Did Orcs Come From Elves? Origins, Myths & LOTR History Explained

The origin of Orcs in The Lord of the Rings has long been debated, with the most common belief that they came from Elves—but how exactly did this work? J.R.R. Tolkien constructed an in-depth lore and history for his fictional world, but that isn’t to say that he made all the answers easy to find or define. The Lord of the Rings books took place thousands of years after Middle-earth was created, and the many details surrounding the beings’ origins had been forgotten even by the immortal Elves. However, there are a few hints spattered throughout, and Tolkien’s posthumously published works like The Silmarillion provided further answers.

In The Lord of the Rings, the villain armies were primarily made up of Orcs. Goblins, Uruks, Uruk-hai—all of these terms are used to identify different versions of the evil beasts of Middle-earth that seem to want nothing more than to murder Men, Elves, Dwarves, and anything else they can get their hands on. Throughout Tolkien’s works, there has never been any instance of a “good” Orc, which has made the subject of their race all the more curious. Where do they come from? Why are they so evil? Though Tolkien left most details regarding the Orc’s origin story a mystery, the combination of information from The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion has allowed for a common belief.

Lord Of The Rings Hints Orcs Originated From Elves (But Doesn’t Confirm It)

It’s important to remember when looking at Tolkien’s lore that the author never finished the works that outlined the beginning of his universe. The Silmarillion is a collection of Tolkien’s notes, many of which contradict each other since he had taken issue with his own ideas. The origin of Orcs is among the information that was never definitively outlined. However, a passage from The Lord of the Rings hints at the idea Tolkien seemed to lean toward the most, and fans have picked this up as the most likely answer for where Orcs came from.

In The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Treebeard tells Merry and Pippin about Trolls, stating that they were “made by the Enemy in the Great Darkness, in mockery of Ents, as Orcs were of Elves.” This is all that was ever said on the matter in the original books, and the comment indicates that the “Enemy,” who would have been Morgoth, created Orcs to be the opposite of Elves.

A passage in The Silmarillion takes this further by stating that Morgoth captured and imprisoned the Elves and “by slow arts of cruelty [they] were corrupted and enslaved; and thus did Melkor breed the hideous race of the Orcs in envy and mockery of the Elves.” However, Tolkien’s notes later contradicted this, saying that the Dark Lord wouldn’t have had the ability to take the Elves immortality. Ultimately, Christopher Tolkien, J.R.R.’s son, noted in The Silmarillion that the idea that Orcs were created from Elves is “held true by the wise of Eressëa,” as a way of saying “no one actually knows, but this is what they think.”

How Orcs Developed & Evolved In Middle-earth History

The reason that Tolkien took issue with his Orc origin story is the already established lore for the creation of the universe. The author described how the god of The Lord of the Rings was called Eru Ilúvatar, and, thanks to the Flame Imperishable, he was the only being capable of creating life. The conflict with Morgoth, one of Eru Ilúvatar’s demi-gods, began with the being’s jealousy since he desired the ability to create life himself. Since this was impossible, the Dark Lord decided to capture Ilúvatar’s children and twist them into beings of his own design.

So, during the early years of Middle-earth’s existence, Morgoth twisted Ents into Trolls, Maiar (like Gandalf, Saruman, and Sauron) into Balrogs, Elves into Orcs, and so on. Thus, all the evil beings of Tolkien’s world were created. However, this doesn’t mean that all the Orcs in The Lord of the Rings used to be Elves. After the first batch was corrupted, the Orcs began to breed on their own. At first, they might have looked more like the Elves, but after thousands of years, they evolved into the beings seen during Frodo’s journey.

Why Lord Of The Rings’ Orc-Elf Origin Makes Sense

Based on Tolkien’s notes, he was never entirely happy with his Orc-origin story. His first idea revolved around Morgoth creating the Orcs out of stone, but he scrapped this when it was established that Ilúvatar was the only being capable of creating life. Then, once he came up with the corrupted Elf idea, Tolkien remained unconvinced since the Orcs were not immortal like the Elves were, which means Morgoth would need a way to strip the Elves of this life force. This led to the suggestion that the Orcs were instead created from Men, Ilúvatar’s other children, but this contradicted what Treebeard said in The Lord of the Rings about Orcs being the antithesis of Elves.

Despite Tolkien’s hesitancy, Orcs being the opposite of Elves is accepted because it aligns with the religious parallels of The Lord of the Rings. The Elves were meant to be the pure potential of life created by Ilúvatar. Just as Adam and Eve of the Judeo-Christian theology were perfect until they ate from the Tree of Knowledge, Elves were perfect in contrast with their corrupted counterparts. These same concepts are present throughout other religious stories that Tolkien drew inspiration from, such as Greek and Norse mythology. Ultimately, this brings balance to the lore of The Lord of the Rings.

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Orcs Beginning As Elves Makes Lord Of The Rings’ Biggest Battles Better

There is a certain poetry to the idea that Orcs were created from Elves. Without knowing where these villains came from, it’s easy to see The battles of the Lord of the Rings as simple conflicts between those that are definitively good and definitively evil. However, things in the real world are rarely that black and white, and this is part of the tragedy of war and battle. Orcs may be lacking in compassion and goodness, but the fact that their ancestors were Elves who were forced to be evil by a jealous Dark Lord makes the constant fight between these beings of Middle-earth that much more impactful.

Amazon’s The Rings Of Power Confirms LOTR’s Orc-Elf Theory

Despite the debate surrounding the origin of Orcs, Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has embraced the idea that the beasts were created from corrupted Elves. In season 1, the character Adar revealed to Galadriel that he had been one of the early Elves captured and tortured by the Dark Lord Morgoth. As a Dark Elf, this made Adar one of the fathers of the Second Age’s Orcs, which was why he was referred to as such, since “adar” means “father” in the Silvin Elvish language. Of course, this is not a strictly canon character, but The Rings of Power‘s Adar is sure to solidify the common belief about Orcs and Elves in Lord of the Rings lore.