Orc

This article is about the fictional humanoid monster. For other uses, see Orc (disambiguation).

Orc
GroupingHumanoid
Sub groupingMonster
Similar entitiesGoblin, Uruk-hai, Troll
FolkloreMiddle-earth
First attestedThe Hobbit (1937)
Other name(s)Ork
RegionMiddle-earth
HabitatMountains, caves, dark forests
DetailsMultiple alternative origins proposed by Tolkien, e.g. corrupted elves, or bred by Morgoth

An orc (sometimes spelt ork; /ɔːrk/[1][2]),[3] in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy fiction, is a race of humanoid monsters, which he also calls "goblin".

In Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, orcs appear as a brutish, aggressive, ugly, and malevolent race of monsters, contrasting with the benevolent Elves. He described their origins inconsistently, including as a corrupted race of elves, or bred by the Dark Lord Morgoth, or turned to evil in the wild.[4][5] Tolkien's orcs serve as a conveniently wholly evil enemy that could be slaughtered without mercy.

The orc was a sort of "hell-devil" in Old English literature, and the orc-né (pl. orc-néas, "demon-corpses") was a race of corrupted beings and descendants of Cain, alongside the elf, according to the poem Beowulf. Tolkien adopted the term orc from these old attestations, which he professed was a choice made purely for "phonetic suitability" reasons.[T 1]

Tolkien's concept of orcs has been adapted into the fantasy fiction of other authors, and into games of many different genres such as Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, and Warcraft.

  1. ^ Karthaus-Hunt, Beatrix (2002). "'And What Happened After': How J.R.R. Tolkien Visualized, and Other Artists Re-Visualized, the Denizens of Middle-earth". In Westfahl, Gary; Slusser, George Edgar; Plummer, Kathleen Church (eds.). Unearthly Visions: Approaches to Science Fiction and Fantasy Art. Greenwood Press. pp. 138n. ISBN 0-313-31705-4.
  2. ^ Lobdell 1975, p. 171.
  3. ^ "Orc". Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  4. ^ Shippey 2005, pp. 362, 438 (chapter 5, note 14).
  5. ^ Schneidewind, Friedhelm (2007). "Biology of Middle-earth". In Drout, Michael D. C. (ed.). J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment. The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia. Routledge. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-4159-6942-0.


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