Orcs

The orcs were first created during the First Age by Morgoth the first Dark Lord. The orcs served Morgoth and later on, his successor, to fulfill the Dark Lord’s quest to rule over Middle-earth. The orcs are considered to be the main soldiers of the Dark Lord’s armies. They are also sometimes considered to be the weakest of the Dark Lord’s servants. However, their numbers make up for their weaknesses. A lot of these orcs can be found in the puts, tunnels, chambers, and deep caves in Morgoth’s underground fortresses located in Angband and Utumno [1]. As their numbers multiplied, they began spreading throughout Middle-earth.

History

Orcs during the First Age

Origins of the Orcs

Morgoth was the first to discover the Awakening of the Elves. He sent evil spirits among them to question the Valar by planting seeds of doubt in their minds. Elves, who strayed too far, were captured by a Rider, who made the Elves believe that they were being brought to Utumno. There, the kidnapped Elves were tortured and cruelly twisted until they looked deformed and became Orcs. All of this happened before Oromë [2] discovered that Elves existed in Cuiviénen. [3]

Orcs in the Wars of Beleriand

The orcs were first considered to be a minor problem for over a millennium when they were first spotted by the dwarves. When the dwarves first saw them, they repeated the existence of the strange creatures to the High King of the Sindar, [4] King Thingol [5]. This caused the king to produce weapons of war for the very first time. When Morgoth returned with the Silmarils in his possession, he took over, organized the orcs, and was able to breed thousands more of the creatures. They soon became the core forces of Morgoth. It was said that Morgoth bred thousands of Orcs in the Land of Angband to create a formidable army. He organized them to assist him during the Battles of Beleriand, [6] this war lasted for 587 years.

The orcs were first spotted by the Noldor in battle during the Battle of Lammoth. The orcs also attacked the Havens of the Falas, [7] who were under the leadership of Cirdan. However, the orcs were defeated soon by Thingol and his allies. The now organized orcs were also able to kill the King of the Laiquendi, Denethor. The siege did not stop until the Ñoldor arrived. When the house of Fëanor came back to Middle-earth, a force of Orcs attacked them under the orders of Morgoth. The Orcs were easily defeated even though the house of Fëanor were outnumbered. They were no match for the wrath and power of the Ñoldor. Despite the victory, Fëanor was killed when faced with Morgoth, this allowed the Orcs to continue multiplying under the Dark Lord.

The losses and suffering at the hands of the Orcs caused the Queen of Doriath, Melian, to create an enchanting spell to protect the kingdom. The Laiquendi, who suffered the most, went into hiding in Ossiriand while some went to Doriath to seek refuge. The orcs were defeated during a minor raid on Hithlum and the Dagor Aglareb. They were unfazed by the defeat as they were able to grow in numbers quickly, so they were ready to fight again in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad and Dagor Bragollach. The army of orcs was nearly depleted during the War of the Wrath. Survivors from that battle fled to the east, where they hid in the Grey Mountains and the Mountains of Angmar.

Orcs during the Second Age

Around 1000 SA, Sauron appeared in Middle-earth and took over Mordor. There, he started to build his kingdom and constructed the Barad-dûr and started organizing the orcs to be under his service. Around 1700 SA, the War of the Elves and Sauron took place. During the battle, the orcs became the primary host of Sauron’s power. Despite their intimidating number, the orcs lost to the Elves and the Numenoreans. This was due to their organized planning, which boosted their unity. Sauron was able to recover from the defeat against the Elves. He still had high power on the eastern side of the Misty Mountains. A lot of orcs still inhabited that side of the mountain, and they have multiplied in numbers throughout the eastern land. The Orcs of the Misty Mountains then waged war with the Dwarves. They were victorious in the First Sack of Gundabad and occupied the territory. In the War of the Last Alliance, the orcs came to fight with Sauron. They became the root forces during the Siege of Barad-dûr and the Battle of Dagorlad.

Orcs during the Third Age

By the Third Age, the orcs were serving Sauron and the Witch-king of Angmar. In Angmar, the Orcs were helpful in the Angmar War. They were able to invade Eriador years with the witch king leading them. The orcs of the Misty Mountains were an independent society by this time. Their leader, Azog, was the one who started the War of the Dwarves and Orcs. The orcs lost the battle and withdrew to their caves after their defeat. They resurfaced again in 2941 TA during the Battle of Five Armies. The orcs of Mordor were involved in major battles during the War of the Ring.

One of these battles was the Battle of Pelennor Fields. The majority of the orcs were destroyed during the Battle of the Morannon. There were several random battles involving the Orcs in Mordor until it came to the point where they were forced to move out of the western side of Mordor. It was indistinct how many orcs were under Sauron’s command during this time, and it was also clear how many orcs survived after Sauron’s downfall. The Orcs who lived in Dol Guldur stayed in Mirkwood until the Fall of Dol Guldur, one of the last battles of the War of the Ring.

Orcs during the Fourth Age and Beyond

The fate of the orcs was unknown during the Fourth Age. The orcs who were not in Mordor may have been scattered across Middle-earth and may be living in hiding. It is assumed that the orcs of Moria were eliminated by the Fourth Age. It has been recorded that the Dwarves were able to recapture Moria and its mines by this time.

Characteristics of the Orcs

JRR Tolkien portrayed the orcs to be vicious, sadistic, black-hearted, cruel, and hateful of everything and everyone. As for their physique, the orcs were short and had a humanoid shape. Most of them had sallow and dark skins, pointed ears, flat noses, massive bodies, bow legs, fangs, long arms, slant eyes, and full mouths. Some of them may be as short as a hobbit as Frodo and Sam were able to disguise themselves as orcs in Mordor. The original orcs were very different from the Uruk-hai orcs of Saruman. The orcs had no appreciation for beautiful things. Still, they were smart when it comes to weapons, machines, tools, and instruments of torture. They were good at creating explosions, making engines, and using wheels.

It was said that they can tunnel and mine as good as the Dwarves. Their work shows that they are capable of being craftsmen and smiths, but their tools are often crude compared to the tools of the Free Peoples. From the time Morgoth bred them from tortured and deformed Elves, they have a hatred for themselves and have a more deep-rooted hatred for Morgoth. Since they can not act on their hatred upon the Dark Lord, they are in a perpetual state of chaos with themselves, turning them into a wicked and violent race. Because of this, you will often see orcs killing each other over the littlest things.

It was seen that the orcs were very dependent on the Dark Lords [8] for direction. When the Dark Lords were defeated, the orcs were very confused without a leader to look up to. They scattered all over the land and were easily defeated by their enemies without someone taking command. They grouped into small tribes that hid in wild places, being a minor threat to isolated settlements and travelers of the mountains. They were only able to feel power whenever a Dark Lord appears and takes command. The lifespan of the Orcs has been a debatable manner. Tolkien did not specify this in his books. However, it was generally agreed that although not immortal like the Elves, they do have a long lifespan. The books have proven that they can live for more than a hundred years old, as established by the case of famous Orc chiefs Azog and Bolg, who were father and son.

Types of Orcs

​

The elves of Lothlórien referred to the orcs as “Yrch.” Legolas also called them as such when using the Sindarin language. Before Tolkien’s works, the term “Orcneas” was found in Beowulf. Orcneas was a tribe that was condemned by God along with the elves and ettins in the story. In Beowulf, the term “Orcneas” can be interpreted as “evil spirits.” It was believed that Tolkien got the word “Orc” from this context. In a letter to Naomi Mitchison, Tolkien shared that he did borrow the word from Beowulf. However, his Orcs were mostly influenced by the tale of The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald. In Tolkien’s writings after Lord of the Rings, it could be seen that he preferred the spelling “ork.” He used the English term “orc” to refer to a race of evil and violent humanoid creatures. His Elvish dictionaries had the entry for “Ork” referring to ogre, demon, and monster. He noted the plural terms to be “Ogresse” and “Orqindi” but he usually uses "Orqui” as the plural form in his early works.

Famous Orcs

​

Etymology

In the Sindarin language of Tolkien, Orc is orch and yrch in plural form. The original meaning of the word pertained to “bogey” like the “bogeyman”. [9] In the Quenya cognate, Orc is urko and urqui in plural form. In Old English, Orc stands for “demon.” In the Old English language, it refers to evil spirits, derived from the Latin “Orcus.” In Latin, “Orcus” refers to evil giants and monsters. This made Tolkien believe that “orc” was an old English word that could apply to any kind of monster from the underworld. Ghân-buri-Ghân [10] of the wild men called the orcs “Gorgûn” when speaking in their language.

Controversy

The Orcs were a subject of debate. Tolkien was assumed to be racist because of his description of the Orcs. The fact that the Orcs were flat-nosed, had slant eyes, full mouths, broad, and shallowed skinned. The description was said to refer to the Mongol people during that time. People believe that Tolkien showed his belief that some races are worse than others. The subject has been debated not only by hard-core Tolkien fans but also by scholars.

Adaptations

Peter Jackson’s Movies

Peter Jackson produced two trilogy films from Tolkien’s stories. If you watch them, you can see that the orcs had different appearances. Orcs with distinct roles had skin colors that were shades of green, peachy, and even bone white. But you can see the majority of the orc soldiers had a skin of black or brown shades. Most of the orcs have humanoid shapes that have shorter heights than most men. Orcs were having poor posture, and they had broad, long arms. The hybrid Uruks had a more human-like posture. In The Hobbit Trilogy, you can see how the first orcs looked like. They were short creatures that had warts and growths all over their bodies. Their skin was pinkish-white, and they had porcine and bat-like facial features with large heads.​