In this scattershot series, we’ll be delving “too greedily and too deep,” prying gems out of the glorious rough that is the extended legendarium of Tolkien’s world. This includes drawing on The
Lord of the Rings itself, The Hobbit,
The Silmarillion,
The Children of Húrin, and the History of Middle-earth (or HoME) books.
Orcs, amirite? The shock troops of the Dark Lord’s armies. The rank-and-file of the bad guys in Middle-earth. Called a “hideous race” bred in “envy and mockery of the Elves.” Everyone’s got feelings about them. Feelings… and differing facts, maybe.
It should be understood that in J.R.R. Tolkien’s legendarium, the nature of Orcs the spirit and agency of the Orcs is not consistent all throughout. Were they really Elves once? Are they soulless constructs of evil and therefore irredeemable? Or