The Grey Havens - Orcs: What was the origin of the Orcs?

What was the origin of the Orcs?

From: The Tolkien Less FAQ by William D.B. Loos

A fundamental concept for Tolkien (and the other Inklings) was that Evil cannot create, only corrupt (the Boethian, as opposed to the Manichean, concept of evil). In Letter 153 he explained that to a first approximation, Treebeard was wrong:

and Frodo was right:

Tolkien:

character

("To the first approximation" [above] because in that same letter Tolkien made some subtle distinctions between "creating" and "making", which cannot be gone into here.)

Tolkien stated explicitly in that letter (and several other places) that the Orcs are indeed "a race of rational incarnate creatures, though horribly corrupted". Also that "In the legends of the Elder Days it is suggested that the Diabolus subjugated and corrupted some of the earliest Elves, before they had ever heard of the 'gods', let alone of God." (The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, p. 191). In fact, the The Silmarillion does state that Orcs were Avari (Dark Elves) captured by Morgoth (p. 50, 94), though strictly speaking, the idea is presented as the best guess of the Eldar, no more. Some have rejected the statements on those grounds, that the Elvish compilers of the The Silmarillion didn't actually know the truth but were merely speculating. But since Tolkien himself, speaking as author and sub-creator, more-or-less verified this idea, it's probably safe to accept it, as far as it goes.

It has been widely noted that this conception leaves several questions unresolved.

Re: procreation, the The Silmarillion says that "the Orcs had life and multiplied after the manner of the Children of Ilúvatar" (p. 50), but nevertheless people continue to raise questions. For one thing, there was never any hint that female Orcs exist (there were two apparent references to Orc children, but both were from the The Hobbit, and therefore may be considered suspect).

There is the question of why, if Orcs were corrupted Elves, their offspring would also be Orcs (rather than Elves - a somewhat horrifying thought). This question leads to discussions of brainwashing, genetics, which are not altogether appropriate to the world of Middle-earth.

Finally there is the question of whether Orcs, being fundamentally Elves, go to the Halls of Mandos when they are slain, and whether, like Elves, they are reincarnated. (This last would explain how they managed to replenish their numbers so quickly all the time.) There is also some reason to think that Orcs, like Elves, are immortal. (Gorbag and Shagrat, during the conversation which Sam overheard, mention the "Great Siege", which presumably refers to the Last Alliance; it is possible to interpret this reference to mean that they were there and actually remembered it themselves.)

Comment by: Ben Thorpe.

The essay on the origin of orcs fails to take into account "Morgoth's Ring", which is arguably much more valid than the Silmarillion. In it is stated that Tolkien specifically noted about the reference in the Silmarillion "change this, orcs are not elvish". Therefore we can deduce that their origins are most probably bestial and/or mannish. Such perversions would be in all probability soul-less creatures inhabited by a portion or miniature replica of the mind/will of their master, Morgoth. These slaves would then follow his every wish, without him ever needing to verbalize commands. Sauron, however, though most probably responsible for these vile things, (being originally a servant of Aule, the creator Vala, before Melkor recruited him) had himself a different will then his master's, necessitating him to create the Black Speech to communicate with them. Thus the evil of Morgoth did not create them, though it was undoubtedly by his power that they were made. Sauron, at the time, was not wholly evil, and it could be argued that his intentions were simply order and peace, albeit under his dominion. He could have, without creating anything, brought about a new species by abominably perverting others, though most certainly not the elves.

Everything you don't want to know about Orcs and Goblins.