
In YT 1495, after Morgoth destroys the two trees and steals the silmarils,
Feanor moves the Noldor into rebellion against the Valar. Driven by their oath,
the elves under Feanor carry out the kingslaying at Alqualonde. In
response to this act, Mandos pronounces a warning, known after as the Doom of Mandos:
Mandos would also come into play in the story of Beren and Luthien. In 466 FA,
Beren is killed in the hunt for the wolf Carcharoth and Luthien dies in despair. Yet,
this would not be the end of their story. Coming to the Halls of Mandos, Luthein sings a song of
such extraordinary power that it moves the heart of the inexorable Mandos. Deeming the matter to
be beyond himself, Mandos seeks the counsel of Manwe, who in turn gives the response of Iluvatar.
Thus, Mandos returns Luthien to her bodily form and presents her a choice - to remain forever
in Valinor and forget all her griefs, or to return to Middle-earth as a mortal with Beren. Luthien
chooses a mortal life with her beloved, and both are returned to a second life in Middle-earth.
In a much harsher decree, when Earendil the mariner comes to Valinor to beg the valar for pity
on behalf of the men and elves of Middle-earth, it is Mandos who demands he be executed, for no
mortal should set foot in Aman and live. When Ulmo retorts, asking whether Earendil was the son of
his father Tuor the man or his mother Idril the elf, Mandos says that in either case, he should
not live. For the Noldor were still under the Ban of his earlier Doom. Despite this, Manwe answers
the plea of Earendil and commands the assembly of the Host of the Valar to wage the War of Wrath
upon Morgoth. As for Earendil, he along with his wife Elwing were given a choice - to be counted
among the immortal elves or to live a mortal life among men. This same choice would be given to
their twin sons, Elrond and Elros - and in time, Elrond’s own children. Following the War of Wrath,
the exiled Noldor are forgiven and the Doom of Mandos was ended. Thus, the ban of the
Valar is lifted, and elves would have other means than bodily death to return to Valinor.
as always I want to say a huge thank you to my patreon supporters who make this channel
possible Tom de Bombadil 19 listen me the Cinda calabrimbor the mighty MIM team weasel Rabbi Rob
Thomas Charles Leisure Toby mobs music CCDC red team nerd sichman any timer pelkey sports cards
monkey the brown Christopher carbaugh Joe Tepper Sky carcass slide belts Dane ragnarson salimerman
zetrock bertelberg Grand strategy nerd Graham derekot the dark-haired one Wyland Michael Wu
Grant McGregor and Debbie if you enjoyed the artwork in this video check out the
artists in the description and purchase prints of their great work for yourself thanks so much
for watching and subscribing and we'll see you next time on nerd of the Rings