Whenever fans talk about The Lord Of The Rings, it’s often the heroes of the series that receive all the spotlight. The villains of the series deserve a lot more credit as they’re incredibly interesting, and that doesn't just ring true for the bigger villains. The Orcs found throughout The Lord Of The Rings are one of the most interesting and vile creatures out there.
It’s somewhat surprising that more people aren’t talking about Orcs, but realistically, the race gets a bad rap. To a lot of fans, the Orcs of the series are nothing more than padding to fluff up the amount of kills the heroes can get. Of course, the series also features Goblins, but a lot of fans may be confused about what exactly the difference between the two is.
Lord Of The Rings: Most Important Battles
The Lord of the Rings is defined by a series of battles that helped shape the history of Middle-earth. Here are the most important ones.
Goblins In LOTR
Notable Goblins In The Lord Of The Rings Franchise:
- The Great Goblin
- Azog
- Bolg
- Yazneg
Most of the genuine differences between Goblins and Orcs exist only in Peter Jackson’s film adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s works. In The Lord Of The Rings, Goblins are seen rather sparingly, with one particular moment in which Goblins are seen being when the Fellowship travels in the Mines Of Moria. The group is sieged by a massive group of Goblins, all of which resemble Orcs, but are much smaller in stature with shrill, higher-pitched screeches. Based on the fact that the various Hobbits among the Fellowship have no problem taking on the waves of Goblins it is safe to say that the creatures are much less formidable than the standard Orc and certainly the Uruk-hai.
Goblins are referred to again in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy, once again in the Misty Mountains. While these Goblins are slightly different from what is seen in The Lord Of The Rings, these are simply the same Goblins just stylized differently to fit the slightly brighter tone of the different trilogy. Even the Great Goblin or Goblin King is nothing all that special, and would likely simply be referred to by most as a Hobgoblin, a larger variety of the standard Goblin.
Orcs in LOTR
Orcs | |
|---|---|
Other Names: | Goblins, Uruk-hai |
Origin: | Abducted and tortured Elves back during the era of Morgoth |
Characteristics: | Shorter than men, some roughly the size of hobbits, stubby features and stout bodies |
Languages: | Black Speech, Common Speech |
While not all that different from Goblins (more on that later), Orcs have a unique and tragic backstory. The Orcs of The Lord Of The Rings are quite fascinating creatures as it seems that they were once happy Elves who were turned to darkness. That may sound like a stretch for some, but it is openly confirmed by the powerful wizard Saruman himself in the film trilogy. As Saruman puts it in The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring:
"They were Elves once, taken by the dark powers, tortured and mutilated, a terrible, ruined form of life..."
These evil and vicious creatures were the beings that made up the armies of both Morgoth and Sauron. The short and relatively sluggish creatures were capable of great evil despite their generally small size; Orcs were capable of being as small as the average Hobbit and nearly as tall as some men when they are described as particularly large in stature. They delighted in doing whatever they could to aid in their creation of misery, even if it meant toiling away and making rudimentary weapons. The Lord Of The Rings movies make Orcs out to be somewhat foolish from time to time, but it seems that their brutal nature allowed them to be quite smart when they had the right motivations.
The Differences Between Goblins And Orcs In LOTR
Outside of where one might typically be found and the typical (but not total) size differences, there really aren’t any serious differences that differentiate Orcs from Goblins in The Lord Of The Rings. The entire race is simply known to be Orcs, with Goblins being another name that is used to refer to the same creature. Going one step further, the massive Uruk-hai line of Orc seen throughout the series is just that, an orc. Uruk-hai actually just means Orc folk in the official language of the lands of Mordor, Black Speech. For those that may have some doubts about Orcs and Goblins being the same thing, the man himself J.R.R. Tolkien clarifies everything in the preface to The Hobbit:
"Orc is not an English word. It occurs in one or two places [in The Hobbit] but is usually translated goblin (or hobgoblin for the larger kinds)."
It seems that in the minds of fans, creatives, and even potentially the characters within The Lord Of The Rings, Goblin is the name used for Orcs of a smaller stature. Many of the larger grunt Orcs are known as Orcs across Middle Earth, and the burlier, and more formidable Orcs likely came to be known as Uruk-hai either because they more closely resembled Men and Elves in stature, or simply due to similar naming conventions amongst the ranks of evil. There may seem like there should be more to distinguish all of these creatures, but there really isn’t. Just as the average group of people can be referred to as people, or humans, or mankind, Orcs too have various ways of being referred to.
The Lord Of The Rings is available to stream now on MAX.
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is one of the most iconic names in entertainment. The franchise started with novels from J. R. R. Tolkien before being adapted onto the big screen by Peter Jackson in one of the most critically-acclaimed film trilogies of all time. There have also been numerous The Lord of the Rings video games of varying quality.
Is Middle-earth The Only Continent In Lord of the Rings?
While Middle-earth is where the main quest of the LOTR story happens, there are other places in the world that aren't explored as much.
