For decades, the fantasy world of Tolkien has found its notorious fans and just admirers all over the world. The universe itself was created long years, resulting in multiple stories about the peoples inhabiting it, important events and territories. Fan debates about favorite races and their features continue to this day, and many questions remain open. Someone is most attracted to domestic and peaceful hobbits living in cozy burrows, someone prefers sophisticated and sublime elves, who are famous for their unprecedented beauty, someone likes bearded and funny gnomes, ready for anything for the sake of treasures, but some remain true to their own essence 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 main features.

Origin of the word

Translated from 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 owe their name to the poem "Beowulf" from the Middle Ages, in which the huge monster Grendel was so called. different peoples fictional universe applied to them their designations depending on own languages and dialects. But the most common and accepted name among the masses is still simply "orc". Although it is noteworthy that, according to the creator himself, "goblin" is considered the correct translation.

Appearance

One has only to mention the orcs, as a kind of ugly creature with a necessarily unpleasant smell immediately appears to the eye. However, contrary to the creative vision of Peter Jackson and the popular belief that they have an extremely repulsive and scary appearance, yet initially they did not differ much from other races. This is evidenced by many examples from the works of Tolkien, and even in the film adaptation, the ancient Ent first confuses Merry and Pippin with orcs, and Frodo and Sam in disguise manage to outwit the horde 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 short, 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 those of humans, but rather awkwardly curved. In addition, their appearance may vary depending on their tribe or origin. For example, their sizes range from being about the size of a hobbit to big man and even higher. And their blood is black, which you will not find in other nations.

Character traits

Since the very nature and origin of this race is shrouded in many mysteries, it is very difficult to formulate exact versions of the characteristics that the orcs of Middle-earth are endowed with. The duration of life, for example, according to some sources, is practically equal to the immortality of the elves. So, some fans interpret the conversation between Gorbak and Shagrat, overheard by Sam in the film The Two Towers, as proof of this theory. It is officially accepted that their life cycle is somewhat superior to the human one. However, all this is just guesswork in an attempt to understand how long the orcs of Middle-earth live, because a direct answer has not 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 great engineers and builders. Throughout history, they have actively opposed humans, elves, and dwarves, often entering into alliances with trolls and wargs. They are alien to any moral principles, so they can easily dine on human flesh or even the corpses of fallen comrades. Their native language is the one invented by Sauron, however, in the film, you can hear that all the orcs communicate with each other in the Common Language.

Origin

Perhaps the most discussed is the question of how the orcs of Middle-earth first appeared. The list of all kinds of theories, fan and author, remains open, but there are several well-established versions. It follows from Tolkien's early writings that the ancient representative of evil Melkor, aka Margot, created this people from the void during the First Age. However, he later refuted himself, claiming that they were transformed into orcs from elves using black magic. How exactly, remains a mystery, but it was this version that was most widely used. And the fact that they were faithful servants of Margot remains undeniable.

Second Age

After his fall, the next milestone in history begins wonderful world Tolkien. As a people, the Orcs of Middle-earth began to gradually spread over vast territories. Some of them occupied and the majority moved to Mordor to serve their new master - Sauron. The Second Age was marked by a war with the elves, as well as a 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 the huge army. After its fall, many simply did not survive, and the rest were for the first time for a long time given to themselves. Some of them captured Moria, from where the dwarves fled because of the coming of the Balrog. After the Battle of the Five Nations, one of Bilbo's companions on his journey, named Balin, tried to retake the territory, but failed, as a result of which he died along with his army. Some tribes settled near Gundabad, in the Misty Mountains, where they were taken by surprise by Thorin's detachment, and their leader was killed.

War of the Ring

As forces gradually began to return to Sauron, many orcs again joined him. Some of them came into the possession of Saruman, who chose the dark side. In the Peter Jackson trilogy, more than once you can see scenes of how the orcs of Middle-earth breed in Isengard, around which there is also a lot of controversy. During the Third Age, they also took part in major battles, including the Battle of Helm's Deep and the Battle of Pellenor Fields. The troops of Sauron and Saruman consisted of both ordinary orcs and hybrids, however, a large numerical superiority did not play here either. important role, since the fighters from them are far from being as good as those from elves or people.

Uruk-hai

It was during the Battle of the Ring that the Uruk-hai became known. For the first time they set out from Mordor and defeated Ithilien, and also captured Osgiliath. Consequently, they were created precisely by Sauron and were distinguished by greater strength and extremely high growth for their race. However, the orcs of Middle-earth, known as the Uruk-hai, judging by the film, are the creation of Saruman, who crossed ordinary representatives of the race with people. Because of this, much controversy about the divergence of concepts has been generated, 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 by: special endurance, large dimensions, great strength and the ability to be under the sun, because ordinary orcs come out only in dark time days. In the Lord of the Rings films, they are marked with a white hand, making them instantly stand out from the rest.

Goblins and orcs

Many believe that representatives of the goblin and orc races are fundamentally different from each other. This is true of many works and creations in the fantasy genre, but in Tolkien these words are synonymous. According to the original idea, he should translate orcs exactly as goblins, but in some texts they are still different creatures. If you are familiar with the book about the Hobbit's journey to the Lonely Mountain, then you probably remember that the term "goblin" is used everywhere. This is due to the fact that the work "The Hobbit" did not immediately become part of the universe of Middle-earth. Yes, 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 stick to the original. Thus, all creatures here are goblins, not the orcs of Middle-earth. Azog, who is one of the antagonists in the paintings, does not even look like representatives of the race that can be seen in The Lord of the Rings, although, in fact, he is an orc.

Notable members of the race

The list of these creatures is not as huge as the same list of famous elves or dwarves, however, representatives who left their mark on 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 mostly belong to the Second and Third. Azog, mentioned above, is famous for capturing Moria and cutting off the head of the Dwarf king Thror. His son, Bolg the Cruel, was killed by Beorn during the Battle of the Five Nations. In The Hobbit, Thorin's party meets with the Goblin High in the Misty Mountains, resulting in their deaths. As for The Lord of the Rings, readers and viewers remember the commander of the Uruk-hai detachment, Saruman Ugluk, who was killed by Eomer. 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 Lurtz, who killed Boromir. But it is fair to say that the names, and indeed the representatives of this race in general, are not given much attention, and this happens extremely rarely. Perhaps that is why the tangle of secrets and intrigues around them is still impossible to unravel.

To begin with, goblins appear mainly in The Hobbit, or There and Back Again (1937), and orcs in the Lord of the Rings trilogy (1954-55). Therefore, the difference, one might say, is rather stylistic. For a children's fairy tale (and The Hobbit was originally created in this genre), it was necessary to use a word familiar to young readers. Curiously, in some prefaces to The Hobbit, Tolkien himself emphasized that the word "orc" is not English.

The very word "goblin" is much more familiar to the English ear. The goblin has its prototype in the Middle High German word "kobold". In English, the “goblin” was recorded for the first time in the 14th century and, quite likely, owes its appearance to the so-called. Middle French.

However, Orcs are mentioned twice in The Hobbit, and the difference in size between them is emphasized. Orcs are implied to be much larger and more vicious than goblins.

So let's be honest, there is at least a linguistic relationship between the cartoon Shrek and Tolkien's orcs.

The question arises - why does Tolkien choose to use the word "orc" in The Lord of the Rings, although goblins and hobgoblins still appear in early drafts? Most likely, he needed to withdraw cultural space trilogy beyond the children's (both rooms and fairy tales).

The author did not write a formal continuation of The Hobbit, as the publishers ordered him to, but completely new text, based on previously created plots of The Silmarillion. This area of ​​the Tolkien universe is subject to a different internal logic, and therefore it was necessary to fix this difference even at the level of vocabulary.

If we talk about the origin of the orcs, here Tolkien offers us only a few hints. His main idea is this: evil cannot create anything new, it can only distort the already existing beyond recognition. That is why, according to one of the versions (mentioned in The Lord of the Rings), orcs are former elves, whose soul and body were mutilated by Morgoth under the cover of Darkness. That is why they "multiply" on the orders of one or another dark lord - Morgoth and later Sauron - and cannot stand sunlight.

Saruman goes even further and creates "half-orcs" - a kind of genetic hybrid between orcs and people who are not afraid of the sun and experience a special, hypertrophied hatred of nature. They all die in the end most of from the angry revived Fangorn trees, and the smaller one (the detachment of the defeated Saruman, who tried to hide in the Hobbitania) - from the hands of the hobbits who liberate their country in the finale.

In other words, the strength and power of the orcs directly depends on the power of their master. With the death of Sauron and Saruman, the orcs (they are also goblins) disappear forever from Middle-earth.

>>In terms of etymology, the word "orc" comes from the Latin Orcus (god of death in Roman mythology). In English, it was fixed thanks to French fairy tales XVII century, where the word ogre was quite common (where it, in turn, migrated from Italian).

The word "orc-neas" is found in Beowulf, written in Old English.

"eotenas ond ylfe ond orcneas" - giants (the same as ogres) and elves and orcs?

the Orc form is also found in another monument of the 10th century.

Answer

>>In terms of etymology, the word "orc" comes from the Latin Orcus (god of death in Roman mythology). In English, it was fixed thanks to the French fairy tales of the 17th century, where the word ogre was quite common (where it, in turn, migrated from Italian).

Orcs are known to us as characters in fairy tales, the Lord of the Rings novel and the Warcraft universe. However, did these characters really exist, or is it just a hyped modern image?

In the article:

Who are orcs?

This creature first appeared in literature in the 17th century. This essence is found in the popular storyteller Basile Giambattista from Naples in the book "The Tale of Fairy Tales, or Fun for Little Children."

However, this literary scum became really popular thanks to John Tolkien and his novel The Lord of the Rings. In his works, an orc is an evil entity that looks like a person, but is extremely ugly and extremely strong physically.

Such entities are not stupid, but often predictable. In general, their race was not able to create something, they were engaged in destruction, murder, robbery.

How did the orcs appear?

It is very difficult to answer this question right away, since there are several modern versions of the origin of such creatures:

1. Elf relatives. In ancient times, they were evil elves who separated from their good brothers and, by interbreeding with other species, acquired their awesome present form. Kinship with the elves would suggest immortality, but this is silent
2. Smart animals. Orcs are actually not as intelligent creatures as humans, but simply intelligent animals that live in their pack. Such a theory explains why the orcs did not have their own culture, but they were guided by basic instincts. They multiplied, defended their territory, killed those who were considered enemies, and this was the end of their activities.
3. Orcs and goblins. The most popular theory- that the orcs are relatives or even representatives of the same race. For example, in the original edition of The Hobbit and at the beginning of The Lord of the Rings, the definition of "goblin" was initially used for these terrible monsters, but then "goblin" was replaced by "orc". Most Tolkien fans argue that if they are not the same creature, then at least they are distant relatives.

Why are orcs green?

According to various sources, there is a certain curse of blood - the influence of the demonic blood of a representative of the underworld on these creatures. It allows the orcs to become stronger, more resilient and agile.

After the creature drinks blood, its skin turns green, it grows in size, and its eyes begin to glow bright red. Subsequently, the demonic blood continues to affect the orc's body, his skin turns dark red, he becomes even larger, growths appear on his head.

Did female orcs exist?

Fans of fantasy have one of the most common questions - how orcs reproduce, because there is practically no information about females anywhere, the only thing Tolkien noted in The Silmarillion:

For the Orcs were alive and multiplied like the Children of Ilúvatar.

Shot from the movie "Warcraft"

Not a single book, story, fairy tale, legend indicates that female orcs existed in principle. But we do know that some orcs looked like other races. For example people.

It can be assumed that the children for these bloodthirsty monsters were carried by females of other races, as a result of which creatures with outward signs other races.

Orc language

Orcish is the language of the Orcs, which is used by representatives of all subspecies, in fact, it is a mixture of runes and the alphabet. The tongue is very rough, the sounds are guttural. Such a language has a large number of dialects, which is why representatives of different types unable to understand each other.

Orcs - mythical creatures which became popular thanks to Tolkien. However, in myths and legends, so little is indicated about these creatures that it can be said with certainty that even if such monsters existed, they did not like to make contact with people.

In contact with

Who are orcs? This is an extremely aggressive race of humanoid creatures. They live in tribes, hunt and raid elves, goblins, and humans. Their appearance is not of the same type, so these creatures constantly interbreed with representatives of other races. In general, they look like rather primitive people with pale green skin and coarse, monkey-like hair. The back is hunched, the forehead is low, the facial features are rough. Orcs have protruding ears, like dogs or wolves. The eyes have a reddish tint. The height of men varies from 150 cm to 180 cm. Women are on average 15 cm lower.

These creatures prefer to wear clothes dark colors. Usually it is dark green, black-brown, mustard, rusty red. Combat armor is usually dirty and rusty in places. At the same time, war is their main trade, and they are trained in it from childhood. Therefore, men are all broad-shouldered and muscular. Their average duration life is 40 years. Pregnancy in women lasts 10 months. Each gives birth to 2 or 3 babies at a time. Mortality among newborns is very high.

Orc tribes are always at war with someone. Even if there is no need for war, they still find a reason to attack someone. These are gnomes, goblins, people. During the battle, they fall into a state of ecstasy. And after a successful battle, they organize a feast and praise their exploits. However, they fight rather stupidly. They have no order, no teams. They fight where they see the enemy. Often those who fight in the first ranks die. However, no one considers the dead to be heroes. The survivors praise themselves, although victory is often achieved through the death of other members of the tribe.

In battles, ambush tactics are often chosen. They give a damn about any rules of war if they are not beneficial. They can, for example, kill parliamentarians if they say unpleasant things. They have a historical enmity with elves and goblins. Therefore, both those and these immediately try to kill each other when they meet. From all of the above, a more or less clear idea of ​​\u200b\u200bwho the orcs are and what their true essence is.

This is how orcs are portrayed in Hollywood

They live in large and small communities. At the same time, their dwellings can be located both on the ground and underground. On the ground, they look like dilapidated villages, consisting of wooden huts surrounded by a moat and a rampart.

Men are purely consumerist towards women. The weaker sex has no rights. Each woman does as much work as she is able to do, that is, she works daily to the limit of her abilities. In food, the weaker sex suffers deprivation and eats just enough so as not to die of hunger. Women can only be satisfied when men burst from gluttony. Each orc can have as many wives as he can keep near him. It should also be noted that the male part of the population considers women as a potential source of meat in case of nutritional problems.

The bulk of the Orks' diet consists of meat. The game is eaten by hunting, as well as livestock. These creatures also eat people and representatives of other races, but only in cases where there is no other meat. From plant foods, cereals are popular, but fruits and vegetables are in the very last place.

The ideology of the orcs preaches hatred and violence towards other peoples and races. These tribes are extremely ambitious. And the names of the tribes inspire fear and disgust: Bloody heads, Evil eye, Broken bones, Mad Dogs, Vile killers. The names fully correspond to the essence of the members of the tribe.

Violence and mockery of the weak is inherent in these vile creatures at the genetic level. But pity and compassion are completely absent from them. They mercilessly exterminate the conquered peoples, and do not enslave, since the killing of the defenseless gives them great pleasure.

Cruel and merciless orcs

Only ruthless and brutal force can resist them. And in itself, such a force does not cause respect. It engenders reverence and servility in orcs only when backed up by violence or the threat of violence. And the cry for mercy is regarded by these creatures as a sign of weakness.

Now it is clear to everyone who the orcs are - evil, stupid and bloodthirsty creatures. Both externally and internally they are disgusting. Some of them do not tolerate direct sunlight. And there are those who do not even like twilight, preferring darkness to them. At the same time they skilled blacksmiths and good builders. But that doesn't stop them from killing and destroying.

In relation to each other, men often behave aggressively in order to find out which of them is cooler. And only the one who is stronger than each of his subordinates becomes the commander. At the same time, the leader must constantly prove his superiority over others, since there are many people around who want to take his place. This indicates that intelligence in their environment is not quoted at all. Strength, rigidity and ruthlessness are decisive. Therefore, it is strictly not recommended to make contact with the orcs. It is better to stay away from them, and ideally, not to meet at all.

Briefly about the article: Countless hordes of narrow-eyed half-beasts, long-armed bent beasts flood a good half of fantasy universes. They trample on crops, burn villages, rape cattle - they do all the dirty work of ferocious and low-intellectual antagonists entrusted to them by the authors. Who are they, where did they come from?

Greenskins

Orcs, goblins and all sorts of relatives

Countless hordes of narrow-eyed half-beasts, long-armed bent beasts flood a good half of fantasy universes. They trample on crops, burn villages, rape cattle - they do all the dirty work of ferocious and low-intellectual antagonists entrusted to them by the authors. Who are they, where did they come from?

Orcs, goblins and a dozen other names - similar as twins, distant relatives and completely different biological species - they are firmly registered in fantasy worlds and sometimes penetrate both space fiction and alternative modernity.

So we got to the “World of Fantasy”.

First of all, so that no one leaves offended, we will try to outline the range of topics raised in our presentation. We will talk about fictional creatures called either orcs or goblins (since these two concepts sometimes mean the same thing or almost the same thing), as well as their various relatives from the family tree. For the article, we have selected the key, in our opinion, sources. We will also try to answer the main questions of Orc studies: why them green skin (and green whether) and why their that's what it's called. Let's start with the last one.

Whatever you call a race, so it is ...

There are several main versions of the origin of the word "orc". Most agree on one opinion, which we will adhere to: the word "Orc" (Orc), in the sense in which it is now most often used, was introduced into literature by Professor J. R. R. Tolkien. And not in The Lord of the Rings, but earlier, on the pages of The Hobbit. When listing the dangers that await travelers in the Misty Mountains, "goblins, hobgoblins, orcs" are mentioned. Unfortunately, N. Rakhmanova's most common translation does not say anything about orcs - and our reader in the distant seventies would not have been told anything by a casually mentioned unfamiliar word.

But did the Professor himself come up with it? Obviously not, because in one of the letters he himself noticed that he used the old English word orc(demon) for the name of the biological species he invented, since it seemed to him apt sounding. Is this question over? And again no. In Italy, we hear about orcs, bloodthirsty giants whose favorite delicacy was human babies. The third thread can lead us back to the Apennine Peninsula, this time from the time of Ancient Rome. In Latin mythology, Orcus (abbreviated as Orc) was called the goddess of death, and after her - the whole afterlife. Although the goddess, and the person, you see, unpleasant.

Let us designate these main etymological hypotheses (leaving the reader to choose “the only true one”) and establish another difference, this time between Orcs (Orc) and Orcs (Ork). Both those and others appear in military-tactical games " Warhammer" companies games workshop : the first belong to the fantasy “ Warhammer Fantasy Battles”, and the second - to the fantastic “ Warhammer 40000". Since it is absolutely impossible to distinguish between orcs and orcs in Russian, we considered it our duty to warn the reader, who, perhaps, will find the strength to turn to English-language sources.

earth roots

However, human brain designed in such a way that one name is not enough for him. Give him the item itself. You can look at the illustrations scattered across these pages. And at the same time find out what Tolkien relied on when inventing his classic orcs.

The Hobbit, as already mentioned, calls the orcs goblins. In general, for Tolkien's world, the words "orc" and "goblin" are synonymous. Sometimes it is stipulated that small orcs are called goblins, and large ones are called hobgoblins, but this is not the point.

It is important that the concept of “goblin” is obviously taken from European legends (and there, most likely, it came from the name of the king of the dwarfs Goba, or Ghoba). In European mythology, they are small hunched creatures with dark skin and long arms. They live in human houses or hollows, and they put caps on their heads. In this description, we pay attention to three details: dark skin, long-armedness and stoop. These qualities would later be transferred to Tolkien's orcs. We will pay attention to them, and for those who want to study the “historical” goblins in more depth, we recommend the poem by Christina Rossetti, which is called “The Goblin Fair”.

Orcs of Tolkien's Middle-earth

When orcs were elves...

Any person who has an idea of ​​​​the world of Tolkien knows that the Orcs of the Middle Earth are the mutilated descendants of the first elves. Even if you haven't read The Silmarillion, which talks about this fact, Saruman's short lecture on the Uruk-hai he just created from the first part of Peter Jackson's film trilogy will surely come to mind.

We will not yet analyze the question of who actually brought the Uruk-Hai, although we will gradually get to it. As for the Orcs, they are indeed descended from the first Elves who awakened in the darkness of Middle-earth and were captured by the Dark Lord Morgoth. In the depths of his fortress Utumno, he perverted and enslaved them with charms and cruelty, giving rise to new race intelligent beings. The elves called them orogs, as well as irchs, people - orcs, and in the Black Speech their name was uruks.

Here it is necessary to make a small digression, answering the question “why”. Why Morgoth caught the elves, drove them to dungeons, mocked them there, wasted his time - and all for the sake of obtaining such a low-quality product as the orcs. Much, of course, can be attributed to the sadistic nature of the Dark Lord. But official reason in the fact that Morgoth, after his rebellion, could not independently create anything living. So I had to break and spoil.

Information about the appearance, culture and social structure of the orcs is scattered in small pieces across the pages of Tolkien's numerous books. The average orc was shorter than a man, in addition to this, he stooped so that his long arms almost reached the ground. Tolkien Orc Skin dark shades(although in the Peter Jackson film, the color of these creatures varies from light gray to yellow and frankly red; however, no green). Orcs are traditionally depicted with slanted eyes, sharp and sparse teeth, often without hairline. In general, it must be admitted that Professor Tolkien left artists quite a lot of freedom to depict orc-goblins: from ugly and bearded quasi-humans from the first Soviet editions of The Hobbit to disgusting “insects” in the Jackson trilogy.

Settling Middle-earth

It is known that the orcs initially did not feel much love for their master, but they were afraid of him like hell. sign of the cross means respect. Morgoth himself used them as cannon fodder, for which he prudently laid in the genetic program of the race the ability to breed no worse than rabbits (remember that the immortal elves had problems with this from the very beginning).

By the way, I do not presume to say that the orcs are immortal (although in Tolkien's books it was not possible to find an orc dying of old age and sentimentally stroking the heads of his great-grandchildren), but some individuals lived for a long time even by Dunedan standards. For example, the leader of the Mori orcs, Bolg, in the prime of his life, killed the leader of the Dwarves, Nain, and only a hundred and fifty years later he died in the Battle of the Five Armies. His father Azog, according to some sources, lived for more than three hundred years. But these are all rather exceptions to the rule, because for three epochs of Arda the orcs were severely beaten, then they multiplied again, then they were beaten again, and so on. And the beginning of this glorious tradition was laid by the most gentle Sindars (one of the tribes of elves) even before the first sunrise of the Moon and the Sun.

It is clear that the orcs did not want to love either Morgoth or the elves, so when Beleriand was flooded and the Dark Lord was cast out of the world, the surviving goblins did not fail to take advantage of their unexpected freedom and rushed to explore the expanses of Middle-earth. For some reason, they liked most of all the strip stretched from north to south on both sides of the Anduin. At least by the end of the Third Age, several Orc tribes were distinguished, divided by latitude: the Orcs of the north, whose main settlements were under the mountains of Gram and Gundabad; the orcs of Moria, with the participation of the Balrog, seized the former dwarven possessions; the Orcs of Isengard who served Saruman; as well as the Mordor orcs, among whom they distinguished subordinates directly to Sauron and the nine Nazgul. There is no doubt that, in addition to those listed, there were other orc tribes, not so numerous.

Sociology and physiology

Tolkien, who gave the orcs the role of cannon fodder, did not delve into their public model. Let me roughly define it as a military dictatorship. At the head of the tribe was a leader (the title “High Goblin” is mentioned in the “Hobbit”), from whom the pyramid of the army hierarchy diverged. Naturally, the orcs had both females and young (the meat of which Gollum loved to feast on), but we know even less about orc women than about dwarfs.

The goblins had slaves, mostly prisoners. Orcs did not have their own language; different tribes they spoke different dialects (often these were primitive versions of the common language of Westron), occasionally and under duress using the Dark Speech developed by Sauron. Orcs entered into alliances with wargs (intelligent wolves), some dwarves and people who served Evil. Orc tribes often fought among themselves.

Goblins mastered crafts, mainly those that were directly or indirectly aimed at destroying the enemy and causing suffering. They made hammers, axes, swords, daggers, hoes, pincers, and instruments of torture. “It is possible that it was the goblins who invented some of the machines that cause trouble for mankind, especially those that are designed to destroy a large number of people at a time. Mechanisms, motors and explosions have always fascinated and fascinated goblins,” says The Hobbit. Orcs can dig tunnels and mine mines, second only to the most skilled of gnomes. For silent movement, they use soft shoes.

Orcs are omnivores, but they prefer freshly caught meat, and it doesn't matter who it belongs to: a horse or a man... Goblins have black blood. Orcs do not like sunlight, so they prefer to live in dungeons or in the eternal darkness of Mordor. They conduct ground operations at night or under favorable weather conditions. The exceptions are the Uruk-hai, a type of large sun-resistant orcs bred by Sauron, and half-orcs, most likely obtained by Saruman as a result of crossing goblins and people.

Orcs and goblins of classic “Dungeons&Dragons”

For thirty years of existence Dungeons & Dragons the game developers have done a great job of streamlining fantasy. This also applies to goblin-orcs, who quickly became a habitual obstacle in the way of adventurers. Into the 21st century D&D entered with the three main goblinoid races: orcs, goblins proper, and hobgoblins. Since these races, although they are different biological species, often act together and historically date back to Tolkien's orcs, we will consider them all. In alphabetical order - why is it worse than others?

goblins

Goblins are small, flat-faced humanoids with pointed ears, small sharp teeth, and knee-length upper limbs. They have low foreheads, and eye and skin color varies from yellow to deep red. Public organization goblin tribal, the leader of the tribe becomes the strongest of its members, sometimes this place is occupied by a hobgoblin. The concept of private property among goblins is not developed, unless it is private property leader. Knowing full well that in the world of the big and strong, the small and weak alone cannot survive, goblins rely on their own numbers in all matters. Whether it's an ambush on the road, a night raid into the city, or a sortie for slaves.

War with whomever, for whatever reason, is the fixed idea of ​​every orc in the universe. D&D. They are sure that the whole sublunar world belongs to them and only to them, and all the rest, including the same orcs from enemy tribes, are impudent conquerors. It is not surprising that in their pursuit of living space they settled in almost all climatic zones. If an orc is not fighting, then he is either thinking about war, or sleeping, or dead. It's no surprise that weapon proficiency is the duty of any self-respecting orc, though that proficiency (like the weapon itself) can be far from perfect.

Outwardly, the orcs would look like people, if it were not for the grayish skin, ears upright and long, protruding lower fangs. Orcs and humans are roughly the same height and are apparently distant biological relatives. Confirmation of this is a considerable number of half-orcs who can live with the orcs, wander as outcasts through the lands of people, or unite into separate tribes. By the way, the half-orc in latest edition D&D- one of the races available to the characters.

Treating all outsiders with an initial dislike, orcs especially hate elves and dwarves, and engage in combat with them at any opportunity. It cannot be said that D&D Orcs, like their Tolkien predecessors, have consistently avoided sunlight, but they have a slight photophobia: they fight a little worse in daylight than in other conditions.

Orc tribes are patriarchy. Orc women are considered the property of their men, and their number is one of the indicators by which an orc's position on the social ladder is judged. Do not disdain orcs and slavery. The tribe often has a shaman whose power is comparable to that of the leader. If enmity arises between these two, the tribe may split. The largest orc tribes live in big cities built both on the surface of the earth and below it.

Distant relatives of the goblins, reaching a height of two meters and combining the orcs' views on war with good internal organization. The skin of hobgoblins is dark and red-orange, while large males have noses of red or of blue color(apparently not from the use of strong drinks). They treat their weapons much more attentively than the orcs, and store them in good condition. Many hobgoblins become well-paid mercenaries.

The leader in a hobgoblin tribe is usually the strongest and most warlike. Hobgoblins themselves often lead bands of goblins and orcs (although the latter often refuse to obey non-orc leaders). Each tribe is a well-organized fighting unit with its own banner and a strict hierarchy. Since such detachments are baked primarily about own glory and prey, one must possess remarkable organizational talents in order to get several hobgoblin tribes to fight on the same side. Quite often, such attempts end in banal tribal battles.

Hobgoblin tribes settle in protected places: caves, ruins and forest thickets.

Greenskin Appearance: "Warhammer FB"

Warhammer, the most popular military tactical game with miniatures to date, was born in the depths of the project “ Dungeons & Dragons. It is not surprising that orcs and goblins from the very first steps of the "Hammer of War" became one of the main active forces.

Orcs, goblins and their relatives the Snotlings collectively form the greenskin race. Why the green color was chosen - you can argue for a long time. In my opinion, it was decisive that each side of the "Hammer of War" needed to be given a distinctive and memorable visual image. It's in D&D you could get by with the words “you are being attacked by a gang of orcs”. The miniature is always in sight, it should look beautiful and expressive.

The regular units of the human Empire and Bretonnia were opposed by hordes of green-skinned barbarians - you can’t confuse them with people, elves, or dwarves. Another aspect is the much greater connection of orcs with the wild than that of humans. Greenskins cannot unconditionally be called a biological civilization, but the role of natural components, ranging from narcotic mushrooms to huge wyvern reptiles, clearly surpasses technological inventions for them.

Racial composition

Greenskins are spread all over the surface of the fantasy "War Hammer" - you will find them in every forest and under every mountain. The clearest classifications distinguish three racial groups - actually orcs, goblins and Snotlings - among which separate tribes are distinguished.

The difference is in size: Orcs are the largest and strongest, Snotlings are the smallest and frailest. It is believed that greenskins grow constantly (perhaps by successively moving from one group to another) until they meet someone on their life path who will put them in their place. Therefore, the position of each individual within the Orc tribe is determined by eye in literally this word. The leaders and their retinue are the largest, followed by the so-called Big Orcs - the military elite of the tribe; prolific and vicious goblins play the role of servants and cannon fodder, and ridiculous Snotlings are the real dregs of green-skinned society.

Among the orcs, one can distinguish “just orcs”, black orcs and wild orcs. Black orcs are the largest, largest and most disciplined. There are not very many of them, so they rarely form their own tribes. Most often, black orcs become the ruling elite big tribe ordinary orcs. Tribes of savage orcs inhabit the equatorial regions, where under the influence of heat and the scorching sun their brains decay. They are known for their ferocity and recklessness, as well as the fact that they prefer war paint to all armor.

Inside the goblins, night goblins can be distinguished - a special subspecies that, under normal conditions, lives exclusively in dungeons. If a night goblin comes to the surface, he usually wears thick black robes to protect himself from the sunlight. The rest of the greenskins react quite normally to the sun.

Tactics and strategy

The meaning of the life of the greenskins (yes, in principle, and other armies of the “Hammer of War”) is in the war. Most often, greenskin tribes are at war with each other - and only the appearance of a truly strong leader (warboss) can rally them against another race. Campaigns of the combined forces of the greenskins against people, elves, or whatever it was called Waa-orc, or Waagh, and most often end after several successful battles with internecine slaughter. The Waagh rolls across the doomed lands of the enemy in an unstoppable green wave, eating the corpses of slain enemies and kindred, and erecting huge monuments of excrement behind it. In battle, the orcs rush at the enemy with their entire mass, crushing them with numbers. If the warlord holds back the greenskins, sooner or later they will fight among themselves. If they did not have internal strife, the world would have long belonged to the orcs.

Greenskin cavalry can be divided into four main components: orcs on wild boars, orcs on flying wyvern reptiles, goblins on wolves, and night goblins on squiggs.

The latter must be specially mentioned. Squiggy are cave half-animals, half-mushrooms, consisting mainly of teeth and claws. Only night goblins, besotted with mushroom spores, would think of riding them on the battlefield. But a wildly jumping squigg is capable of causing serious damage to enemy units - and if you're not lucky, then to your own.

The fanatics of the night goblins are somewhat similar - mini-berserkers pumped up with narcotic mushroom beer, armed with huge chain balls. The fanatic, released on the battlefield, rushes about, not sorting out the road and spinning his deadly ball - until he himself crashes against an insurmountable obstacle. Of the greenskins' equipment, the most interesting is the Doom Diver catapult, from which live goblins are launched (for aerial reconnaissance).

Orc assassins from deep space

The second half of the universe "Hammer of War" was " Warhammer 40000"- bright fantasy world with elements of space fantasy and cyberpunk. There is enough in common between the two Warhammers, but there are much more differences than it might seem at first glance. Take, for example, the same orcs. It would seem that orcs - they are orcs in Africa too: green skin, fangs, militancy - but no, in the "forty-thousander" everything is completely different. How?

On the terminological difference ( Orc And Ork) we have already said. This time. As in WFB, there are several varieties of greenskins in the “forty-thousander”, but you will not find any goblins there. This is two. Then, in " Warhammer 40000" an attempt was made to justify the green-skinnedness of orcs with scientific positions. The orcs of the distant future are symbiotic organisms that combine the genes of an animal (almost identical to humans) and plants (like primitive green algae and fungi). From the latter, the orcs inherited green skin, with a protective layer that hardens over the course of life. It's three. Five, eight and nineteen - technologies, spaceships, psionics, culture, destructive machines and other features imposed by the fantasy genre.

Plant genes are responsible for character traits the biology of the orkoids that hopelessly separate them from the fantasy greenskins. The circulatory system of symbionts is combined with the digestive system, and they have two hearts, one of which is engaged in the digestion of food. Therefore, orcs can eat what is completely inedible for other sentient races, and the color and consistency of their blood depends on what they eat. Over the course of its life (which usually ends in violent death), the orcoid scatters spores, much like human skin flakes off. These spores serve, firstly, for identification, and secondly, for reproduction. Once in a dark and damp place (for example, a cave or forest), the spore germinates like mushrooms, only instead of a mycelium there is an orc embryo underground. It is clear that with this method of reproduction, no females are required.

What are orkoids

Orcs are the most famous and main subspecies of Orkoids. They are the largest of their race - taller than a human when fully erect, although they constantly walk hunched over. Orc has strong strong body with long arms, claws grow on the fingers. Orcs do not have hair, although some of them create an imitation of facial hair with the help of special creatures - hair squiggs. Orc speech is slow and concise. Other Orkoids are regarded by the Orcs as chattel, but some would not be able to live without the others.

Gretchin are outwardly similar to orcs, but not as large and strong, but smarter and more cunning than their masters. While the latter are engaged in war, the weight of the organization lies on the Gretchin economic life tribe. They work day and night, but are completely satisfied with their own existence, although they often fall under hot hand owners. The most enterprising of the gretchin can rise to high positions under their masters or become successful in trade.

Snotlings are the most mysterious of the Orkoids. Many scientists believe that once these small and narrow-minded creatures that breed mushrooms and look after livestock were a highly intelligent race that created the rest of the Orkoids through genetic manipulation. Orcs were bred by the ancient Snotlings to perform military duties, while Gretchin were bred for official duties. However, due to an unknown catastrophe and regression of the Snotlings, orcs, as the strongest, became the dominant subspecies.

Whoever the ancient creator of the orc race was, he proved to be very farsighted. IN genetic code The orks are deliberately introduced information about culture, technology, handling of weapons, etc. This is one of the reasons for the unheard-of adaptability of the orkoids. In addition, the sets genetic information serve as the basis for the division into castes - warriors, technicians, doctors, psionics, etc.

culture

Orkoids have a developed, albeit quite specific culture, and its main figures are gretchins. art represented by wall paintings and sculptures. In painting, Orkoids prefer bright colors, using plots from mythology or history, and as decorative elements - pictograms or runic inscriptions. Sculptures made of stone or stone wood are dedicated to the gods of war or famous military leaders. Monuments often mark the territory occupied by orcs, and they are also installed on conquered lands to intimidate the subject population.

The traditional music of the orcs is choral singing, during which thousands of orkoids are divided into groups, each of which, at the command of the conductor, shouts a word in a certain key. The resulting effect is also used on the battlefield - to demoralize the enemy. There is a legend that the walls of an enemy fortress collapsed from orc singing. Progressive music is inextricably linked with technological innovations and is most often mixed recordings of traditional choirs, battle cries and other sounds.

Horde

10 years ago, an event happened that had a huge impact on the industry computer games and incidentally touched upon the topic of our modest study. Company Blizzard released the first Warcraft. Warhammer fans beat around the bush, glancing at the 256-color monitors and cryptically implying that they knew perfectly well where the blue-and-white Imperial men and wild green orcs came from. The rest - just cut. After several extensions Blizzard swung at multiplayer online role play “World of Warcraft”. Guess who will become one of the most popular races?

In the first Warcraft, everything was simple: here are the noble people, here are the orc invaders; here are sets of units with identical functions, kill each other for health. TO Warcraft’ the third (not to mention MMORPG) game universe has a multi-thousand-year and rich history, and the newly discovered facts made us look differently at the seemingly primitive plot of the first of the games in the series. Ten years later, it turns out that Warcraft is not at all Warhammer, mechanically transferred to computer screens, but quite a full-fledged and original world.

According to the conventional reconstruction of orc history in Warcraft, the greenskins have lived under the red skies of the planet Draenor for millennia, creating a non-aggressive patriarchal society there that has reached the heights of shamanic magic and culture. The orcs were divided into clans, divided groups of proud hunters who fought solely to survive in the unkind world of Draenor. At the head of the clans were leaders who were assisted by shamans. The calm existence of the orcs ended with the advent of the demons of the Burning Legion on Draenor. The latter made a deal with one of the orc shamans, who united the orcs and led several clans through the dimensional gates to spill blood into the human world of Azeroth. At the same time, it was not without demonic magic - the Burning Legion turned the orcs into bloodthirsty and thoughtless creatures that bring only death and destruction.

After many victories and defeats, probably played out on the monitors of a good half of those reading this article, the orcs almost took possession of the lands of humans and elves. However, betrayal in their ranks tipped the scales in the other direction. An alliance of humans and elves destroys the dimensional portal and imprisons the remaining orcs on a reservation. Meanwhile on Draenor, the shaman Ner'zhul, seeking to lead his people away from the demons of the Burning Legion, decides to open portals to other worlds and sends several clans back to the world of Azeroth. People pay a return visit to Draenor, during which Ner-zhul opens portals, runs, but the energy released at the same time tears the unfortunate Draenor to pieces. There are several years of calm, during which the orcs sit on their reservations.

Over time, scientists are surprised to find that the orcs are becoming calmer and calmer. They no longer put up drunken brawls, take orders from overseers, and generally bear little resemblance to the horde that invaded from Draenor. Archmage of Dalaran Antonidos speculates that the orcs have begun to break free of the Burning Legion's spell. Thrall appears here (a young orc, brought up by people like a slave), welcomes the Orcs' new acquisition of their historical values and raises an uprising in order to free himself from human shackles. Then, anticipating the approach of the third Warcraft'a, he takes his people to the continent of Kalimdor in order to find a second homeland there to replace the destroyed Draenor.

The orcs of the third Warcraft'a are somewhat different from their predecessors from the first and second series - primarily due to their return to the mainstream of their native culture. Thrall banned necromancy and demonic magic, and ancient shamanic rituals came to replace them. The ancient institution of wolf riders was restored - the orcs acquired their own cavalry. Finally, Thrall made an alliance with the minotaur race, and the bullheads now fight alongside the orcs.

Recent Literary Interpretations

If we talk about the classic orcs, then the pages read are enough to form a not the most superficial impression of them. In the end, I suggest a couple of non-classical goblin orcs. We will not consider absolutely clinical cases in which orcs are equipped with butterfly wings and striped family shorts. Let's just show what else can be done with the term we are discussing.

In J. Rowling's book about Harry Potter, goblins are employees of the most reliable magical bank in the world, Gringotts. Goblin clerks have brown skin long noses, fingers, nails and feet. Often their faces are burdened with the seal of intellect. They are small in size - about a meter. As befits goblins, they work deep underground, where the Gringotts vaults are located. However, they have nothing against sunlight. It is possible that, putting goblins behind the bank counter, Rowling thought about Swiss financial tycoons from the real world, who are sometimes called gnomes in the West.

We meet completely different goblins in the Eoin Colfer series about Artemis Fowl. The goblins there are one of the races of fairy folk that live underground. In the underground society, these reptile-like creatures occupy the social niche of marginals - from smugglers to hooligans. One of the underground prisons is called “Goblin Silence”. Kolfer goblins do not differ in developed intelligence, therefore, in complex enterprises, they usually operate under the guidance of scoundrels from other races - for example, elves or pixies. But goblins know how to shoot lightning and generally adore everything related to fire - this is one of the reasons for their millennial enmity with dwarf burrowers.

Well, at the very end, I would like to mention a book that has nothing to do with science fiction - rather, it can be attributed to an equally interesting genre of futurology. This is the work of Maxim Kalashnikov and Yuri Krupnov “Wrath of an Orc”. Orcs in this case are ourselves, the inhabitants of the former Soviet Union, but in the view of the civilized West. According to the authors, this notion found its metaphorical reflection in Tolkien's orcs - here are the "clinical" inability to democracy of the Western type, and Asian narrow-eyedness, and external sameness. Let me suggest that the study of orcs invented by Europeans can to some extent clarify their attitude towards us.

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Orcs, goblins, gretchins, hobgoblins, uruk-hai, snotlings; lightfast and photophobia; cannon fodder of the Enemy, selfless servants of war and civilized barbarians, not to mention the many non-classical interpretations - the eyes run wide, and yet we have not told even a quarter of what mankind has come up with about goblins-orcs. Undoubtedly, green-skinned (or gray-skinned) beasts are one of the favorite fantasy races, and we still have dozens and hundreds of dates with her on the pages of books, monitors, movie screens and in board games. Hope, brief digression in the background will make your encounters with orcs even more interesting.