In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings, Orcs or Orks are a race of creatures who are used as soldiers and henchmen by both the greater and lesser villains of The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings — Morgoth, Sauron and Saruman. Fantasy is a Genre that uses magic and other Supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting The Silmarillion is a collection of J R R Tolkien 's mythopoeic works edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in The Lord of the Rings is an epic The name The name Morgoth is Sindarin, one of Tolkien's invented languages and means "Black Enemy" Bauglir is also Sindarin meaning Sauron (ˈsaʊrɒn Quenya: /sawrɔn/ literal meaning "Abhorred") is the title character and the principal Antagonist of the Fantasy Concept and creation Saruman first appears in 1954's The Fellowship of the Ring, the first volume of the Fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings The Orcs also work independently as the common antagonists in The Hobbit, though in that work they are called Goblins. The Hobbit or There and Back Again is an award-winning fantasy A goblin is an evil crabby or Mischievous Creature of Folklore, often described as a grotesquely disfigured or Gnome -like phantom

Although not dim-witted and even crafty, they are portrayed as miserable beings, hating everyone including themselves and their masters, whom they serve out of fear. They make no beautiful things, but rather design cunning devices made to hurt and destroy.

Contents 1 Tolkien's influences 2 Middle-earth terms for Orcs 2.1 Orcs, Goblins, and Uruks 3 The physical appearance of Orcs 4 Types of Orcs 5 Orkish culture 5.1 Orkish diet 6 Orkish language 7 Orcs and Evil 8 The origin of Orcs 8.1 Made from the earth 8.2 Corrupted Elves 8.3 Fallen Maiar 8.4 Some cross-bred with Men 8.5 Sentient beasts 9 Individual Orcs 10 Influence on later fantasy 11 Adaptations 12 Notes and references 13 External links

Tolkien's influences

See also: Orc

Orc is from Old English orcneas, which appears in the epic poem Beowulf and refers to one of the races who are called the offspring of Cain during the initial description of Grendel ("Þanon untydras ealle onwocon,/eotenas ond ylfe, ond orcneas," ll. Orc (OR'k is a word used to refer to a race of various tough and warlike humanoid creatures in various Fantasy settings appearing originally in the stories Beowulf is an Old English Heroic epic poem of anonymous authorship dating as recorded in the Nowell Codex manuscript from between 221-222) . In a letter of 1954 Tolkien gave orc as "demon" and claimed he used the word because of its "phonetic suitability" - its similarity to various equivalent terms in his Middle-earth languages. The Languages of Arda are artificial languages invented by J R ^[1] In an essay on Elven languages, written in 1954, Tolkien gives meaning of 'orc' as "evil spirit or bogey" and goes on to state that the origin of the Old English word is the Latin name Orcus — god of the underworld. In the study of Mythology and Religion, the underworld (gr κάτω κόσμος) is a generic term approximately equivalent to the lay term Afterlife ^[2]

About the goblins of The Hobbit, Tolkien wrote:

They are not based on direct experience of mine; but owe, I suppose, a good deal to the goblin tradition . . . especially as it appears in George MacDonald, except for the soft feet which I never believed in. ^[1]

Middle-earth terms for Orcs

In the High-elven tongue Quenya, the word for "Orc" was urko, plural urqui, meaning "bogey", or "bogeyman", that is, something that provokes fear. In the works of J R R Tolkien, the Calaquendi (singular Calaquende) are the Elves of Light, those who had seen the light of the Two Trees Quenya 'kwɛɲa is one of the fictional languages spoken by the Elves (the Quendi, "those who speak with voices" because when The bogeyman, boogyman, bogyman, boogieman, boogey monster, or boogeyman, is a Folkloric or legendary Ghostlike In the Grey-elven tongue Sindarin, it was orch, plural yrch. Edhel redirects here See Éðel for the Anglo-Saxon term In the works of J Sindarin is an Artificial language developed by J R R Tolkien. In the Dwarven tongue Khuzdul, it was rukhs, plural rakhâs. Khuzdûl is the language of the Dwarves in J R R Tolkien 's fiction of Middle-earth In the language of the Drúedain or Wild Men, it was gorgûn. In J R R Tolkien 's Legendarium, the Drúedain are a fictional race of Men which were counted amongst the Edain. In the Black Speech of Mordor, the equivalent was Uruk, as can be seen in Uruk-hai, "Orc-folk". Orkish redirects here For other uses see Urkish. The Black Speech is the Fictional language of Mordor in The Lord of the Rings In J R R Tolkien 's Fictional universe of Middle-earth, Mordor (from Sindarin Black Land and Quenya Land of Shadow In J R R Tolkien 's Fictional universe of Middle-earth, the Uruk-hai ( Black Speech: Orc folk) anglicized to Uruks, were Orc itself is strictly from Rohirric^[3] and the Hobbit-language,^[4] which shared linguistic roots. In the fictional world of Middle-earth by J R R Tolkien, Rohirric (also Rohirian and Rohanese, see below is the language of the Rohirrim In J R R Tolkien 's legendarium, Hobbits are a diminutive race that inhabit the lands of Middle-earth.

Uruk and Uruk-hai were reserved for the Uruks themselves, a special breed or breeds of Orc; they called smaller, weaker Orcs snaga, "slave". The Grey Elves also referred to the Orcs as a whole as the Glamhoth, "noisy horde". Edhel redirects here See Éðel for the Anglo-Saxon term In the works of J ^[5] The word "goblin" is used to represent the original Hobbit Orc. A goblin is an evil crabby or Mischievous Creature of Folklore, often described as a grotesquely disfigured or Gnome -like phantom In The History of Middle-earth Tolkien writes about an Orc captain named Boldog^[6] but later specifies that Boldog may have been either a term or a title for another special kind of Orc instead of a personal name. The History of Middle-earth is a 12-volume series of books published from 1983 through 1996 that collect and analyse material relating to the fiction of J Boldog is the name of an Orc Captain in J R R Tolkien 's fictional Middle-earth during the First Age In J R R Tolkien 's Fantasy writings Orcs or Orks are a race of creatures who are used as soldiers and henchmen by both the greater and lesser villains ^[7]

Orcs, Goblins, and Uruks

The earliest appearance of goblins in Tolkien's writings is the 1915 poem Goblin Feet, also his first published work, which appeared in the annual volume of Oxford Poetry published by Blackwells. It features quaint elfin creatures, and some 45 years later Tolkien was to dismiss it as juvenile.

In The Book of Lost Tales the names Orcs and goblin are given to creatures who enslave and war with the Elves. The Book of Lost Tales is the title of a collection of early stories by J In J R R Tolkien 's Legendarium, an Elf is an individual member of one of the races that inhabit the lands of Arda. Christopher Tolkien notes that whilst in the Tale of Tinúviel the author clearly differentiates between "goblins and Orcs", the two terms appear to be synonymous in the Tale of Turambar. The word Gongs is also used on a few occasions and it appears both distinct from Orcs,^[8] and as a sub-type of Orc,^[9] Christoper Tolkien remarks that Gongs are "evil beings obscurely related to Orcs";^[10]. Both goblins and Orcs are occasionally mentioned as being "of Melko" and also acting independently. The name The name Morgoth is Sindarin, one of Tolkien's invented languages and means "Black Enemy" Bauglir is also Sindarin meaning Two Lexicons of elvish language also appear. The Quenta Lexicon from approximately 1915 defines Orc as meaning "monster, demon" , and the Gnomish Lexicon dated 1917, givesOrc a definition of "goblin", alongside a definition of Gong as "one of a tribe of the Orcs, a goblin". A monster is any of a large number of Legendary creatures which usually appear in Mythology, Legend, or Horror fiction. A goblin is an evil crabby or Mischievous Creature of Folklore, often described as a grotesquely disfigured or Gnome -like phantom Christopher Tolkien also notes, with interest, that in the Lexicon the word Gnome (later Noldor) is an emendation from Goblin. A gnome is a Mythical creature characterized by its extremely small size and subterranean lifestyle In the works of J R R Tolkien, the Noldor (meaning those with knowledge) were those of the second clan of the Elves, the Tatyar, who came

In The Hobbit, the inhabitants of the Misty Mountains who capture the dwarves for trespassing, and later fight the Men, Elves and Dwarves at the Battle of Five Armies, are identified as goblins, which is largely consistent with the use in The Book of Lost Tales. The Hobbit or There and Back Again is an award-winning fantasy In J R R Tolkien 's Fantasy world of Middle-earth, the Misty Mountains (also known by its Sindarin name of Hithaeglir J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth fantasy writings include many wars and battles set in the lands of Aman, Beleriand, Númenor, and A goblin is an evil crabby or Mischievous Creature of Folklore, often described as a grotesquely disfigured or Gnome -like phantom The Book of Lost Tales is the title of a collection of early stories by J The term Orc does occur, in an instance where Gandalf is trying to scare Bilbo by mentioning creatures of the wilderness "goblins, hobgoblins, and orcs of the worst description" where goblins are again differentiated from Orcs, and also in the Elvish name of Thorin's sword, Orcrist. Hobgoblin is a term typically applied in folktales to describe a friendly or amusing Goblin. The following list of weapons and armour of Middle-earth includes all weaponry and Armour directly taken from J

In The Lord of the Rings, Orc is used predominantly, and goblin appears mostly in the Hobbits' speech. In J R R Tolkien 's legendarium, Hobbits are a diminutive race that inhabit the lands of Middle-earth. The second volume of the novel, The Two Towers, contains passages where the more generic 'goblin' is used to describe Saruman's Uruk-hai as being different from the usual 'Orc':

There were four goblin-soldiers of greater stature, swart, slant-eyed, with thick legs and large hands. In J R R Tolkien 's Fictional universe of Middle-earth, the Uruk-hai ( Black Speech: Orc folk) anglicized to Uruks, were They were armed with short broad-bladed swords, not with the curved scimitars usual with Orcs: and they had bows of yew, in length and shape like the bows of Men. ^[11]

And:

Upon a stake in the middle was set a great goblin head; upon its shattered helm the white badge could still be seen. ^[12]

The "white badge" mentioned in the latter passage makes it clear that the beheaded goblin was one of the Uruk-hai. Tolkien writes that these bore a white Elf-rune with the value of "S" on their helmets. The Cirth (" Runes " are the letters of an Artificial script which was invented by J S is the nineteenth letter in the modern Latin alphabet. Its name in English is spelled ess or occasionally es (ɛs generally es-

Tolkien also wrote the following note, appearing in some editions of The Hobbit:

Orc is not an English word. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States It occurs in one or two places but is usually translated goblin (or hobgoblin for the larger kinds). Orc is the hobbits' form of the name given at that time to these creatures, and it is not connected at all with orc, ork, applied to sea-animals of dolphin-kind. ^[4]

The original edition of The Hobbit and early drafts of The Lord of the Rings first used goblin everywhere and used hobgoblin for larger, more evil goblins. Hobgoblin is a term typically applied in folktales to describe a friendly or amusing Goblin. Whilst investigating possible sources for the words "Hobbit" Tolkien realised he had made a mistake in using "hob" — which is traditionally used to mean a 'smaller' entity, not a larger one.

In his later, post-The Lord of the Rings writings (including The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and many essays published in The Peoples of Middle-earth), Tolkien preferred the spelling Ork, evidently mainly to avoid the form Orcish, which would be naturally pronounced with the c as /s/ instead of /k/ in English. The Adventures of Tom Bombadil is a collection of poetry written by J The Peoples of Middle-earth (1996 is the 12th and final volume of The History of Middle-earth, edited by Christopher Tolkien from the unpublished Tolkien indeed used the adjective Orkish. ^[13]

The physical appearance of Orcs

Orcs are described as ugly and filthy fanged humanoids. The largest can reach human size, but they are usually significantly shorter. Many have long arms, like monkeys or apes. Along with that, many of them have crooked backs and legs. They have sour black blood, reminiscent of reanimated corpses.

Tolkien describes Orcs explicitly in one of his Letters:

. . . they are (or were) squat, broad, flat-nosed, sallow-skinned, with wide mouths and slant eyes; in fact degraded and repulsive versions of the (to Europeans) least lovely Mongol-types. ^[14]

In response to charges that the above comment is racist, Tolkienist Steuard Jensen writes in his Tolkien Newsgroups FAQ:

At first glance this looks blatantly racist, but the qualifier "to Europeans" casts it in a very different light: Tolkien explicitly recognized that different cultures have different standards of beauty, and that his impressions did not reflect any underlying superiority. List of racism-related topics|Racism by country Racism, by its simplest definition is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that Tolkien fandom is an international informal community of fans of the works of J Moreover, he made it clear that the Orcs were not in any sense actual "Mongol-types", but "degraded and repulsive versions" of humanoid stock. ^[15]

"Nevertheless," Jensen adds, "[Tolkien's] comment certainly falls short of modern standards of sensitivity. "^[15]

Fellow Tolkienist Michael Martinez argues in Parma Endorion, his free E-book guide to Middle-earth, that Tolkien

[. An e-book (for electronic book: also ebook) is the Digital media equivalent of a conventional printed Book. . . ] needed a human model which, when distorted beyond realistic appearance, might appear monstrous and corrupted. In fact, many Asian cultures represent demons and evil gods in a similar fashion. I feel Tolkien's choice was inspired by a broad understanding of mythology, and not by racism. ^[16]

Martinez also opines that Tolkien may have based the Orcs on the Huns, in the sense of their "historical context" within Middle-earth as enemy hordes and pillagers. The Huns were an early confederation of Central Asian equestrian nomads or semi-nomads with a Turkic core of aristocracy ^[16] This should not be surprising since he based his writings on a Western viewpoint and the Mongol Empire did reach Europe.

Even so, some white supremacists interpret The Lord of the Rings as portraying white western European-types as "good" and ugly dark-skinned non-whites as "bad". Jensen says in his FAQ that this reading confuses "the symbolic conflict between 'darkness' and 'light' . . . for a conflict between 'black' and 'white'," which is interpreted racially. Jensen asserts that "blackness", "whiteness", "lightness", "darkness" and skin color itself are not used in a clear-cut manner to distinguish good and evil, and that the actual "swarthy Men" serving Sauron (Haradrim) are implied to be "unwilling slaves, not evil at heart. "^[15]

As Tolkien himself said of racism:

I should regret giving any colour to the notion that I subscribed to the wholly pernicious and unscientific race-doctrine. ^[17]

Types of Orcs

There was much variation among Orcs. The most obvious examples are the Uruk-hai, who were larger, more powerful and had black skin. Smaller and weaker Orcs than the Uruk-hai were called snaga ("slave") by the latter. There was also some variation in terms of function. Sauron apparently bred specialized types, such as the "super-soldier" Uruk-hai, and smaller, tracker Orcs or 'Snufflers' (one of which appears in The Return of the King, paired with an Uruk of Mordor, searching for the hobbits). The Uruk-hai of Saruman were also physically different from the Uruk-hai of Sauron; they were taller and had more human-like proportions while the latter were shorter and had longer arms (as shown by Uglúk and Grishnákh in The Two Towers). In The History of Middle-earth Tolkien mentions Maiar incarnate in Orc-bodies called Boldogs (see below). The Maiar (singular Maia) are beings from J R R Tolkien 's Fantasy legendarium.

Saruman apparently bred his own modified orcs. Tolkien wrote of Saruman creating Men-orcs and Orc-men in "Myths Revisited" in Morgoth's Ring. Morgoth's Ring is the tenth volume of Christopher Tolkien 's 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth in which he analyzes the unpublished manuscripts There has been speculation that these Uruk-hai were cross-bred with Men of Dunland, and these could withstand the sunlight. In the fiction of J R R Tolkien, Dunland was a place in north-west Middle-earth, the land of the Men called Dunlendings In the fiction of J R R Tolkien, Dunland was a place in north-west Middle-earth, the land of the Men called Dunlendings However, this has never been stated directly. The Orc-men, also called Half-orcs and goblin-men, were definitely crossbreeds.

In terms of "political factions", the Orcs served Morgoth in Angband and subsequently Sauron in Mordor. The name The name Morgoth is Sindarin, one of Tolkien's invented languages and means "Black Enemy" Bauglir is also Sindarin meaning In J R R Tolkien 's Fictional world of Middle-earth, Angband ( Sindarin for 'Hells of Iron' although the literal meaning is 'iron prison' is Sauron (ˈsaʊrɒn Quenya: /sawrɔn/ literal meaning "Abhorred") is the title character and the principal Antagonist of the Fantasy In J R R Tolkien 's Fictional universe of Middle-earth, Mordor (from Sindarin Black Land and Quenya Land of Shadow By the time of the War of the Ring, some served Saruman in Isengard. Concept and creation Saruman first appears in 1954's The Fellowship of the Ring, the first volume of the Fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings For the assault on Isengard by the Ents see Destruction of Isengard. However, as Sauron laid low after losing the Ring at the end of the Second Age (before returning to Mordor), some Orcs must have worked independently. The Second Age is a time period from J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth fantasy writings Before and during the time when The Hobbit takes place, some Orcs had Mount Gundabad as their capital, the Orcs of the Misty Mountains were apparently ruled by one "Great Goblin", the former Dwarf-realm of Moria was held by Orcs under one Azog and then his son Bolg, and one Golfimbul had led the Orcs of Mount Gram in a foray into the Shire. Minor places in Middle-earth#Place Name -->;Place name description1 Further description prefix with In J R R Tolkien 's Fantasy world of Middle-earth, the Misty Mountains (also known by its Sindarin name of Hithaeglir In the fiction of J R R Tolkien, Moria was the name given by the Eldar to what had once been an enormous underground complex in north-western Middle-earth The following is a list of Orcs of Middle-earth, created by fantasy Minor places in Middle-earth#Place Name -->;Place name description1 Further description prefix with

Orkish culture

Tolkien does not elaborate much on Orc culture and customs. However, we do know that Orcs know some form of healing arts (as the Orc-band apply harsh Orkish medicine to Merry's injuries while in their captivity). We also know that their armour, though inferior to that of Elves and Dwarves, is serviceable enough. Also, they often use poisoned blades (as Aragorn states as he inspects a wound of Sam; the wound is fortunately not poisoned) and arrows (as they use such on Isildur). In the context of Biology, poisons are substances that can cause damage, Illness, or Death to Organisms usually by Aragorn II is a fictional character from J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth Legendarium. Samwise Gamgee, later known as Samwise Gardner and commonly known as Sam, is a Fictional character in J Isildur is a fictional character in J R R Tolkien 's legendarium. Also, they like to sing horrible songs (as in The Hobbit). The goblins of the Misty Mountains were a smaller breed of Orc, and could also invent horrid machines used to torture and kill things.

Orkish diet

In The Hobbit, Tolkien indicates that Orcs are "always hungry", although given the demeanour of that book, it is not clear if this is an exaggeration or not. Orcs do eat all manner of flesh, including those of men and horses, except perhaps their own, although the implications of cannibalism among Orcs is alluded to quite frequently. In Chapter II of The Two Towers, Grishnákh, leader of the Mordor Uruks, accuses the Uruks of Saruman (who look different from them) of eating Orc-flesh, which the latter angrily deny. Cannibalism (from Spanish es ''caníbal'' in connection with cannibalism among the Antillean Caribs, also called anthropophagy (from Greek ἄνθρωπος Later Shagrat of Cirith Ungol threatens to "eat" a disobedient snaga (slave), although this could be simply an emotional or symbolic threat (prior to this, however, Shagrat indicates that Gorbag could be "for the pot" after suggesting that the envenomated Frodo should "go in the pot", itself indicating a stew or broth that the Orcs eat). The following is a list of Orcs of Middle-earth, created by fantasy Cirith Ungol (ˈkiriθ ˈuŋgɔl is a location in J R R Tolkien 's fictional universe of Middle-earth in his fantasy work The Lord of the Rings. The following is a list of Orcs of Middle-earth, created by fantasy In the film version of The Two Towers, the Uruk Uglúk beheads a rebellious orc, then says, "Looks like meat's back on the menu, boys!" Immediately, the Uruks fall upon the dead corpse, and entrails are seen flying through the air as the orcs look on in dismay.

Orkish language

The Orcs had no language of their own; merely a piecemeal of corrupted versions of words derived from various languages. However, individual tribes developed dialects that were so widely different from each other that the Orkish tongue was of no use for communication between tribes; for this purpose, Westron was used, albeit with a crude accent. Westron, or the Common Speech, is an Artificial language developed by J The few words in common usage throughout Orc tribes extant in the text of The Lord of the Rings are from Black Speech; some examples are ghâsh, "fire", sharkǔ, "old man" (referring to Saruman's nickname of "Sharkey" during The Scouring of the Shire), snaga, "slave", and Uruk. Orkish redirects here For other uses see Urkish. The Black Speech is the Fictional language of Mordor in The Lord of the Rings Another "Orkish" word is tark, "man of Gondor", from Westron and ultimately Quenya tarkil, "high man".

When Sauron returned to power in Mordor in the Third Age, Black Speech was used by the captains of his armies and by his servants in Barad-dûr. Orkish redirects here For other uses see Urkish. The Black Speech is the Fictional language of Mordor in The Lord of the Rings

A substantial sample of debased Black Speech/Orkish can be found in The Two Towers, where the Mordor Uruk Grishnákh curses the Isengard Uruk Uglúk:

Uglúk u bagronk sha pushdug Saruman-glob búbhosh skai!

In The Peoples of Middle-earth, Tolkien gives the translation: "Uglúk to the cesspool, sha! the dungfilth; the great Saruman-fool, skai!". The Peoples of Middle-earth (1996 is the 12th and final volume of The History of Middle-earth, edited by Christopher Tolkien from the unpublished However, in a note published in the Tolkien scholarly linguistic journal Vinyar Tengwar this alternative translation is given: "Uglúk to the dung-pit with stinking Saruman-filth, pig-guts, gah!"

Some speculate that Tolkien may have drawn upon the language of the ancient Hittites and Hurrians for his Black Speech/Orkish. Vinyar Tengwar is a linguistic Journal ( published by the Elvish Linguistic Fellowship, dedicated to the scholarly study of the invented languages The Hittites were an ancient Anatolian people who spoke a language of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family and established The Hurrians (also Khurrites; cuneiform Ḫu-ur-ri 𒄷𒌨𒊑 were a people of the Ancient Near East, who lived in northern Mesopotamia ^[18]

Orcs and Evil

On the subject of Orkish tendencies to good and evil, The Silmarillion states of the Last Alliance at the Battle of Dagorlad and the subsequent siege of Barad-dûr that "All living things were divided in that day, and some of every kind, even of beasts and birds, were found in either host, save the Elves only. The Silmarillion is a collection of J R R Tolkien 's mythopoeic works edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth fantasy writings include many wars and battles set in the lands of Aman, Beleriand, Númenor, and For the album by black metal band Summoning, see Lugburz. Barad-dûr ( Sindarin "Dark Tower" sometimes given They alone were undivided and followed Gil-galad. Of the Dwarves, few fought upon either side; but the kindred of Durin of Moria fought against Sauron. " ("Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age") Since the Elves alone were said to be undivided, this apparently implies that at least some Orcs fought against Sauron, though this may be an overliteral interpretation of the passage. Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age is the fifth and last part of The Silmarillion by J Orcs are known to fight amongst themselves frequently, if not actually against Sauron. On the subject of orc redeemability Tolkien wrote in one of his letters "I nearly wrote 'irredeemably bad'; but that would be going too far. Because by accepting or tolerating their making — necessary to their actual existence — even Orcs would become part of the World, which is God's and ultimately good. That God would 'tolerate' that, seems no worse theology than the toleration of the calculated dehumanizing of Men by tyrants that goes on today. "

To some extent Tolkien did not regard Orcs as inherently evil, or evil in their own right, but rather as tools and slaves of Morgoth and Sauron, hating themselves and their masters as they hated everyone else. He wrote once that "we were all orcs in The Great War". World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All

The origin of Orcs

The origin of Orcs is an open question. In Tolkien's writings, evil is not capable of independent creation, making it unlikely that the Vala Morgoth, who was obviously the first to produce them, could do that ex nihilo. The Valar (singular Vala) are characters in J R R Tolkien 's legendarium. The name The name Morgoth is Sindarin, one of Tolkien's invented languages and means "Black Enemy" Bauglir is also Sindarin meaning The Latin phrase ex nihilo means "out of nothing" It often appears in conjunction with the concept of Creation, as in creatio ex nihilo

Unlike the orc-néas ('orc-corpses') of Beowulf, no female Orcs are ever mentioned by Tolkien in any publication. However, in the published Silmarillion it is stated that Orcs "breed after the manner of Elves and Men", implying that there are; in The Hobbit the Orc Bolg is the son of one Azog, while Gollum is described as having eaten a young Orc child ("goblin-imp") shortly before he first met Bilbo. Tolkien confirms in a letter that female Orcs did exist^[19].

Made from the earth

According to the oldest "theory" proposed by Tolkien (found in The Fall of Gondolin, from The Book of Lost Tales, circa 1917 — the first tale of Middle-earth to be written in full), Orcs were made of stone and slime through the sorcery of Morgoth ("bred from the heats and slimes of the earth" — The Book of Lost Tales, Vol. Weaponcraft The smiths of Gondolin using Noldorin techniques and magics made powerful magic blades The Book of Lost Tales is the title of a collection of early stories by J Year 1917 ( MCMXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year The name The name Morgoth is Sindarin, one of Tolkien's invented languages and means "Black Enemy" Bauglir is also Sindarin meaning 2).

Corrupted Elves

Tolkien later changed the legendarium so that Morgoth could no longer produce life on his own, and amended the origins to the "theory" that would eventually be published in The Silmarillion: that the Orcs were transformed from Elves — the purest form of life on Arda (the Earth) — by means of torture and mutilation; and this "theory" would then become the most popular. The Silmarillion is a collection of J R R Tolkien 's mythopoeic works edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in In J R R Tolkien 's Legendarium, an Elf is an individual member of one of the races that inhabit the lands of Arda. In J R R Tolkien 's Legendarium, Arda is the name given to the Earth in a period of prehistory wherein the places mentioned in The Lord of the Rings Moreover, if Orcs were in fact Elves at their core, this could perhaps mean that they were also immortal — a fact which, if true, would seem inconsistent with J. Immortality (or eternal life) is the concept of living in physical or spiritual form for an Infinite length of Time. R. R. Tolkien's treatment of Orcs, although the books do not openly confirm or deny it. If Orcs indeed were immortal, it holds no doubt that their fëar would not be allowed reincarnation by Mandos, if they even answered the calling. In J R R Tolkien 's legendarium, fëa and hröa are words for " Soul " (or " Spirit " and "body" The Valar (singular Vala) are characters in J R R Tolkien 's legendarium. Most Orcs would probably fear the calling of Mandos, and therefore would see their fëar diminished to evil spirits. Evil, in many cultures is used to describe acts or thoughts which are contrary to some particular religion These may have been some of the evil spirits occasionally described in the books, such as the spirit which tempted Gorlim of Barahir's company, or the Barrow-wights. Sources Other versions of the legendarium In the first version of the Lay of Leithian, it was Morgoth Barahir is a Fictional character in the Fantasy -world Middle-earth of the English author J Barrow-wights are wraith -like creatures in J R R Tolkien 's world of Middle-earth, based on the Old Norse Draugr.

There is some evidence for the immortality, or otherwise long life of Orcs in The Two Towers: Gorbag and Shagrat, during the conversation which Sam overheard, mention the "Great Siege" of the Last Alliance. The Two Towers is the second volume of J R R Tolkien 's High fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. The following is a list of Orcs of Middle-earth, created by fantasy In J R R Tolkien 's Fantasy writings Orcs or Orks are a race of creatures who are used as soldiers and henchmen by both the greater and lesser villains Samwise Gamgee, later known as Samwise Gardner and commonly known as Sam, is a Fictional character in J J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth fantasy writings include many wars and battles set in the lands of Aman, Beleriand, Númenor, and It is possible to interpret from the sentence that they were actually there and remembered it themselves: an event which lay millennia in the past. Another interpretation of this conversation is that this "Great Siege" could have instead been merely the current siege ongoing at Minas Tirith, or the siege of Minas Morgul. This article is about the city in the Third Age. For the First Age tower of the same name see Minas Tirith (First Age. Minas Morgul (ˈminas ˈmɔrɡuɫ ( Sindarin: Tower of Black Magic) also known by its earlier name of Minas Ithil ( Sindarin: Tower of the They certainly did live for at the very least hundreds of years, since Bolg was the son of Azog and his death occurred over 140 years after the death of his father. This second theory is consistent with a statement made in the "Myths Transformed" essay of Morgoth's Ring that the orcs had short lifespans in relation to the Númenóreans. Morgoth's Ring is the tenth volume of Christopher Tolkien 's 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth in which he analyzes the unpublished manuscripts Númenor (ˈnuːmɛnɔɹ is a Fictional place in J R R Tolkien 's writings which the author intended to be an allusion to the legendary Atlantis. The published Silmarillion states also that the Orcs reproduce after the manner of the Children of Ilúvatar (i. e. Men and Elves). In the Hobbit, Gollum remembers killing and eating a "small goblin-imp," which probably refers to a baby or child goblin.

Since this version of the origin of Orcs explicitly appears in the published Silmarillion, many have accepted it at face value as Tolkien's final views on the matter. However, as can be seen, Tolkien wrote later differing accounts, which may reflect his final intentions (see Middle-earth canon). Middle-earth canon is a term used in Tolkien fandom to promote the ideas of a Fictional canon within the writings of J This manner of the Orc's creation is referred to in Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring by Saruman after creating the Uruk-hai. The Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring is a 2001 Fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson based on the similarly titled first Note that the films are not canon, though.

Fallen Maiar

There are hints in the History of Middle-earth series of books, (especially in Morgoth's Ring in the section "Myths Transformed"), that some Orc leaders, such as the First Age's Boldog, or the Great Goblin encountered by Bilbo and the Dwarves, may in fact have been fallen Maiar which had taken Orc form:

Some of these things may have been delusions and phantoms but some were no doubt shapes taken by the servants of Melkor, mocking and degrading the very forms of the children. The History of Middle-earth is a 12-volume series of books published from 1983 through 1996 that collect and analyse material relating to the fiction of J Morgoth's Ring is the tenth volume of Christopher Tolkien 's 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth in which he analyzes the unpublished manuscripts In the fiction of J R R Tolkien, the First Age, or First Age of the Children of Ilúvatar in full is the first documented time period and the setting Boldog is the name of an Orc Captain in J R R Tolkien 's fictional Middle-earth during the First Age The following is a list of Orcs of Middle-earth, created by fantasy Bilbo Baggins is the protagonist of The Hobbit and also makes an appearance in The Lord of the Rings, two of the most well-known of The Maiar (singular Maia) are beings from J R R Tolkien 's Fantasy legendarium. For Melkor had in his service great numbers of Maiar, who had the power, as their Master, of taking visible and tangible shape in Arda. ^[20]

Boldog (…) is a name that occurs many times in the tales of the War. But it is possible that Boldog was not a personal name, and either a title, or else the name of a kind of creature: the Orc-formed Maiar, only less formidable than the Balrogs ^[21]

Melkor had corrupted many spirits — some great as Sauron, or less as Balrogs. Sauron (ˈsaʊrɒn Quenya: /sawrɔn/ literal meaning "Abhorred") is the title character and the principal Antagonist of the Fantasy The least could have been primitive Orcs. ^[22]

Some cross-bred with Men

Tolkien also "suggested" that Men were cross-bred with Orcs under Morgoth's lieutenant, Sauron (and possibly under Morgoth himself). The race of Men in J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth books such as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, refers to The Uruk-hai are speculated to be created in this way. In J R R Tolkien 's Fictional universe of Middle-earth, the Uruk-hai ( Black Speech: Orc folk) anglicized to Uruks, were The process was later repeated during the War of the Ring by Saruman, enabling him to make his own hybrids. In the fictional Fantasy -world of J R R Tolkien, the War of the Ring was fought between Sauron and the free peoples of Middle-earth

There is no doubt that long afterwards, in the Third Age, Saruman rediscovered this, or learned of it in lore, and in his lust for mastery committed this, his wickedest deed: the interbreeding of Orcs and Men, producing both Men-orcs large and cunning, and Orc-men treacherous and vile. ^[23]

While Tolkien at some point saw all Orcs as descended from tortured Elves, later comments of his indicate, according to Christopher Tolkien in Morgoth's Ring ("Myths Transformed, text X"), that he began to feel uncomfortable with this theory. Christopher Reuel Tolkien (born 21 November 1924 is the youngest son of the Author J At about the same time he removed the references to the Thrall-Ñoldorin, he also began searching for a new origin for the Orcs. In the fiction of J R R Tolkien, the Thrall-Noldorin are those Elves of the Noldor who have become slaves of Morgoth. The question of Orc origin may have been one of the problems Tolkien tried to solve by completely changing the cosmology and prehistory of Arda. Cosmology (from Greek grc κοσμολογία - grc κόσμος kosmos, "universe" and grc -λογία -logia) is study Stone Age Paleolithic See also Paleolithic, Recent African Origin, Early Homo sapiens, Early human migrations "Paleolithic" By setting the origin of Men back to almost the same time as the Elves, he possibly allowed for Men to be the origin of Orcs all along. Tolkien died before he could complete this upheaval of the cosmology, however, so the Elf origin was adopted in the published version of The Silmarillion. The Silmarillion is a collection of J R R Tolkien 's mythopoeic works edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in

Sentient beasts

Yet other of Tolkien's theories proposes that Orcs may have begun as animals of vaguely humanoid shapes, empowered by the will of the Dark Lord (first Morgoth, later Sauron):

The Orcs were beasts of humanized shape […]. Will, or willpower is a philosophical concept that is defined in several different ways There are many elements that show up throughout the fantasy genre in different guises ^[24]

It is certain all Orcs were dependent on the Dark Lord in various ways: after their leader was defeated, the Orcs were confused and dismayed, and easily scattered by their enemies. In the millennia after Morgoth's defeat and banishment from Arda, they were without a leader, and degenerated to small, quarrelsome tribes hiding in the Misty Mountains. In J R R Tolkien 's Legendarium, Arda is the name given to the Earth in a period of prehistory wherein the places mentioned in The Lord of the Rings In J R R Tolkien 's Fantasy world of Middle-earth, the Misty Mountains (also known by its Sindarin name of Hithaeglir Only when Sauron returned to power did they begin to reclaim some of their old power. The same happened after Sauron's defeat by the Last Alliance of Elves and Men: only when Sauron returned as the Necromancer of Mirkwood did the Orcs become a real danger for Middle-earth again. J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth fantasy writings include many wars and battles set in the lands of Aman, Beleriand, Númenor, and Mirkwood is a name used for two distinct fictional forests in J

Individual Orcs

Main article: List of Middle-earth Orcs

See also: List of original characters in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy for Orcs unique to the New Line films

Influence on later fantasy

Tolkien's Orcs are a major influence on fantasy fiction and games; they are the literary precursors of the Orcs (and similar races) of many different settings. The following is a list of Orcs of Middle-earth, created by fantasy This is a list of original characters of note found in Peter Jackson 's ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy. The Orcs of Warhammer Fantasy, Forgotten Realms, Warcraft and other games most often differ from Tolkien's Orcs in that they are taller and larger than humans and usually have green or greyish-green skin (in the case of the Warcraft Orcs, they even become the protagonists in the third game, redeeming themselves from the pact they made with the Burning Legion). Warhammer Fantasy is a Fantasy setting created by Games Workshop, in which many games of that company are set the best known ones being Warhammer The Forgotten Realms is a Campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D Fantasy Role-playing game, created by The Warcraft universe is a Fictional universe in which a series of games and books published by Blizzard Entertainment are set

C. S. Lewis may have inserted a nod to his friend's Orcs in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963 The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe is a fantasy novel for children by C When Aslan goes to his death on the Stone Table, the narrator mentions various evil creatures gathered around the White Witch — including "Orknies" (the name is also directly based on the above Old English term).

Adaptations

Orcs from the 1978 animated version of The Lord of the Rings. JRR Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings is a 1978 animated Fantasy film directed by Ralph Bakshi.

Uglúk the Uruk in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Peter Robert Jackson, CNZM (born 31 October 1961 is a three-time Academy Award -winning New Zealand director producer and writer best known for directing The Lord of the Rings The Two Towers is a 2002 Fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson based on the second volume of J

Sharku, an original Orc in Jackson's The Two Towers.

An Orc from the Cincinnati (2003) production of The Return of the King. The Return of the King is the third and final volume of J R R

Orcs have been featured in many adaptations of Tolkien's Middle-earth writings, from film to stage to video games. The Goblins in the 1977 animated adaptation of 'The Hobbit were likened to the work of Maurice Sendak. J R R Tolkien 's The Hobbit was adapted into an animated Television movie by Rankin/Bass Productions in 1977 Maurice Bernard Sendak (born June 10, 1928, in Brooklyn New York) is an American Writer and Illustrator of Children's literature ^[25] and are portrayed in exactly the same manner as the Orcs in the sequel The Return of the King (1980 film). The Return of the King is an animated adaptation of the novel by J Some adaptations have made Goblins distinct from Orcs. This was implied in New Line Cinema's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy directed by Peter Jackson, and can be seen in the real-time strategy games The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring and The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II. New Line Cinema, founded in 1967 is one of the major American Film studios Though it initially began as an independent film studio it became a The Lord of the Rings film trilogy consists of three Live action Fantasy Epic films The Fellowship of the Ring ( 2001 Peter Robert Jackson, CNZM (born 31 October 1961 is a three-time Academy Award -winning New Zealand director producer and writer best known for directing The Lord of the Rings War of the Ring is a 2003 Real-time strategy game (RTS developed by Liquid Entertainment, the makers of the previous The Lord of the Rings The Battle for Middle-earth II is a Real time strategy computer game published by Electronic Arts, based upon the fantasy In the former, Goblins can be used alongside common Orcs and Uruk-hai, while in the latter Goblins get their own playable faction.

In The Rise of the Witch-king, an expansion pack for The Battle for Middle-earth II, the Angmar faction uses "Gundabad Orcs" as ordinary foot soldiers, referring to their capital of Mount Gundabad. The Lord of the Rings The Battle for Middle-Earth II—The Rise of the Witch-King ( tLotRtBFMEIItROtWK) is a Real-time strategy computer Like the Goblins of the Misty Mountains, they sometimes ride wolves in battle. In J R R Tolkien 's Fantasy world of Middle-earth, the Misty Mountains (also known by its Sindarin name of Hithaeglir

Notes and references

External links

A more detailed and 'technical' approach to a problem of the origin of the Orcs can be found under the following link:

Origin of the Orcs

The essay puts emphasis to different theories of the origin of the Orcs and their validity in the light of Tolkien's writings.

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