For decades, the Tolkien fantasy world has found its ardent fans and admirers around the world. The Universe itself was created for many years, resulting in multiple stories about the peoples inhabiting it, important events and territories. Disputes of fans about their favorite races and their features continue to this day, and many questions have remained open. Someone is most attracted to domestic and peaceful hobbits living in cozy minks, someone prefers sophisticated and exalted elves who are famous for their unprecedented beauty, someone like bearded and funny gnomes who are ready for anything for the sake of treasures, but some remain true to their own nature and choose proud and warlike people. Unfortunately, the orcs of Middle-earth are not very popular, but this does not reduce the interest in the secrets of their origin and the main features.
Origin of the word
Translated from Old English, the word orc means "demon" or "giant." However, in some works you can find a different spelling - ork. J.R.R. Tolkien himself assured that the orcs of Middle-earth owed their name to the poem Beowulf from the Middle Ages, in which they called the huge monster Grendel. Different peoples of the fictional universe applied their designations to them depending on their own languages and dialects. But the most widespread and accepted naming among the masses is still simply "orc." Although it is noteworthy that, according to the creator himself, the "goblin" is considered the correct translation.
Appearance
One need only mention the orcs, as the gaze immediately seems to some ugly creature with a necessarily unpleasant smell. However, contrary to the creative vision of Peter Jackson and the widespread belief that they have an extremely repulsive and terrible appearance, still initially they practically did not differ from other races. This is evidenced by many examples from Tolkien's works, and even in the film adaptation, the ancient ent at first confused Merry and Pippin with the orcs, and the disguised Frodo and Sam manage to outwit the hordes of enemies, posing as their own. But if we return to the classical vision, then the orcs of Middle-earth, the photo of which is presented below, can be described as undersized, humanoid-like creatures with dark skin. They are distinguished by the presence of a flat nose and fangs of various sizes. Their limbs are not as straight as humans, but rather, awkwardly crooked. In addition, their appearance may vary depending on belonging to a tribe or on origin. For example, their sizes range from growth from about a hobbit to a large person and even higher. And their blood is black, which is not found in other nations.
Specific traits
Since the nature and origin of this race itself is covered with many mysteries, it is very difficult to formulate exact versions of the characteristics endowed by the orcs of Middle-earth. Life expectancy, for example, according to some sources is almost equal to the immortality of the elves. So, some fans interpret the conversation of Gorbak and Shagrat, overheard by Sam in the film “Two Fortresses,” as proof of this theory. Officially, it is believed that their life cycle is somewhat superior to the human. However, all this is only speculation in trying to understand how much the orcs of Middle-earth live, because no direct answer has been given. It is known that these insidious creatures are distinguished by hostility to everything beautiful and bright and are adherents of vandalism. But this does not prevent them from being excellent engineers and builders. Throughout history, they have actively opposed humans, elves and gnomes, often entering into alliances with trolls and wargs. They are alien to any moral principles, so they can easily dine with humanity or even the corpses of fallen comrades. Their native language is the black dialect, coined by Sauron, but in the film you can hear that all orcs communicate among themselves in a universal language.
Origin
Probably the most discussed is the question of how the orcs of Middle-earth first appeared. The list of all kinds of theories, fan and copyright, remains open, but there are several well-established versions. From the first works of Tolkien, it follows that the ancient representative of evil Melkor, aka Margot, created this folk from the void during the First Age. However, he later refuted himself, claiming that they were transformed into orcs from elves using black magic. In what way, it remains a mystery, but it is this version that has received the greatest distribution. And the fact that they were faithful servants of Margot remains undeniable.
Second Age
After his fall, the next milestone begins in the history of the wonderful world of Tolkien. As a people, the orcs of Middle-earth began to gradually spread over vast territories. Some of them occupied the Misty Mountains, while most moved to Mordor to serve with their new master, Sauron. The Second Age was marked by the war with the elves, as well as the confrontation with Gondor. In all battles, the orcs made up the bulk of the Dark Lord’s troops, but, as you know, he was also defeated, despite a huge army. After his fall, many simply did not survive, and the rest were left to their own devices for the first time in a long time. Some of them captured Moriah, from where the dwarves fled due to the advent of Balrog. After the Battle of the Five Peoples, one of Bilbo's companions in his journey by the name of Balin tried to conquer the territory, but failed, as a result of which he died with his army. Some tribes settled near Gundabad, in the Misty Mountains, where they were taken by surprise by the detachment of Torin, and their leader was killed.
War of the Ring
As forces gradually began to return to Sauron, many orcs rejoined him. Some of them came at the disposal of Saruman, who chose the dark side. In the trilogy of Peter Jackson, more than once you can see scenes of how the orcs of Middle-earth reproduce in Isengard, around which a lot of debate also arises. During the Third Age, they also took part in major battles, including the Battle of Helm's Fall and the Battle of the Pellenor Fields. The troops of Sauron and Saruman consisted of both ordinary orcs and hybrids, however, a large numerical superiority did not play an important role here either, since the fighters from them were far from being as good as from elves or humans.
Uruk-hai
It is during the battle for the Ring that it becomes known about such a variety as Uruk-hai. For the first time they came out of Mordor and defeated Ithilien, and also captured Osgiliath. Therefore, they were created precisely by Sauron and were distinguished by greater strength and growth extremely high for their race. However, the orcs of Middle-earth, known as the Uruk-hai, judging by the film, are the creation of Saruman, who interbred ordinary representatives of the race with people. Because of this, a lot of controversy has arisen about the divergence of concepts, and many believe that the creations of the white magician should be called half-orcs. Outwardly, they really resemble people. In addition, they are distinguished: special endurance, large dimensions, great strength and the ability to be under the sun, because ordinary orcs come out only in the dark. In the films “Lord of the Rings” they are marked with a white hand, due to which they instantly stand out from the rest.
Goblins and orcs
Many believe that representatives of the races of goblins and orcs are radically different from each other. This is true for many works and creations in the fantasy genre, but in Tolkien these words are synonymous. According to the original idea, his orcs should be translated exactly as goblins, but in some texts they are still different creatures. If you are familiar with the book about the journey of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins to Lonely Mountain, then you probably remember that the term “goblin” is used everywhere. This is because the work The Hobbit did not immediately become part of the Middle-earth universe. And in the Lord of the Rings itself, this name was first used, later replaced by orcs. In the film adaptation of the trilogy, this designation is found, but in the adaptation of “The Hobbit” they decided to move away from habits and adhere to the original. Thus, all the creatures here are goblins, not the orcs of Middle-earth. Azog, which is one of the antagonists in the paintings, does not even look like the representatives of the race that can be seen in The Lord of the Rings, although, in fact, it is an orc.
Famous representatives of the race
The list of these creatures is not as huge as the same list of famous elves or gnomes, however, representatives who left their mark in the annals of history will certainly be found here. The Orcs of Middle-earth, whose names are presented below, lived in various eras of the world, but mainly relate to the Second and Third. The Azog mentioned above is known for capturing Moria and chopping off the head of the Dwarf king Tror. His son, the Cruel Bolg, was killed by Beorn during the Battle of the Five Peoples. In The Hobbit, Thorin’s squad meets the High Goblin in the Misty Mountains, dying as a result. As for The Lord of the Rings, readers and viewers remember the commander of the Uruk-hai detachment, Saruman Ugluk, whom Eomer killed. It is also known that several orcs were absent from the Tolkien universe and were introduced into the plot specifically for the Jackson trilogy. The most memorable was Lurz, from whose hands Boromir died. But it will be fair to note that not so much attention is paid to names, and in general to representatives of this race, and this happens extremely rarely. Perhaps that is why the tangle of secrets and intrigues around them is still impossible to unravel.