Mandos(Mandost-)

noun "Castle of Custody" the approximate meaning, according to MR:350. Used as the name of a Vala, properly the place where he dwells the Halls of Mandos, whereas his real name is Námo WJ:402. In Tolkien’s mythology, the “Halls of Mandos” are the abode of the dead, where their spirits remain until they are released from this world in the case of mortals or rebodied in the case of Elves – except for those who are refused or themselves refuse further incarnate life, and so remain in Mandos indefinitely. In the Etymologies, Mandos also Mandossë is interpreted somewhat differently, "Dread Imprisoner"MBAD MANAD,VT45:32 or in a deleted version "Dread Doom" VT45:33, where Mandos was asigned the stem Mandosse-. The interpretation “Dread Imprisoner” would suggest that Tolkien at the time thought of Mandos as being also properly the name of a person, the Vala Námo, not the name of a place. – See also Mando.