Who told you, and who sent you?
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| Halls of Mandos | |
|---|---|
| General Information | |
| Other names | The Halls of Awaiting |
| Location | Northern shores of Aman |
| People and History | |
| Inhabitants | Námo Vairë The souls of the dead Elves, Dwarves and Men |
| Events | Lúthien's pleading for Beren before Mandos |
| Gallery | Images of the Halls of Mandos |
The Halls of Mandos were the dwellings of Námo, the Doomsman of the Valar; he was more often given the name Mandos from his own halls.
Description
The Halls of Mandos stood on the northern shores of Valinor,[1] looking out across the Encircling Sea. They were said to be great cavernous delvings, growing in size as the World aged, and their walls were lined with the tapestries of Námo's spouse Vairë, depicting all the events of unfolding history.
It was to the Halls of Mandos that the fëar of Elves were gathered to await their respective afterlives, and so Mandos was given its name of the Halls of Awaiting.[2] After brief respite in the Halls, the immortal Elves would be re-embodied, and return from the Halls to their kin in Aman.
For fëar of Men, it is known to the Eldar that they (many or all, they do not know) go also to Halls of Waiting, but what their fate is after Námo releases them, the Eldar have no sure knowledge. Men, knowing little, say many different things, some of which are fantasies of their own devising and are darkened by the Shadow. The wisest of Men, and those least under the Shadow, believe that they are surrendered to Eru and pass out of Eä; for this reason many of the Elves in later days under the burden of their years envied the Death of Men, and called it the Gift of Ilúvatar.[3]
Little is known of the Dwarves, though on his deathbed Thorin's last words were "Farewell, good thief. I go now to the halls of waiting to sit beside my fathers, until the world is renewed."[4]
No one, not even Morgoth, could escape the Halls without Mandos' permission.[5]
Etymology
Other versions of the legendarium
In the earliest form of the legendarium (The Book of Lost Tales), Christopher Tolkien notes that there is a distinction between the wider region of Aman, and the Halls which doesn't appear in The Silmarillion;[6] both share the name with the Vala, who is called Ve, Vefantur Mandos (Qenya) Bannoth Gwi, Gwi-fanthor (Gnomish).[7]
Mandos (Gnomish: Bannoth) is the name of a region of vast caverns in northern Aman, full of gloom and echoes, that went down under the Shadowy Seas. Aulë built them for Vefántur and Nienna far from the beautiful houses of the other Valar.[8] Mandos is also occupied by spirits older than the world, that were with Ilúvatar.[7][9]
The region of Mandos contain the Halls proper, that are called after the Vala's own name, Ve (Gnomish: Gwi or Ingwi). The sable Hall has floors and columns of jet and is draped with dark vapours. It is lit only with a single vessel containing some gleaming drops from the pale dew of Silpion, placed in the centre. The Elves who die fare for days in Mandos until Vefantur spoke their doom, and they wait in the darkness, dreaming of their past deeds, until reincarnated.[8] In Gnomish, the Halls are also "improperly" (according to the Gnomish Lexicon) named Bannoth, after the Vala and the region. The Qenya Lexicon also refers to Mandos as "the Halls of Ve and Fui" without commenting whether it's proper usage.[7]
After the Hiding of Valinor, Mandos and Fui made Qalvanda, the Road of Death, which however leads directly and only to their Halls.[10]
In the later Etymologies, Mando or Mandos(se) is the proper name of the Vala, being a personal noun meaning "Imprisoner".[11]
Tolkien originally intended the Halls to be in northern Aman, on the edge of the Outer Sea. Christopher Tolkien, erroneously seeing a discrepancy, changed this to western Aman, on the edge of the Outer Sea for the published Silmarillion.[12] In The Book of Lost Tales Part One he referred to this change as a "piece of unwarranted editorial meddling."[6]
Notes
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Book of Lost Tales Part One, "III. The Coming of the Valar and the Building of Valinor": "Notes and Commentary"; cf. #Other versions of the legendarium
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Silmarils and the Unrest of the Noldor"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Carl F. Hostetter (ed.), The Nature of Middle-earth, "Part Two. Body, Mind and Spirit: XVII. Death"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, "The Return Journey"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor"
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Book of Lost Tales Part One, "III. The Coming of the Valar and the Building of Valinor": "Notes and Commentary"
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Book of Lost Tales Part One, Appendix: Names in the Lost Tales – Part I
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Book of Lost Tales Part One, "III. The Coming of the Valar and the Building of Valinor"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Book of Lost Tales Part One, "IV. The Chaining of Melko"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Book of Lost Tales Part One, "IX. The Hiding of Valinor"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies"
- ↑
| Dwellings of the Valar | |
| Halls of Nienna · Halls of Mandos · House of Oromë · House of Tulkas · Ilmarin · Lórien · Mansions of Aulë · Murmuran · Ulmonan | |