“Orc (Middle-earth)”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings, Orcs are a race of creatures who are used as soldiers and henchmen by both the greater and lesser villains of The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings—Morgoth, Sauron and Saruman.

Although not entirely dim-witted and occasionally crafty, they are portrayed as miserable beings, hating everyone including themselves and their masters, whom they serve out of fear. They make no beautiful things, but rather design cunning devices made to hurt and destroy.

In some of his unpublished early work, Tolkien appears to distinguish orcs from goblins. By the time of his published work, however, the terms had become synonymous. The Hobbit generally uses the term goblin, while The Lord of the Rings prefers orc. The opponents of the dwarves in "Dwarf and Goblin War" of The Hobbit are described as orcs in Appendix A of The Lord of the Rings. No distinction is made by size; large orcs, including the Uruk-hai, are just as much goblins as are smaller ones.

Tolkien's The Father Christmas Letters also features goblins; they share traits with those in his Middle-earth writings, including being the arch-enemies of elves.

Tolkien's influences

There is no evidence for Tolkien having been influenced by the similarly spelled character Orc in William Blake's mythology.

Middle-earth terms for Orcs

In the High-elven tongue Quenya, the word for "Orc" was urco, plural urqui, meaning "bogey", or "bogeyman", that is, something that provokes fear. In the Grey-elven tongue Sindarin, it was orch, plural yrch. In the Dwarven tongue Khuzdul, it was rukhs, plural rakhâs. In the language of the Drúedain or Wild Men, it was gorgûn. In the Black Speech of Mordor, the equivalent was Uruk, as can be seen in Uruk-hai, "Orc-folk". Orc itself is from Rohirric^[3] and the Hobbit-language,^[4] which shared linguistic roots, but the term is clearly related to the older Elvish words.

Orcs, Goblins, and Uruks

The earliest appearance of goblins in Tolkien's writings is the 1915 poem Goblin Feet, also his first published work, which appeared in the annual volume of Oxford Poetry published by Blackwells. It features quaint elvin creatures, and some 45 years later Tolkien dismissed it as juvenile.{{citation needed|date=April 2018}}

In The Book of Lost Tales the names Orcs and goblin are given to creatures who enslave and war with the Elves. Christopher Tolkien notes that while the author clearly differentiates between "goblins and Orcs" in the Tale of Tinúviel, the two terms appear to be synonymous in the Tale of Turambar. The word Gongs is also used on a few occasions; it appears both distinct from Orcs^[8] and as a sub-type of Orc.^[9] Christopher Tolkien remarks that Gongs are "evil beings obscurely related to Orcs".^[10] Both goblins and Orcs are occasionally mentioned as being "of Melkor" and also acting independently. Orcs, goblins, and gongs appear in Tolkien's two lexicons of elvish languages. The Qenya Lexicon from approximately 1915 defines Orc as meaning "monster, demon", and the Gnomish Lexicon dated 1917 defines Orc as "goblin" and Gong as "one of a tribe of the Orcs, a goblin". Christopher Tolkien also notes that in the latter lexicon, the word Gnome (later Noldor) is an emendation from Goblin.

In The Hobbit the inhabitants of the Misty Mountains who capture the Dwarves of Thorin's Company, and who later fight the Men, Elves, and Dwarves at the Battle of the Five Armies, are identified as goblins, which is largely consistent with the usage in The Book of Lost Tales. The term Orc does occur twice; once in an instance where Gandalf is trying to scare Bilbo by mentioning creatures of the wilderness "goblins, hobgoblins, and orcs of the worst description," and again when the narrator mentions the large goblins ("great Orcs of the mountains"), as well as in the Elvish name of Thorin's sword, Orcrist.

In The Lord of the Rings, Orc is used predominantly, and goblin appears mostly in the hobbits' speech. The second volume of the story, The Two Towers, "goblin" is applied to large orcs of the Uruk-hai:

The "white badge" mentioned in the latter passage makes it clear that the beheaded goblin was one of Saruman's Uruk-hai. Tolkien writes that these bore a white Elf-rune with the value of "S" on their helmets.

Tolkien also wrote the following note, appearing in some editions of The Hobbit:

The original edition of The Hobbit and early drafts of The Lord of the Rings first used goblin everywhere and used hobgoblin for larger, more evil goblins. While investigating possible sources for the word "Hobbit", Tolkien realised he had made a mistake in using hob-, which is traditionally used to mean a smaller entity, not a larger one.

In later writings, after The Lord of the Rings, (including The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and many essays published in The Peoples of Middle-earth), Tolkien preferred the spelling Ork, evidently mainly to avoid the form Orcish, which would be naturally pronounced with the c as /s/ instead of /k/ in English. Tolkien indeed used the adjective Orkish.^[13]

According to George MacDonald Fraser in The Light's on at Signpost, Tolkien answered a letter on this subject, confirming that Orcs and goblins were indeed identical.

Physical appearance

Orcs are described as ugly and filthy fanged humanoids. The largest can reach near-human height, but they are almost always shorter, and some are as small as Hobbits (since Frodo and Sam disguise themselves as such when they enter Mordor). In contrast, crossbreeds between Men and Orcs are called "man-high, but with goblin-faces."^[14] However, some Orcs are very broad, if not tall. Many Orcs have long arms, like monkeys or apes. Many of them also have crooked backs and legs.

Readers have debated at length the extent and meaning of the racial imagery in Tolkien's writings, including Michael D. C. Drout,^[16] Tom Shippey,^[17] Dimitra Fimi,^[18] Stephen Shapiro^[19] and Mount Vernon Nazarene University professor Anderson Rearick III.^[20] Fimi has linked Tolkien's reference to "Mongol-types" with early ideas on racial degeneration and mental disability, pointing especially to Down’s Syndrome, widely known as "Mongolian idiocy" or "Mongolism" before 1961.^[18]

Types of Orcs

There is much variation among Orcs. The Uruks (who called themselves Uruk-hai) are larger, more powerful and cruel and "black"; they call smaller and weaker Orcs snaga ("slave"). Sauron apparently bred specialized types, such as the "super-soldier" Uruk-hai, and smaller tracker Orcs or "Snufflers" (described as "of a small breed, black-skinned").^[21] Early texts in The History of Middle-earth mention Maiar incarnate in Orc-bodies called Boldogs (see below).

Tolkien wrote of Saruman crossbreeding Orcs and Men, producing Men-orcs and Orc-men in "Myths Revisited" in Morgoth's Ring.{{citation needed|date=October 2011}} The half-orcs and goblin-men, mentioned by Gamling at Helm's Deep, seem likely to have been crossbreeds, and they are not described much beyond being "creatures of Isengard", "that the foul craft of Saruman has bred", and that "they will not quail at the sun". The first encounter with one of these half-goblins occurs in The Fellowship of the Ring when the Hobbits encounter a suspicious character they refer to as the Southerner who is in cahoots with Bill Ferny (the Southerner turns out to be a spy of Saruman and possibly Sauron, and possibly a double spy for both as Aragorn suggests). Half-orcs are described later on by Meriadoc Brandybuck, who saw them marching out of Isengard, as "horrible: man-high, but with goblin-faces, sallow, leering, squint-eyed." The hobbits occasionally encounter unusual-looking Men such as the "ruffians" in the Shire, implying some of these might be half-orcs. During the scouring of the Shire it is stated that the ruffians that have invaded include half-orcs and more of the sallow-skinned, slant/squinty eyed folks like the Southerner spy.

The Uruk-hai of Saruman, exemplified by Uglúk, are shown to be physically different from the regular Orcs of Sauron. They are taller and have more human-like proportions while the latter are shorter and have longer arms (according to the description of Grishnákh). They also grudgingly tolerate the sunlight better. The Uruk-hai are different from most of the "Northerners", who came down from the Misty Mountains. These are said to be smaller than Grishnákh, who is "a short crook-legged creature".^[22]

Some of the Northerners, called "larger and bolder Northerners", stayed with Saruman's Uruk-hai when most of the Northern Orcs deserted. The deserters, "flagging in the rays of the bright sun", were later overtaken by the party of the Uruk-hai, showing differing tolerance to the sunlight.

Orcs served Morgoth in Angband and Sauron in Mordor. By the time of the War of the Ring, some served Saruman in Isengard. However, some Orcs seem to have worked independently. Before and during the time of The Hobbit, some Orcs had Mount Gundabad as their capital, the Orcs of the Misty Mountains were apparently ruled by one "Great Goblin", the former Dwarf-realm of Moria was held by orcs under one Azog and then his son Bolg, and one Golfimbul had led the orcs of Mount Gram in a foray into the Shire.

Orcish culture

Tolkien does not elaborate on Orc culture and customs. Orcs know some form of healing arts (as the Orc-band apply harsh but effective Orkish medicine to Pippin's and Merry's injuries while they are in their captivity). Also their armour, though inferior to that of Elves and Dwarves, is serviceable. Orcs often use poisoned blades (as Aragorn observes while inspecting a wound received by Sam)^[23] and arrows (as they use on Isildur). They like to sing horrible songs (as in The Hobbit). The Goblins of the Misty Mountains were a smaller breed of Orc, and invented horrid machines used to torture and kill things. In some texts,{{citation needed|date=October 2011}} Tolkien suggests that after the fall of Morgoth, some of his Orcs set up petty kingdoms of their own.

Tolkien indicates that Orcs are "always hungry".^[24] Orcs eat all manner of flesh, including men and horses, and there are frequent hints of cannibalism among Orcs. Grishnákh, leader of the Mordor Orcs, accuses Saruman's Uruks of eating Orc-flesh, which they angrily deny.^[22] In Cirith Ungol, Gorbag suggests that Frodo (recently poisoned by Shelob) should "go in the pot"; Shagrat indicates that Gorbag could be "for the pot" for making such a suggestion.^[25] Shagrat threatens to eat a disobedient orc, and after killing Gorbag he licks his blood from the blade.^[26]

Orcish 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. A few words of the Black Speech are common among Orcs: ghâsh ("fire"), sharkû ("old man", leading to Saruman's nickname "Sharkey"), snaga ("slave"), and Uruk ("orc"). Another Orkish word is tark ("Man of Gondor") from Westron and ultimately Quenya tarkil.

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 Barad-dûr. A substantial sample of debased Black Speech/Orkish can be found in The Two Towers, where a "yellow-fanged" guard Orc of Mordor curses Uglúk of Isengard:

In The Peoples of Middle-earth,^[27] Tolkien gives the translation: "Uglúk to the cesspool, sha! the dungfilth; the great Saruman-fool, skai!". 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!"^[28]

Alexandre Nemirovsky speculates that Tolkien may have drawn upon the language of the ancient Hittites and Hurrians for Black Speech and Orkish.^[29]

The origin of Orcs

The origin of Orcs is an open question. Tolkien developed various origins for his Orcs throughout his life but died before he could fully revise The Silmarillion with his final view on their origins and nature.

Tolkien's Orc origin ideas were published posthumously in The Silmarillion, with other versions of events appearing later in The History of Middle-earth.

In Tolkien's writings, evil is not capable of independent creation, making it unlikely that the Vala Morgoth, who was the first to produce them, could create them from nothing.

No female Orcs are ever mentioned by Tolkien in any publication. However, in the published Silmarillion it is stated that Orcs "had life and multiplied after the manner of the Children of Ilúvatar", implying that they exist; in The Hobbit the Orc Bolg is the son of one Azog, while Gollum is described as having eaten a young Goblin-imp (Goblins often being synonymous with orcs) shortly before he first met Bilbo (which seems to be alluded to in The Lord of the Rings films when Gollum goes on (with himself) about how unpleasant-tasting orcs are and that sweet Hobbit meat would suit Shelob better).

In an unpublished letter, written in 1963 to a Mrs. Munsby (and auctioned in 2002 at Sotheby's), Tolkien confirmed that female Orcs did exist. He wrote:

Compare this with Tolkien's more thorough explanation of the existence of Dwarf-women, given in the Appendix. Dwarf-women seldom leave their underground cities, and are not encountered as frontline soldiers in war, but that does not mean they do not exist.

This text refers to the Quendi who ran and hid at the sight of Oromë when he came to lead them from Cuiviénen westward. These "corrupted elves" were the first orcs. There are various races of orcs (though with later races of orcs came different physical and non-physical characteristics like increasing tolerance to sunlight) all identical in their hate for everything that Ilúvatar and the Valar had constructed (including themselves) to resemble the hate that lay within Melkor.

A list of origins, proposed by Tolkien

Made from the earth

According to the oldest "theory" proposed by J.R.R. Tolkien (found in The Fall of Gondolin, from The Book of Lost Tales, circa 1917—the first tale of Middle-earth to be written in full), Orcs were made of slime through the sorcery of Morgoth: "bred from the heats and slimes of the earth".^[32]

However, it is consistently stated in Tolkien's other writings, with regard to his creation myth, that only Eru Ilúvatar (God) can create new life from nothing. Therefore, by whatever means the orcs came into being, it is certain that either they were "descended" from other beings or a deliberate manifestation of Ilúvatar's thought.

East Elves (Avari)

There is evidence of the immortality, or otherwise long life of Orcs. They certainly did live for at the very least hundreds of years, since Bolg was the son of Azog and his death occurred over 140 years after the death of his father. This theory is consistent with a statement made in the "Myths Transformed" essay of Morgoth's Ring that the Orcs had short lifespans in relation to the Númenóreans.

This corrupted elves origin is probably the one used in Peter Jackson's live action films. In the film of The Fellowship of the Ring, Saruman says:

Of course this leaves open the possibility of one of the mixed origins (see below) being true in the films, as this was how they "first" appeared, not discounting other corrupted creatures or men being added to the ranks later.

Sentient beasts

Another of Tolkien's theories proposes that Orcs may have begun as soulless beasts of vaguely humanoid shapes, empowered by the will of the Dark Lord (Morgoth) and learning language only as parrots do:

Later in the same text he theorizes that some Orcs may have been Elves, who then mated with these beasts and with Men.

It is certain all Orcs were dependent on the Dark Lord in various ways: after their leader was defeated, the Orcs were confused and dismayed, and easily scattered by their enemies. In the millennia after Morgoth's defeat and banishment from Arda, they were without a leader, and degenerated to small, quarrelsome tribes hiding in the Misty Mountains. Only when Sauron returned to power did they begin to reclaim some of their old standing. The same happened after Sauron's defeat by the Last Alliance of Elves and Men: only when Sauron returned as the Necromancer of Mirkwood did the Orcs become a real danger for Middle-earth again.

Fallen Maiar

There are hints in the History of Middle-earth series of books, (especially in Morgoth's Ring in the section "Myths Transformed"), that some Orc leaders, such as the First Age's Boldog, or the Great Goblin encountered by Bilbo and the Dwarves, may in fact have been fallen Maiar which had taken Orc form:

Corrupted Men

While Tolkien at some point saw all Orcs as descended from the original corrupted and tortured Elves, later comments of his indicate, according to Christopher Tolkien in Morgoth's Ring "Myths Transformed" text X, that he began to feel uncomfortable with this theory. At about the same time he removed the references to the Thrall-Ñoldorin, he also began searching for a new origin for the Orcs. It seems Tolkien wanted to change the origin of the Orcs to make them corrupted and twisted Humans.

Tolkien would have had to change the prehistory of Arda, for the awakening of Men to happen earlier, for there to have been Men for Morgoth or Sauron to corrupt.

A mix of corrupted Elves and Men

A late idea of Tolkien seems to be that Orcs had a mixed origin of Elves and Men.

Text IX of the "Myths Transformed" section of Morgoth's Ring shows this view. The text has no date, but uses the late spelling "Ork" instead of "Orc". This new spelling was adopted in a note of 1969:^[34]

Some cross-bred with Men

Tolkien also suggested that Men were cross-bred with Orcs under Morgoth's lieutenant, Sauron (and possibly under Morgoth himself). The process was later repeated during the War of the Ring by Saruman.

This possibly refers to the way the Uruk-hai and the Half-orcs were created, in The Lord of the Rings.

The first appearance of these half-goblins occurs in The Fellowship of the Ring in describing one known as the Southerner, a spy of Saruman's;

In the 'Scouring of the Shire', there is further mention of the half-orcs under Sharkey's control, and they are described as men having squinty (or slanty) eyes and sallow complexion (a description used to describe the Southerner, Saruman's spy in The Fellowship of the Ring, as well as some of the orcs in The Two Towers). Which seems to suggest that they look mostly human but share some of the features of the orcs.

Individual Orcs

Influence on later fantasy

Tolkien's Orcs have been a major influence on fantasy fiction and games; they are the literary precursors of the Orcs (and similar races) of many different settings. The Orcs of Warhammer Fantasy, Dungeons & Dragons and other games most often differ from Tolkien's Orcs in that they are taller than Humans and usually have green or greyish-green skin rather than dark or yellowish skin. A notable exception are the Orcs in the most popular German role playing game The Dark Eye, which like Tolkien's orcs are small and dark, but also furry. The world of Hârn has an Orc-inspired race known as Gargun, whose name recalls the term gorgûn ("orcs") from the language of Tolkien's Druedain. In the Lone Wolfs Magnamund, there is a race of small orc-like people called Giaks.

C. S. Lewis may have inserted a nod to his friend's Orcs in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. When Aslan goes to his death on the Stone Table, the narrator mentions various evil creatures gathered around the White Witch—including "Orknies". (The name is also directly based on the Old English term above).

Adaptations

Orcs have been featured in many adaptations of Tolkien's Middle-earth writings, from film to stage to video games. The Goblins in the 1977 animated adaptation of The Hobbit were likened to the work of Maurice Sendak.^[43] They are portrayed in exactly the same manner as the Orcs in the sequel The Return of the King.

Some adaptations have made Goblins distinct from Orcs. This was implied in New Line Cinema's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy directed by Peter Jackson, and made explicit in An Unexpected Journey, where orcs and goblins are portrayed as distinct races. Elven blades are described as turning blue when "orcs or goblins are near", a departure from the source text, and goblins have a notably different appearance in the film from orcs.

This distinction can also be seen in the real-time strategy games War of the Ring and The Battle for Middle-earth II. In the former, Goblins can be used alongside common Orcs and Uruk-hai, while in the latter Goblins get their own playable faction. The same is true for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online. Goblins are depicted as a race distinct from Orcs.

In the film The Fellowship of the Ring some Uruk-hai are seen being birthed full-grown from what appear to be sacs in muddy pits. (This is used as a device to allow Saruman to build his army practically overnight, as opposed to taking the time to breed his "improved" Orcs through more conventional means.)

In The Rise of the Witch-king, an expansion pack for The Battle for Middle-earth II, the Angmar faction uses "Gundabad Orcs" as ordinary foot soldiers, referring to their capital of Mount Gundabad. Like the Goblins of the Misty Mountains, they sometimes ride Wargs into battle.

In the video game Shadow of Mordor, the Orc hierarchy in Mordor plays a pivotal role in both the story and gameplay, and some orc dialogue mentions being born from "vats".