Orc — Mediated Wiki

{{short description|Humanoid monster in Tolkien's fiction}} {{about|the fictional humanoid monster|other uses|Orc (disambiguation)}} {{good article}} {{Use British English|date=September 2021}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}} {{Infobox mythical creature | name = Orc | image = | caption = | Grouping = [[Humanoid]] | Sub_Grouping = [[Monster]] | Similar_entities = [[Goblin]], [[Uruk-hai]], [[Troll (Middle-earth)|Troll]] | Folklore = [[Middle-earth]] | First_Attested = ''[[The Hobbit]]'' (1937) | AKA = Ork | Region = [[Middle-earth]] | Habitat = Mountains, caves, dark forests | Details = Multiple alternative origins proposed by Tolkien, e.g. corrupted elves, or bred by [[Morgoth]] }} An '''orc''' (sometimes spelt '''ork'''; {{IPAc-en|ɔr|k}}<ref name="karthaus-hunt">{{cite book |last=Karthaus-Hunt |first=Beatrix |chapter='And What Happened After': How J.R.R. Tolkien Visualized, and Other Artists Re-Visualized, the Denizens of Middle-earth |editor1-last=Westfahl |editor1-first=Gary |editor1-link=Gary Westfahl |editor2-last=Slusser |editor2-first=George Edgar |editor2-link=George Edgar Slusser |editor3-last=Plummer |editor3-first=Kathleen Church |title=Unearthly Visions: Approaches to Science Fiction and Fantasy Art |publisher=[[Greenwood Press]] |year=2002 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wnAVAQAAIAAJ&q=ork |pages=138n |isbn=0-313-31705-4}}</ref>{{sfn|Lobdell|1975|p=171}}),<ref>{{cite web |title=Orc |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/orc |website=[[Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary|Cambridge Dictionary]] |access-date=26 January 2020}}</ref> is a fictional race of humanoid monsters often found in works of [[Fantasy#Modern fantasy|modern fantasy]]. Originally called "Goblins," the concept of modern orcs can be found in [[George MacDonald]]'s [[The Princess and the Goblin|''The Princess and the Goblin'']], and later adapted into [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s [[Tolkien's legendarium|Middle-earth fantasy fiction]], where the first uses of the word can be found.<ref>{{Citation |last=Honegger |first=Thomas |title=From Old English orcneas to George MacDonald's Goblins with Soft Feet: Sources of Inspiration and Models for Tolkien's Orcs from English Literature |date=2024 |work=Eine kleine Geschichte der Orks: Der monströse Feind im Wandel der Zeit |pages=41–60 |editor-last=Jordan |editor-first=Delila |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-69228-8_4 |access-date=2025-10-19 |place=Berlin, Heidelberg |publisher=Springer |language=de |doi=10.1007/978-3-662-69228-8_4 |isbn=978-3-662-69228-8 |editor2-last=Droß-Krüpe |editor2-first=Kerstin|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

In Tolkien's ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', orcs appear as a brutish, aggressive, ugly, and malevolent [[Tolkien's monsters|race of monsters]], contrasting with the benevolent [[Elves in Middle-earth|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.{{sfn|Shippey|2005|pp=362, 438 (chapter 5, note 14)}}<ref name="schneidewind2007">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Schneidewind |first=Friedhelm |title=J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment |chapter=Biology of Middle-earth |editor-last=Drout |editor-first=Michael D. C. |editor-link=Michael D. C. Drout |encyclopedia=[[The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia]] |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2007 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B0loOBA3ejIC&pg=PA66 |page=66 |isbn=978-0-4159-6942-0}}</ref> Tolkien's orcs serve as a [[Tolkien's moral dilemma|conveniently wholly evil enemy]] that could be slaughtered without mercy.{{sfn|Shippey|2005|p=265}}

The orc was a sort of "hell-devil" in [[Old English]] literature, and the {{lang|ang|orc-né}} (pl. {{lang|ang|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.<ref group=T name="Letter 144"/>

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]]''.

== Etymology ==

[[File:Orcus glossed as Orc, Thyrs, or Hel-deofol in Cleopatra Glossary.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|[[Latin]] ''orcus'' is glossed as [[Old English]] "{{lang|ang|orc, þyrs [[ꝉ]] hel-deofol}}" ("Goblin, spectre or hell-devil") in the 10th century ''[[Cleopatra Glossaries]]''.]]

The Anglo-Saxon word ''orc'', which Tolkien used, is generally thought to be derived from the [[Latin]] word/name {{lang|la|Orcus}},<ref name="shippey1979">{{cite book|last=Shippey |first=Tom |author-link=Tom Shippey |chapter=Creation from Philology in the Lord of the Rings |title=J. R. R. Tolkien, scholar and storyteller: Essays in Memoriam |editor1-first=Mary |editor1-last=Salu |editor2-first=Robert T. |editor2-last=Farrell |year=1979 |location=Ithaca, New York |publisher=[[Cornell University Press]] |page=[https://archive.org/details/jrrtolkienschola00unse/page/291 291]|isbn=978-0-80141-038-3 |chapter-url-access=registration |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/jrrtolkienschola00unse/page/291 }}</ref> though Tolkien expressed doubt about this.<ref>{{harvnb|Carpenter|2023|loc=#290a }}</ref> The term {{lang|la|orcus}} is glossed as "{{lang|ang|orc, þyrs, oððe hel-deofol}}"{{efn|Here: "orcus   [orc].. þrys [[ꝉ]] heldeofol"  is the redaction given by {{Harvnb|Pheifer|1974}}, {{URL|1=https://books.google.com/books?id=kN5ZAAAAMAAJ&q=heldeofol|2=p. 37n}} but ''þrys'' appears to be a mistranscription for ''þyrs''. The original text uses "ꝉ", the [[scribal abbreviation#Marks with relative meaning|scribal abbreviation]] for Latin ''vel'' meaning "or", which Wright has silently expanded as Anglo-Saxon {{lang|ang|oððe}}.}} ("Goblin, spectre, or hell-devil") in the 10th century [[Old English]] ''[[Cleopatra Glossaries]]'', about which [[Thomas Wright (antiquarian)|Thomas Wright]] wrote: "[[Orcus]] was the name for [[Pluto (mythology)|Pluto]], the god of the infernal regions, hence we can easily understand the explanation of ''[[hell|hel]]-[[devil|deofol]]''. ''Orc'', in Anglo-Saxon, like ''[[Jötunn|thyrs]]'', means a spectre, or goblin."<ref>{{cite book |last=Wright |first=Thomas |author-link=Thomas Wright (antiquarian) |title=A second volume of vocabularies |publisher=privately printed |year=1873 |url=https://archive.org/details/ASecondVolumeOfVocabularies |page=[https://archive.org/details/ASecondVolumeOfVocabularies/page/n76 63]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Pheifer |first=J. D. |title=Old English Glosses in the Épinal-Erfurt Glossary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=1974 |pages=37, 106 |isbn=978-0-19-811164-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kN5ZAAAAMAAJ&q=orcus }}(Repr. Sandpaper Books, 1998 {{ISBN|0-19-811164-9}}), Gloss #698: orcus   orc (Épinal); orci   orc (Erfurt).</ref><ref group="lower-alpha" name="corpus">The ''Corpus Glossary'' (Corpus Christi College MS. 144, late 8th to early 9th century) has the two glosses: "''orcus'', orc" and "''orcus'', ðyrs, hel-diobul.{{Harvnb|Pheifer|1974|p=37n}}</ref>

The term is used just once in ''[[Beowulf]]'', as the plural compound ''orcneas'', in the sense of a tribe of monstrous beings descended from [[Cain]], alongside the [[elf|elves]] and [[Jötunn|ettin]]s (giants), who were condemned by God:

{| |{{lang|ang| :þanon untydras ealle onwocon :eotenas ond ylfe ond orcneas :swylce gigantas þa wið gode wunnon :lange þrage he him ðæs lean forgeald}} {{right|—''Beowulf'', Fitt I, vv. 111–14{{sfn|Klaeber|1950|p=5}}}} | :Thence all evil broods were born, :ogres and elves and evil spirits :—the giants also, who long time fought with God, :for which he gave them their reward {{right|—[[John Richard Clark Hall|John R. Clark Hall]], tr. (1901)<ref>{{Harvnb|Klaeber|1950|p=25}}</ref>}} | |}

[[File:Beowulf eotenas ylfe orcneas.jpg|thumb|upright=2|''[[Beowulf]]''{{'}}s ''eotenas ond ylfe ond orcneas'', "[[ogres]] and [[Elf (Middle-earth)|elves]] and demon-corpses", inspiring Tolkien to create orcs and other races]]

The meaning of {{lang|ang|Orcneas}} is uncertain. [[Frederick Klaeber]] suggested it consisted of ''orc'' < L. ''orcus'' "the underworld" + ''neas'' "corpses", to which the translation "evil spirits" failed to do justice.<ref name="Klaeber 1950">{{harvnb|Klaeber|1950|p=183}}: "orcneas: 'evil spirits' does not bring out all the meaning. Orcneas is compounded of orc (from the Lat. orcus "the underworld" or Hades) and neas "corpses". Necromancy was practised among the ancient Germani and was familiar among the pagan Norsemen who revived it in England when they invaded".</ref>{{efn|Klaeber here takes ''orcus'' to be the world and not the god, as does {{Harvnb|Bosworth|Toller|1898|p=764}}: "orc, es; m. The infernal regions (orcus)", though the latter seems to predicate on synthesizing the compound "Orcþyrs" by altering the reading of the Cleopatra glossaries as given by Wright's Voc. ii. that he sources.}} It is generally supposed to contain an element ''-né'', cognate to [[Gothic language|Gothic]] ''naus'' and [[Old Norse]] ''nár'', both meaning 'corpse'.<ref name="shippey1979"/>{{efn|The usual Old English word for corpse is ''líc'', but ''-né'' appears in ''nebbed'' 'corpse bed',<ref>{{cite thesis |title=Moot passages in Beowulf |first=Patricia Kathleen |last=Brehaut |year=1961 |publisher=[[Stanford University]] |location=Stanford, California| page=8}}</ref> and in ''dryhtné'' 'dead body of a warrior', where ''dryht'' is a military unit.}} If ''*orcné'' is to be glossed as ''orcus'' 'corpse', then the compound word can be construed as "demon-corpses",{{sfn|Shippey|2001|p=88}} or "corpse from Orcus (i.e. the underworld)".<ref name="Klaeber 1950"/> Hence ''orc-neas'' may have been some sort of [[undead|walking dead]] monster, a product of ancient [[necromancy]],<ref name="Klaeber 1950"/> or a [[zombie]]-like creature.{{sfn|Shippey|2001|p=88}}<ref name="chickering">{{cite book |translator=Chickering, Howell D. |title=Beowulf: A Dual-language Edition |publisher=[[Anchor Books]] |year=1977 |page=284 |isbn=978-0-3850-6213-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iQLXAAAAMAAJ&q=%22orc-neas%22}}</ref>

== Tolkien ==

[[File:The princess and the goblin (1920) (14566641580).jpg|thumb|upright|Tolkien wrote that his orcs were influenced by the goblins in [[George MacDonald]]'s 1872 ''[[The Princess and the Goblin]]''.<ref name="Letter 144" group=T/> Illustration "The goblins fell back a little when he began, and made horrible grimaces" by [[Jessie Willcox Smith]], 1920]]

The term "orc" is used only once in the first edition of Tolkien's 1937 ''[[The Hobbit]]'', which preferred the term "goblins". "Orc" was later used ubiquitously in ''The Lord of the Rings''.<ref name="gilliver&marshall&weiner2009"/><ref name="TH 149 n9" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1937|p=149, n9}}</ref> The "orc-" element occurs in ''The Hobbit'' in the sword name [[Orcrist]],{{efn|[[Thorin Oakenshield]]'s [[Elf (Middle-earth)|Elvish]] sword from [[Gondolin]].}}<ref name="TH 149 n9" group=T/><ref name="gilliver&marshall&weiner2009"/> which is given as its Elvish language name,<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1937|p=62, n4}}</ref><ref name="Kemball-cook 1977">{{cite journal|last=Kemball-Cook |first=Jessica |title=Three Notes on Names in Tolkien and Lewis |journal=Mythprint |volume=15 |issue=2 |date=February 1977 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4s0qAQAAIAAJ&q=%22rist%22+%22cleave%22 |page=2}}</ref> and [[Gloss (annotation)|glossed]] as "Goblin-cleaver".<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1937|loc=ch. 4 "Over Hill and Under Hill"}}</ref>

=== Stated etymology ===

Tolkien began the more modern use of the English term "orc" to denote a race of [[Evil in Middle-earth|evil]] humanoid beings. His earliest [[Elvish language|Elvish]] dictionaries include the entry ''Ork (orq-)'' "monster", "ogre", "demon", together with ''orqindi'' and "ogresse". He sometimes used the plural form ''orqui'' in his early texts.{{efn|''[[Parma Eldalamberon]]'' volume XII: "Quenya Lexicon Quenya Dictionary": 'Ork' ('orq-') monster, ogre, demon. "orqindi" ogresse. [The original reading of the second entry was >'orqinan' ogresse.< Perhaps the intended meaning of the earlier form was 'region of ogres'; cf. 'kalimban', 'Hisinan'. 'The Poetic and Mythologic Words of Eldarissa' gives 'ork' 'ogre, giant' and 'orqin' 'ogress', which may be a feminine form. ...]"}} He stated that the Elvish words for orc were derived from a root ''ruku'', "fear, horror"; in [[Quenya]], ''orco'', plural ''orkor''; in [[Sindarin]] ''orch'', plurals ''yrch'' and ''Orchoth'' (as a class).<ref name="Jewels Orcs" group=T/><ref name="Letter 144" group=T/> They had similar names in other [[Middle-earth]] languages: ''uruk'' in Black Speech;<ref name="Letter 144" group=T/> in the language of the Drúedain ''gorgûn'', "ork-folk"; in [[Khuzdul]] ''rukhs'', plural ''rakhâs''; and in the language of Rohan and in the [[Westron|Common Speech]], ''orka''.<ref name="Jewels Orcs" group=T/>

Tolkien stated in a [[The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien|letter]] to the novelist [[Naomi Mitchison]] that his orcs had been influenced by [[George MacDonald]]'s ''[[The Princess and the Goblin]]''.<ref name="Letter 144" group=T>{{harvnb|Carpenter|2023|loc=#144 to Naomi Mitchison 25 April 1954 }}</ref> He explained that his word "orc" was "derived from Old English ''orc'' 'demon', but only because of its phonetic suitability",<ref name="Letter 144" group=T/><ref name="gilliver&marshall&weiner2009">{{cite book|last1=Gilliver |first1=Peter |author1-link=:en:Peter Gilliver |last2=Marshall |first2=Jeremy |author2-link= |last3=Weiner |first3=Edmund |author3-link=:en:Edmund Weiner |chapter=Part III. Word Studies. Orc. |title=The Ring of Words: Tolkien and the Oxford English Dictionary |title-link=The Ring of Words: Tolkien and the Oxford English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2009 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bszM-uwEQOkC&q=orc |pages=174–175 |isbn=978-0-19-956836-9}}</ref> and

{{blockquote|I originally took the word from Old English ''orc'' (''Beowulf'' 112 ''orc-neas'' and the gloss ''orc'': ''þyrs'' ('ogre'), ''heldeofol'' ('hell-devil')).{{efn|In the ''[[Cleopatra Glossaries]]'', Folio 69 verso; the entry is illustrated above.}} This is supposed not to be connected with [[modern English]] ''orc'', ''ork'', a name applied to various sea-beasts of the dolphin order".<ref group=T>{{cite book |first=J. R. R. |last=Tolkien |editor-last1=Hammond |editor-first1=Wayne G. |editor1-link=Wayne G. Hammond |editor-last2=Scull |editor-first2=Christina |editor2-link=Christina Scull |chapter=Nomenclature of The Lord of the Rings |title=The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion |title-link=Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-00-720907-1 |chapter-url=http://tolkien.ro/text/JRR%20Tolkien%20-%20Guide%20to%20the%20Names%20in%20The%20Lord%20of%20the%20Rings.pdf}}</ref><ref name="karthaus-hunt" />}}

Tolkien also observed a similarity with the [[Latin]] word ''[[orcus]]'', noting that "the word used in translation of Q[uenya] ''urko'', S[indarin] ''orch'' is Orc. But that is because of the similarity of the ancient English word ''orc'', 'evil spirit or bogey', to the Elvish words. There is possibly no connection between them".<ref name="Jewels Orcs" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1994|loc=Appendix C "Elvish names for the Orcs", pp. 289–391}}</ref>

=== Description ===

Orcs are of human shape, and of varying size.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}} book 6, ch. 1, "The Tower of Cirith Ungol"</ref> They are depicted as ugly and filthy, with a taste for human flesh. They are fanged, bow-legged and long-armed. Most are small and avoid daylight.<ref name="The Uruk-hai" group=T/>

By the late [[Third Age]], a new breed of orc had emerged from Mordor attacking [[Osgiliath]],<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}} Appendix A, "The Stewards" section</ref> the Uruk-hai, larger and more powerful. Later, they were garrisoned also in Isengard serving [[Saruman]],<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}} Appendix F, "Of other races" section</ref> whose Uruks were no longer afraid of daylight.<ref name="The Uruk-hai" group=T/> Orcs eat meat, including the flesh of [[Men (Middle-earth)|Men]], and may indulge in [[Human cannibalism|cannibalism]]: in ''[[The Two Towers]]'', Grishnákh, an orc from [[Mordor]], claims that the [[Isengard]] orcs eat orc-flesh. Whether that is true or spoken in malice is uncertain: an orc flings [[Peregrin Took]] stale bread and a "strip of raw dried flesh ... the flesh of he dared not guess what creature".<ref name="The Uruk-hai" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954|loc=Book 3, ch. 3 "The Uruk-hai"}}</ref>

{{anchor|Half-orc}}Half-orcs appear in ''The Lord of the Rings'', created by interbreeding of orcs and Men;<ref name="MRMT X" group=T/> they were able to go in sunlight.<ref name="The Uruk-hai" group=T/> The "sly Southerner" in ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' looks "more than half like a goblin";<ref name="Knife in the Dark" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954a|loc=Book 1, ch. 11 "A Knife in the Dark"}}</ref> similar but more orc-like hybrids appear in ''The Two Towers'' "man-high, but with goblin-faces, sallow, leering, squint-eyed."<ref name="Flotsam and Jetsam" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954|loc=Book 3, ch. 9 "Flotsam and Jetsam"}}</ref>

{{multiple image |total_width=300px |image1=Weinstein-like_Orc.jpg |alt1=An orc mask |image2=Harvey Weinstein Césars 2014 (detail).jpg |alt2=A close-up picture of film producer Harvey Weinstein from the shoulders up |footer=[[Peter Jackson]] had an orc modelled on the Hollywood producer [[Harvey Weinstein]] after a disagreement.<ref name="Oladipo 2021"/> }}

In [[Peter Jackson]]'s [[Lord of The Rings (film franchise)|''Lord of the Rings'' films]], the actors playing orcs are made up with masks designed to make them look evil. After a disagreement with the film producer [[Harvey Weinstein]], Jackson had one of the masks made to resemble Weinstein, as an insult to him.<ref name="Oladipo 2021">{{cite news |last1=Oladipo |first1=Gloria |title=Lord of the Rings orc was modeled after Harvey Weinstein, Elijah Wood reveals |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/oct/05/elijah-wood-lord-of-the-rings-orc-modeled-harvey-weinstein |access-date=1 December 2022 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=5 October 2021}}</ref>

=== Orkish language ===

The Orcs had no language of their own, merely a pidgin of many various languages. However, individual tribes developed dialects that differed so widely that [[Westron]], often with a crude accent, was used as a common language.<ref name="The Uruk-hai" group=T/><ref name="Canavan 2012"/> 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 his tower of [[Barad-dûr]]. A sample of debased Black Speech can be found in ''[[The Two Towers]]'', where a "yellow-fanged" guard Orc of Mordor curses Uglúk of Isengard (an Uruk-hai chief) with the words "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!"<ref name="PoME" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1996|loc=Part One: the Prologue and Appendices to The Lord of the Rings. Draft of Appendix F.}}</ref> However, in a note published in ''[[Vinyar Tengwar]]'' he gives an alternative translation: "Uglúk to the dung-pit with stinking Saruman-filth, pig-guts, gah!"<ref>{{cite journal |last=Hostetter |first=Carl F. |author-link=Carl Hostetter |title=Ugluk to the Dung-pit |journal=Vinyar Tengwar |issue =26 |date=November 1992 |publisher=[[Elvish Linguistic Fellowship]]}}</ref> {{illm|Aleksandr Iosifovich Nemirovsky|ru|Немировский, Александр Иосифович|lt=Alexander Nemirovsky}} speculated that Tolkien might have drawn upon the language of the ancient [[Hittites]] and [[Hurrians]] for Black Speech.<ref>{{cite web |last=Fauskanger |first=Helge K. |author-link=Helge Fauskanger |title=Orkish and the Black Speech – base language for base purposes |work=Ardalambion |url=http://www.uib.no/People/hnohf/orkish.htm |publisher=[[University of Bergen]] |access-date=21 April 2023 |archive-date=10 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071210112125/http://uib.no/People/hnohf/orkish.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== In-fiction origins ===

The origins of orcs were explained in multiple inconsistent ways by Tolkien.<ref name="Schneidewind 2007">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Schneidewind |first=Friedhelm |title=J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment |entry=Biology of Middle-earth |editor-last=Drout |editor-first=Michael D. C. |editor-link=Michael D. C. Drout |encyclopedia=[[The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia]] |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2007 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B0loOBA3ejIC&pg=PA66 |page=66 |isbn=978-0-4159-6942-0}}</ref> Early works depict them as creations of [[Morgoth]], mimicking the forms of the Children of Ilúvatar.<ref name="Schneidewind 2007"/> Alternatively, as in ''The Silmarillion'', they may have been [[Elf (Middle-earth)|East Elves]], enslaved, tortured, and bred by Morgoth;<ref name="Silm 2004 p. 50" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977|p=50}}</ref> or, perhaps the [[Avari (Middle-earth)|Avari]], the Elves who refused to go to [[Aman (Middle-earth)|Aman]], turned "evil and savage in the wild".<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977|pp=93–94}}</ref>{{efn|The orcs are described as "foul broodlings of Melkor who fared abroad doing his evil work" in ''[[The Tale of Tinúviel]]''.<ref name="BoLT2 Tale of Tinúviel" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1984b|loc="The Tale of Tinúviel"}}</ref>}}

The orcs "multiplied" like Elves and Men, meaning that they [[Sexual reproduction|reproduced sexually]].<ref name="shippey2005-p265"/> Tolkien stated in a letter dated 21 October 1963 to a Mrs. Munsby that "there must have been orc-women".<ref group="T">Tolkien (1963). Letter dated 21 October 1963 to Ms. Munsby, cited in {{cite web |last=Gee |first=Henry |author-link=Henry Gee |url=http://greenbooks.theonering.net/guest/files/041305.html |title=The Science of Middle-earth: Sex and the Single Orc |website=TheOneRing.net |access-date=29 May 2009}}</ref><ref name="chausse">{{cite book |last=Chausse |first=Jean |chapter=Le pouvoir féminin en Arda |language=fr |editor1-last=Qadri |editor1-first=Jean-Philippe |editor2-last=Sainton |editor2-first=Jérôme |editor2-link= |title=Pour la gloire de ce monde. Recouvrements et consolations en Terre du Milieu |publisher=Le Dragon de Brume |year=2016 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z6g8DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA160 |page=160, n7 |isbn=978-2-9539896-4-9}}</ref>{{sfn|Stuart|2022|p=133}} In ''[[The Fall of Gondolin]]'' Morgoth made them of slime by sorcery, "bred from the heats and slimes of the earth".<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1984b|p=159}}</ref> Or, they were "''beasts'' of humanized shape": possibly Elves mated with beasts, and later Men.<ref name="Myths transformed" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1993|loc="Myths transformed", text VIII}}</ref> Elsewhere, Tolkien wrote that they could have been fallen [[Maia (Middle-earth)|Maiar]] – perhaps a kind called ''Boldog'', like lesser [[Balrog]]s – or corrupted Men.<ref name="MRMT X" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1993|loc="Myths transformed", text X}}</ref>

Shippey writes that the orcs in ''The Lord of the Rings'' were almost certainly created just to equip Middle-earth with a continual supply of enemies who one could kill without compunction,<ref name="shippey2005-p265">{{harvnb|Shippey|2005|p=265}}</ref> or in Tolkien's words from ''[[The Monsters and the Critics]]'' to serve as "the infantry of the old war" ready to be slaughtered.<ref name="shippey2005-p265"/> Shippey states that orcs nevertheless share the human concept of good and evil, with a familiar sense of [[morality]], though he notes that, like many people, orcs are quite unable to apply their morals to themselves. Shippey suggests that Tolkien, as a Catholic, took it as a given that "evil cannot make, only mock", so orcs could not have an equal and opposite morality to that of men or elves.<ref name="shippey2005 362">{{harvnb|Shippey|2005|pp=362, 438 (chapter 5, note 14)}}</ref> In a 1954 letter, Tolkien wrote that orcs were "fundamentally a race of 'rational incarnate' creatures, though horribly corrupted, if no more so than many Men to be met today".<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Carpenter|2023|loc=letter 153 to Peter Hastings, draft, September 1954 }}</ref> The scholar of English literature [[Robert Tally]] wrote in ''[[Mythlore]]'' that despite the uniform presentation of orcs as "loathsome, ugly, cruel, feared, and especially terminable", Tolkien could not resist "the urge to flesh out and 'humanize' these inhuman creatures from time to time", in the process giving them their own morality.<ref name="Tally 2010">{{cite journal |last=Tally | first=Robert T. Jr. |author-link=Robert Tally |title=Let Us Now Praise Famous Orcs: Simple Humanity in Tolkien's Inhuman Creatures |journal=[[Mythlore]] |date=2010 |volume=29 |issue=1 |at=article 3 |url=https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol29/iss1/3 }}</ref> Shippey notes that in ''The Two Towers'', the orc Gorbag disapproves of the "regular elvish trick" (an immoral act) of abandoning a comrade, as he wrongly supposes [[Sam Gamgee]] has done to [[Frodo Baggins]]. Shippey describes the implied concept of evil as [[Boethian]] – that evil is the absence of good. He notes, however, that Tolkien did not agree with that concept of evil; Tolkien believed that evil had to be actively fought, with war if necessary. That is something that Shippey describes as representing the [[Manichean]] position – that evil coexists with good, and is at least equally as powerful.{{sfn|Shippey|2001|pp=131–133}}

{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;" |+ The origins and morality of Orcs: the Catholic Tolkien's dilemma |- !  ! scope="col" style="width: 260px;" | Created evil? ! scope="col" style="width: 260px;" | Like animals? ! scope="col" style="width: 260px;" | Created good, but fallen? |- | Origin of orcs according to Tolkien | "Brooded" by [[Morgoth]]<ref name="BoLT2 Tale of Tinúviel" group=T/> | "Beasts of humanized shape"<ref name="Myths transformed" group=T/> | Fallen [[Maia (Middle-earth)|Maiar]], or corrupted Men/Elves<ref name="Silm 2004 p. 50" group=T/><ref name="MRMT X" group=T/> |- | Moral implication | Orcs are wholly [[evil]] (unlike Men).<ref name="shippey2005-p265"/> | Orcs have no power of [[speech]] and [[morality]]. | Orcs have morality just like Men.{{sfn|Shippey|2001|pp=131–133}}<ref name="Tally 2010"/> |- | Resulting problem | colspan=2 | Orcs like Gorbag have a moral sense (even if they cannot keep to it) and can speak, which conflicts with their being wholly evil or not even sentient. Since evil cannot make, only mock, orcs cannot have an equal and opposite morality to Men.<ref name="Tally 2010"/><ref name="shippey2005 362"/> | Orcs should be treated with mercy, where possible. |}

=== Orcs and race ===

Writers including Andrew O'Hehir and the literary critic Jenny Turner have likened Tolkien's descriptions of orcs to racial stereotypes.<ref name="O'Hehir 2001"/><ref name="Turner 2001"/><ref name="Ibata Chicago Tribune 2003"/> In a private letter, Tolkien describes orcs as:<ref name="Letter 210" group=T>{{harvnb|Carpenter|2023|loc=#210 }}</ref>

{{blockquote|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.<ref name="Letter 210" group=T/>}}

Writing for [[Salon.com]], the journalist Andrew O'Hehir describes Tolkien's orcs as "a subhuman race [...] that is morally irredeemable and deserves only death". He adds that they are "dark-skinned and slant-eyed, and although they possess reason, speech, social organization and, as Shippey mentions, a sort of moral sensibility, they are inherently evil."<ref name="O'Hehir 2001"/> O'Hehir concludes that while Tolkien's own description of orcs is a revealing representation of the "[[Other (philosophy)|Other]]", it is "also the product of his background and era" and that Tolkien was not consciously "a racist or an [[anti-Semite]]", mentioning Tolkien's letters to this effect.<ref name="O'Hehir 2001"/> Turner, in the ''[[London Review of Books]]'', repeats O'Hehir's statement that orcs are "by design and intention a northern European's paranoid caricature of the races he has dimly heard about", and adds similar caveats, writing: "Tolkien does not appear to have been half as crackers on these topics [of race and race purity] as many others were. He sublimated the anxieties, perhaps, in his books."<ref name="Turner 2001">{{cite journal |last=Turner |first=Jenny |title=Reasons for Liking Tolkien |journal=[[London Review of Books]] |date=15 November 2001 |volume=23 |issue=22 |url=https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v23/n22/jenny-turner/reasons-for-liking-tolkien}}</ref><ref name="O'Hehir 2001">{{cite web |last=O'Hehir |first=Andrew |title=A curiously very great book |url=https://www.salon.com/2001/06/06/tolkien2/ |work=[[Salon.com]] |access-date=3 March 2020 |date=6 June 2001}}</ref>

Tally says the orcs are a [[Demonization of enemy|demonized enemy]], despite Tolkien's own objections to demonization of the enemy in the two World Wars.<ref name="Tally 2019">{{cite journal |last=Tally |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Tally |title=Demonizing the Enemy, Literally: Tolkien, Orcs, and the Sense of the World Wars |journal=Humanities |volume=8 |issue=1 |year=2019 |page=54 |issn=2076-0787 |doi=10.3390/h8010054 |doi-access=free }}</ref> In a letter to his son, [[Christopher Tolkien|Christopher]], who was serving in the [[Royal Air Force|RAF]] in the Second World War, Tolkien wrote of orcs as appearing on both sides of the conflict:

{{blockquote|Yes, I think the orcs as real a creation as anything in 'realistic' fiction ... only in real life they are on both sides, of course. For 'romance' has grown out of 'allegory', and its wars are still derived from the 'inner war' of allegory in which good is on one side and various modes of badness on the other. In real (exterior) life men are on both sides: which means a motley alliance of orcs, beasts, demons, plain naturally honest men, and angels.<ref name="Letter 71" group=T>{{harvnb|Carpenter|2023|loc=#71 }}</ref>}}

[[File:Tokio Kid Say 'Much Waste of Material Make So-o-o-0 Happy! Thank You.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Peter Jackson]]'s film versions of Tolkien's orcs have been compared to wartime caricatures of the Japanese (here, an American [[propaganda]] poster).<ref name="Ibata Chicago Tribune 2003"/>|alt=Poster showing fanged caricature of "Tokio kid," a Japanese person pointing a bloody knife at a sign that reads "Much waste of material make so-o-o-o happy! Thank you!"]]

Scholars of English literature William N. Rogers II and Michael R. Underwood note that a widespread element of late 19th century Western culture was fear of moral decline and degeneration; this led to [[eugenics]].<ref name="Rogers 2000">{{cite book |last1=Rogers |first1=William N. II |last2=Underwood |first2=Michael R. |editor-last1=Clark |editor-first1=Sir George |chapter=Gagool and Gollum: Exemplars of Degeneration in ''King Solomon's Mines'' and ''The Hobbit'' |title=J.R.R. Tolkien and His Literary Resonances: Views of Middle-earth |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ES0Hs75IVg0C&pg=PA121 |year=2000 |publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]] |isbn=978-0-313-30845-1 |pages=121–132}}</ref> In ''The Two Towers'', the [[Ent]] [[Treebeard]] says:<ref name="Treebeard" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954|loc=Book 3, Ch. 4, "Treebeard"}}</ref>

{{blockquote|It is a mark of evil things that came in the Great Darkness that they cannot abide the Sun; but [[Saruman]]'s orcs can endure it, even if they hate it. I wonder what he has done? Are they [[Men (Middle-earth)|Men]] he has ruined, or has he blended the races of orcs and Men? That would be a black evil!<ref name="Treebeard" group=T/>}}

The journalist David Ibata writes that the interpretations of orcs in [[Peter Jackson]]'s [[Lord of The Rings (film franchise)|''Lord of the Rings'' films]] look much like "the worst depictions of the Japanese drawn by American and British illustrators during [[World War II]]".<ref name="Ibata Chicago Tribune 2003">{{cite news |last=Ibata |first=David |title='Lord' of racism? Critics view trilogy as discriminatory |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/chi-030112epringsrace-story.html |work=[[The Chicago Tribune]] |date=12 January 2003}}</ref> The Germanic studies scholar [[Sandra Ballif Straubhaar]] writes that there is evidence in Tolkien's writing of "a kind of racism perhaps not unremarkable in a mid-twentieth century Western man", but that this is often overstated, and must be balanced against the "polycultured, polylingual world" that is "absolutely central" to Middle-earth, as well as Tolkien's own "appalled objection" to those seeking to use his work to uphold racist ideas.<ref name="Straubhaar 2004">{{cite book |last=Straubhaar |first=Sandra Ballif |author-link=Sandra Ballif Straubhaar |editor-last=Chance |editor-first=Jane |editor-link=Jane Chance |chapter=Myth, Late Roman History, and Multiculturalism in Tolkien's Middle-Earth |title=Tolkien and the invention of myth: a reader |title-link=Tolkien and the Invention of Myth | publisher=[[University Press of Kentucky]] |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-8131-2301-1 |pages=101–117}}</ref>

== Other fiction ==

As a response to the type-casting of orcs as generic evil characters or antagonists, some novels portray events from the point of view of the orcs, or make them more sympathetic characters. [[Mary Gentle]]'s 1992 novel ''[[Grunts!]]'' presents orcs as generic infantry, used as metaphorical cannon-fodder.<ref name="Canavan 2012">{{cite web |last=Canavan |first=A. P. |title="Let's hunt some orc!": Reevaluating the Monstrosity of Orcs |url=https://www.nyrsf.com/2015/03/ap-canavan-lets-hunt-some-orc-reevaluating-the-monstrosity-of-orcs.html |publisher=[[New York Review of Science Fiction]] |access-date=7 March 2020 |date=2012 |quote=A version of this essay was presented at the International Conference on the Fantastic in 2012.}}</ref> A series of books by [[Stan Nicholls]], ''[[Orcs: First Blood]]'', focuses on the conflicts between orcs and humans from the orcs' point of view.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fantasticfiction.com/n/stan-nicholls/ |title=Stan Nicholls |website=Fantasticfiction.co.uk |access-date=21 February 2009}}</ref> In [[Terry Pratchett]]'s ''[[Discworld]]'' series, orcs are close to extinction; in his ''[[Unseen Academicals]]'', it is said that "When the Evil Emperor wanted fighters he got some of the [[Discworld_(world)#Igors|Igors]] to turn goblins into orcs" to be used as weapons in a Great War, "encouraged" by whips and beatings.<ref>{{cite book |last=Pratchett |first=Terry |author-link=Terry Pratchett |title=Unseen Academicals |title-link=Unseen Academicals |date=2009|publisher=[[Doubleday (publisher) |Doubleday]] |isbn=978-0-3856-0934-0 |page=389}}</ref>

== In games ==

[[File:Orc mask by GrimZombie.jpg|thumb|An ork from ''[[Warhammer Fantasy (setting)|Warhammer Fantasy]]'']]

Orcs based on ''The Lord of the Rings'' have become a fixture of [[fantasy]] fiction and [[role-playing game]]s.

=== ''Dungeons & Dragons'' ===

In the fantasy tabletop role-playing game ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' (''D&D''), orcs are creatures in the game, and somewhat based upon those described by Tolkien.<ref>"'Orc' (from Orcus) is another term for an [[ogre]] or ogre-like creature. Being useful fodder for the ranks of bad guys, monsters similar to Tolkien's orcs are also in both games." {{Cite news |last=Gygax |first=Gary |author-link=Gary Gygax |date=March 1985 |title=On the influence of J.R.R. Tolkien on the D&D and AD&D games |periodical=[[Dragon (magazine)|The Dragon]] |issue=95 |pages=12–13}}</ref> These ''D&D'' orcs are implemented in the game rules as a multi-[[tribe]]d race of hostile and bestial [[humanoid]]s.<ref name="monster_manual_v3_2000">{{cite book|last1=Williams |first1=Skip |author1-link=:en:Skip Williams |last2=Tweet |first2=Jonathan |author2-link=:en:Jonathan Tweet |last3=Cook|first3=Monte |author3-link=:en:Monte Cook |title=Monster Manual: Core Rulebook III |edition=3 |publisher=Wizards of the Coast |date=October 1, 2000 |page=146 |isbn=0-7869-1552-8 |quote=Orcs are aggressive humanoids that raid, pillage, and battle other creatures}} ''apud'' {{harvp|MacCallum-Stewart|2008|p=41}}</ref>{{Refn|"Orcs gather in tribes that exert their dominance and satisfy their bloodlust by plundering villages, devouring or driving off roaming herd, and slaying any humanoids that stand against them".<ref name="monster_manual_v5_2014"/> quoted by {{harvp|Young|2015|p=96}}.}}<ref name="mohr">{{Cite web |url=https://oldschoolroleplaying.com/orcs-in-dungeons-and-dragons/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231184034/https://oldschoolroleplaying.com/orcs-in-dungeons-and-dragons/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=31 December 2019 |title=Orcs in Dungeons and Dragons |last=Mohr |first=Joseph |author-link= |date=7 December 2019 |website=Old School Role Playing |access-date=31 January 2020}}</ref>

The ''D&D'' orcs are endowed with muscular frames, large canine teeth like boar's tusks, and snouts rather than human-like noses.<ref name="mohr"/><ref name="monster_manual_v5_2014"/> While a pug-nose ("flat-nosed"<ref name="Letter 210" group=T/>) was attributable to Tolkien's written correspondence, the pig-headed (pig-faced<ref name="Pramas 2017">{{cite book |last=Pramas |first=Chris |author-link=Chris Pramas |title=Orc Warfare |location=New York |publisher=[[Rosen Publishing]] |year=2017 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z9xhDwAAQBAJ&q=orc&pg=PA5 |page=5 |isbn=978-1-5081-7624-4}}</ref>) look was imparted on the orc by the ''D&D'' original edition (1974).{{sfnp|Mitchell-Smith|2009|p=219}} It was later modified from bald-headed to hairy in subsequent editions.{{sfnp|Mitchell-Smith|2009|p=219}} In the third version of the game the orc became gray-skinned,<ref name="monster_manual_v3_2000-2">{{cite book|last1=Williams |first1=Skip |author1-link=:en:Skip Williams |last2=Tweet |first2=Jonathan |author2-link=:en:Jonathan Tweet |last3=Cook|first3=Monte |author3-link=:en:Monte Cook |title=Monster Manual: Core Rulebook III |edition=3 |publisher=Wizards of the Coast |date=October 1, 2000 |page=146 |isbn=0-7869-1552-8 |quote=orcs... look like primitive humans with gray skin, coarse hair, stooped postures, low foreheads, and porcine faces with prominent lower canines... they have lupine ears.}} ''apud'' {{harvp|Young|2015|p=95}}</ref><ref name="monster_manual_v3.5_2003">{{cite book|last1=Williams |first1=Skip |author1-link=:en:Skip Williams |last2=Tweet |first2=Jonathan |author2-link=:en:Jonathan Tweet |last3=Cook|first3=Monte |author3-link=:en:Monte Cook |title=Monster Manual: Dungeons & Dragons Core Rulebook |edition=3.5 |publisher=Wizards of the Coast |date=July 2003 |page=203 |isbn=0-7869-2893-X |quote=[The Creature] looks like a primitive human with gray skin and coarse hair. It has a stooped posture, low forehead, and a piglike face with prominent lower canines that resemble a boar's tusks.}} ''apud'' {{harvp|Mitchell-Smith|2009|p=216}}</ref>{{Refn|And the "Gray orc" introduced as a race.<ref name="mohr"/>}} even though a complicated color-palleted description of a (non-gray) orc had been implemented in the ''[[Monster Manual]]'' for the first edition (1977).<ref name="monster_manual_v1_1977">{{cite book|last=Gygax |first=Gary |author-link=:en:Gary Gygax |title=Monster Manual |edition=1 |publisher=TSR |date=December 1977 |page=76 |quote=Orcs appear particularly disgusting because their coloration ― brown or brownish green with bluish sheen ― highlights their pinkish snouts and ears. Their bristly hair is dark brown or black, sometimes with tan patches.}}</ref> Newer versions seem to have dropped references to skin-color.<ref name="monster_manual_v5_2014"/>

Early versions of the game introduced the "half-orc" as race.{{Refn|Either the ''D&D'' first edition<ref name="mohr"/> or ''Advanced D&D'',{{sfnp|Mitchell-Smith|2009|p=219}}}} The orc was described in the first edition of ''Monster Manual'' (''[[op. cit.]]''), as a fiercely competitive bully, a tribal creature often dwelling and building underground;{{Refn|[[Gary Gygax|Gygax, Gary]] (1977) ''[[Monster Manual]]'', [[TSR, Inc.|TSR]]. Also {{harvp|Young|2015|p=97}}, citing this and subsequent editions of ''MM''.}} in newer editions, orcs (though still described as sometimes inhabiting cavern complexes) had been shifted to become more prone to non-subterranean habitation as well, adapting captured villages into communities, for instance.{{sfnp|Young|2015|p=97}}<ref name="monster_manual_v5_2014">{{cite book|editor-last=Crawford |editor-first=Jeremy |editor-link=:en:Jeremy Crawford |others=Co-lead design by [[:en:Mike Mearls|Mike Mearls]] |title=Monster Manual: Dungeons & Dragons Core Rulebook |edition=5 |publisher=Wizards of the Coast |date=July 2003 |url=https://archive.org/details/dnd-5e-handbooks/Monsters%20Manual%205e/page/245/mode/2up |page=244 |isbn=978-0-7869-6561-8}}</ref> The mythology and attitudes of the orcs are described in detail in ''[[Dragon (magazine)|Dragon]]'' #62 (June 1982), in [[Roger E. Moore]]'s article, "The Half-Orc Point of View".<ref>[[Roger E. Moore|Moore, Roger E]]. "The Half-Orc Point of View." ''[[Dragon (magazine)|Dragon]]'' #62 (TSR, June 1982).</ref>

The orc for the ''D&D'' offshoot ''[[Pathfinder RPG]]'' are detailed in the 2008 book ''Classic Monsters Revisited'' issued by the game's publisher [[Paizo Publishing|Paizo]].<ref>[[Wolfgang Baur|Baur, Wolfgang]], [[Jason Bulmahn]], Joshua J. Frost, [[James Jacobs (game designer)|James Jacobs]], Nicolas Logue, Mike McArtor, James L. Sutter, [[Greg A. Vaughan]], Jeremy Walker. ''Classic Monsters Revisited'' (Paizo, 2008) pages 52–57.</ref>

''Explorer's Guide to Wildemount'', a campaign setting book by ''[[Critical Role]]'' creator [[Matt Mercer]],<ref name="SYFY WIRE-2020">{{Cite web|last=Grebey|first=James|date=2020-05-01|title=Dungeons & Dragons' latest setting, Wildemount, helps solve the problem of 'evil' races|url=https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/dungeons-dragons-critical-role-wildemount-matt-mercer-race|access-date=2020-05-04|website=SYFY WIRE|language=en}}</ref> contains an "Orcs of Exandria" race that is portrayed differently from conventional fantasy orcs. Specifically, Orcs of Exandria "have the option to be proficient in several [[Dungeons & Dragons gameplay#Skills|skills]], including Animal Handling, Insight, Intimidation, Medicine, Perception, and Survival,"<ref name="hoffer-2020"/> departing from the mechanics of the canonical orc race in ''[[Volo's Guide to Monsters]]'', which have a boosted Intimidation skill and a reduced general [[Dungeons & Dragons gameplay#Ability scores|Intelligence stat]]. This has been praised for rehabilitating the orc species from its "[[#Orcs and race|problematic history]]".<ref name="hoffer-2020">{{Cite web|last=Hoffer|first=Christian|date=March 19, 2020|title=Explorer's Guide to Wildemount Fixes One of Dungeons & Dragons' Most Problematic Elements|url=https://comicbook.com/gaming/2020/03/19/dungeons-and-dragons-orcs-wildemount-intelligence/|access-date=2020-03-30|website=ComicBook.com|language=en}}</ref>

=== ''Warhammer'' ===

[[Games Workshop]]'s ''[[Warhammer Fantasy (setting)|Warhammer]]'' universe features cunning and brutal orcs in a fantasy setting, who are driven not so much by a need to do evil as to obtain fulfilment through the act of war.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Priestley |first1=Rick |author-link=Rick Priestley |last2=Thornton |first2=Jake |title=Warhammer Fantasy Battles Army Book: Orcs & Goblins |edition=6th |publisher=Games Workshop: Nottingham |year=2000 |pages=10–11}}</ref> In the ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]'' series of science-fiction games, they are a green-skinned alien species, called [[Ork (Warhammer 40,000)|Orks]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://rob-sanders.blogspot.com/2012/03/xenos-seven-alien-species-with-shot-at.html |title=Xenos: Seven Alien Species With A Shot At Conquering the 40k Galaxy |last=Sanders |first=Rob |website=Rob Sanders Speculative Fiction |access-date=1 February 2020}}</ref>

=== ''Warcraft'' ===

[[Orc (Warcraft)|Orcs]] are an important race in ''[[Warcraft]]'', a high fantasy franchise created by [[Blizzard Entertainment]].{{sfnp|MacCallum-Stewart|2008|pp=39–62}} Several orc characters from the ''Warcraft'' universe are playable heroes in their crossover multiplayer game ''[[Heroes of the Storm]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.destructoid.com/another-orc-enters-the-heroes-of-the-storm-battleground-391319.phtml |title=Another orc enters the Heroes of the Storm battleground |website=Destructoid |date=6 October 2016 |access-date=31 January 2020}}</ref>

=== Other products ===

The orc features in numerous ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'' collectible cards, in the 1993 game series published by [[Wizards of the Coast]].{{efn|Wizards of the Coast acquired TSR in 1997, and subsequently published editions of D&D and ''Monster Manual''.}}<ref name="Vessenes 2002">{{cite web |last=Vessenes |first=Ted |title=Lessons of the Past |url=https://www.theonering.com/news/games/lessons-of-the-past-by-ted-vessenes/ |website=The One Ring |access-date=28 October 2021 |date=8 February 2002}}</ref>

In ''[[The Elder Scrolls]]'' series, many orcs or Orsimer are skilled blacksmiths.<ref>{{cite web |last=Stewart |first=Charlie |title=Why the Orcs Could Have a Huge Role in The Elder Scrolls 6 |url=https://gamerant.com/the-elder-scrolls-6-orcs/ |website=GameRant |access-date=13 April 2021 |date=14 September 2020}}</ref> In [[Hasbro]]'s ''[[Heroscape]]'' products, orcs come from the pre-historic planet Grut.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hasbro.com/games/kid-games/heroscape/default.cfm?page=Inside/CharacterDetail&char_id=2&set_id=3&set_type=2 |title=Blade Gruts |website=Hasbro.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614145310/http://www.hasbro.com/games/kid-games/heroscape/default.cfm?page=Inside%2FCharacterDetail&char_id=2&set_id=3&set_type=2 |archive-date=14 June 2011 |access-date=30 October 2017 }}</ref> They are blue-skinned, with prominent tusks or horns.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hasbro.com/games/kid-games/heroscape/default.cfm?page=Inside/CharacterDetail&char_id=103&set_id=8&set_type=2 |title=Heavy Gruts |website=Hasbro.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614145317/http://www.hasbro.com/games/kid-games/heroscape/default.cfm?page=Inside%2FCharacterDetail&char_id=103&set_id=8&set_type=2 |archive-date=14 June 2011 |access-date=30 October 2017 }}</ref> The Skylander Voodood from the first game in the series, ''[[Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure]]'', is an orc.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ronaghan |first1=Neal |title=Skylanders Giants Character Guide Magic Element Characters From Spyro's Adventure |url=http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/31352/skylanders-giants-character-guide-magic-element-characters-from-spyros-adventure |website=Nintendo World Report |access-date=7 July 2022}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="185px"> File:Savage Orc by farmerownia.jpg|Savage orc File:For the love of waaagh by grundalug.jpg|''For the Love of Waaagh!'', an [[Ork (Warhammer 40,000)|Ork from ''Warhammer 40,000'']] File:Orc grunt by Lucas Salcedo.jpg|''Orc Grunt'', an orc from ''[[Warcraft]]'' </gallery>

== See also ==

* [[Haradrim]] – the dark-skinned "Southrons" who fought for Sauron alongside the orcs * [[Orc (slang)]] – the modern pejorative usage of the word * [[Troll (Middle-earth)]] – large humanoids of great strength and poor intellect, also used by Sauron * [[Ork (folklore)]] – a [[Tyrol (state)|Tyrol]] [[alpine folklore]] demon of the same name

== Notes == {{notelist}}

==References==

=== Primary ===

=== Secondary ===

=== Sources ===

* {{cite book |last1=Bosworth |first1=Joseph |author-link=Joseph Bosworth (scholar) |last2=Toller |first2=T. Northcote |title=An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary |volume=1 A-Fir |publisher=[[Clarendon Press]] |year=1898 |page=764 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oXlii1KgDngC&pg=PA764 }} * {{ME-ref|Letters}}  * {{cite book |last=Klaeber |first=Friedrich |author-link=Frederick Klaeber |translator=John R. Clark Hall |translator-link=John Richard Clark Hall |title=Beowulf and the Finnesburg Fragment |edition=3 |publisher=[[Allen & Unwin]] |year=1950 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pEUkrusVxRIC }} * {{cite book|editor-last=Lobdell |editor-first=Jared |editor-link=Jared Lobdell |title=[[A Tolkien Compass]] |publisher=[[Open Court Publishing Company|Open Court]] |year=1975 |isbn=978-0-87548-316-0}} * {{cite book|last=MacCallum-Stewart |first=Esther |author-link=Esther MacCallum-Stewart |chapter=2: 'Never Such Innocence Again': War and Histories in ''World of Warcraft'' |editor1-last=Corneliussen |editor1-first=Hilde |editor1-link= |editor2-last=Rettberg |editor2-first=Jill Walker |editor2-link=:en:Jill Walker Rettberg |title=Digital Culture, Play, and Identity: A World of Warcraft Reader |publisher=[[MIT Press]] |date=2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RMsgSX2JWbAC&q=orc |pages=39–62 |isbn=9780262033701}} * {{cite book |last=Mitchell-Smith |first=Ilan |author-link=Ilan Mitchell-Smith |chapter=11: Racial Determinism and the Interlocking Economics of Power and Violence in Dungeons & Dragons |editor1-last=Harden |editor1-first=B. Garrick |editor2-last=Carley |editor2-first=Robert |title=Co-opting Culture |location=Lanham, Maryland |publisher=[[Lexington Books]] |date=May 2009 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ar1yUk0aDS8C&pg=PA219 |page=219 |isbn=978-0-7391-2597-7}} * {{cite book |last=Shippey |first=Tom |author-link=Tom Shippey |title=J. R. R. Tolkien: Author of the Century |title-link=J. R. R. Tolkien: Author of the Century |date=2001 |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |isbn=978-0261-10401-3 }} * {{ME-ref|ROAD}}  * {{cite book |last=Stuart |first=Robert |title=Tolkien, Race, and Racism in Middle-earth |publisher=[[Springer Nature]] |date=2022 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t0hrEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA133 |isbn=978-3-030-97475-6}} * {{cite book|last=Young |first=Helen |author-link= |chapter=4. Orcs and Otherness: Monsters on Page and Screen |title=Race and Popular Fantasy Literature: Habits of Whiteness |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |date=2015 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FvlWCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA88 |pages=88–113 |isbn=9781317532170}}

* {{ME-ref|TH}}  * {{ME-ref|FOTR}}  * {{ME-ref|TT}}  * {{ME-ref|ROTK}}  * {{ME-ref|Silm}}  * {{ME-ref|BoLT2}}  * {{ME-ref|MR}}  * {{ME-ref|WOTJ}}  * {{ME-ref|POME}}

== External links ==

* [https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.04/orcs_pr.html 9 milestones in orcs history. ''Wired'' magazine article] * [http://www.rpg.net/news+reviews/columns/archetypology21dec01.html RPG.NET Article about Orcs]

[[Category:Orcs| ]] [[Category:Fantasy tropes]] [[Category:Fictional humanoids]] [[Category:Fictional monsters]] [[Category:Fictional warrior races]] [[Category:Fictional elves]] [[Category:Fictional ogres]] [[Category:Fictional goblins]] [[Category:Middle-earth monsters]]