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Námo Mandos is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth.

Middle-earth Portal

Mandos is the usual name for the Vala originally called Námo (Judge). Námo was given this new name in honour of the Halls of Mandos, over which he presides, where Elves go after they are slain. His wife is Vairë the Weaver, and he is the brother of Lórien and Nienna in the mind of Eru Ilúvatar.

Mandos is described as being stern and dispassionate and never forgetting a thing. He was the Vala who cursed the Noldor leaving Aman, and counselled against allowing them to return (almost to the point of vindictiveness). But unlike Morgoth, his Dooms are not cruel or vindictive by his own design. They are simply the will of Eru, and he will not speak them unless he is commanded to do so by Manwë. Only once has he been moved to pity, when Lúthien sang of the grief she and her lover Beren had experienced in Beleriand. Then, with the Elder King's approval, he released them. Written later in Tolkien's life, there arose the possibility that Glorfindel, as well, was given second life after being slain by a balrog. It has been postulated that he was sent back to Middle-earth as a means to fight Sauron, just as the five Istari were. The event of Mandos being moved to pity by Lúthien singing of the grief she and her lover had been moved to in Beleriand, is similar to the legend of Orpheus and Eurydice, which partly inspired the story of Beren and Lúthien.

In The Book of Lost Tales Mandos was named Vefantur, and his halls Ve. His wife was Fui, who can be compared to Nienna (though in that context they weren't married). He judged the elves, while Fui judged the men. He turned away Turin and Nienori from his halls in the second volume.

• Doom of Mandos - the First Prophecy of Mandos
• Dagor Dagorath - the Second Prophecy of Mandos

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