In watchingPeter Jackson’sThe Lord of the Ringstrilogy, it’s easy to pick up on more and more with each watch. Over the years, many have wondered about the creation of the Uruk-hai, and while we see some of Saruman’s (Christopher Lee) dark magic at work as they are “birthed” from mud-like casings in the earth,J.R.R. Tolkienhad differing thoughts as to how Sauron and his forces bred these animalistic warriors.
‘The Fellowship of the Rings’ Offers Few Answers As to the Uruk-hai’s Creation
In the first of Jackson’s famed trilogy, the director offers a glimpse into the genesis of these dark beings.The Fellowship of the Ringshows certain Uruk-hai (which, in Black Speech,simply means “Orc-folk” or “Orc-race”), such as the made-for-screen Lurtz (Lawrence Makoare), being ripped from an almost womb-like structure in the muddy ground beneath Isengard. That strange “birth” scene seems to imply that Saruman is essentiallyconjuring these mighty warriors from the ground itself. Giventhe corrupted White Wizard’spowers as an Istar, coupled with whatever evils the Great Eye has likewise infused him with, it seems at least plausible that this could be so. And yet, later in the film, Gandalf (Ian McKellen) tells Elrond (Hugo Weaving) that the villain is simply crossing Orcs with Goblin-men. So, which is it?
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Unfortunately, Peter Jackson doesn’t give us any more real answers. According to the DVD commentary, the goal concerning the Uruk-hai’s creation was to echo Tolkien’s previous statements about the origins of Orcs as they “worm their way out of the ground like maggots.” Indeed, the film-centric lore book,The Lord of the Rings: Weapons and WarfarebyChris Smith, confirms thatSauron first created this brand of Uruksjust as his own master Morgoth created the original Orc race. Only then did Saruman copy the Dark Lord’s initial creation. How did these two blendthe races of Orcs and Goblins?
In Tolkien’s legendarium, Goblins have at times been described as a sub-race of Orc. However, the word “Goblin” has also been used interchangeably by Tolkien when describing Orcs, including inThe Two Towers. “There were four goblin-soldiers of greater stature,” he writes in the “Helm’s Deep” chapter. “Upon their shields they bore […] a small white hand in the centre of the black field.” Clearly this is describing Uruk-hai, but curiously, the Goblin descriptor is used.
J.R.R. Tolkien Struggled To Nail Down a Definitive Mythology of the Orcs
While the films don’t offer any definitive answers as to howexactlythe Uruk-hai were created (save for what we see in that birthing sequence),inThe Two Towersnovel, Tolkien offers a potential explanation. In the book,Treebeard theorizes that the Uruk-hai are a crossbreed between Orcs and Men, likely made through some sort of forced sexual union of the two. “That would be a black evil,” the Ent notes, shuddering at the thought. Indeed,The History of Middle-earth Vol. Xpresents this theory as well, and it seems to fit given that Tolkien himself once implied that the existence of Orc menmust also mean there are Orc women. Nevertheless, the professor struggled to nail down a very specific creation myth for the Orcs themselves due to the greater moral and (potentially) theological implications of such a race. Somethink them to be corrupted Elves(Saruman even offers this explanation inThe Two Towersfilm), while others have noted that they may be a race all of their own, crafted by Morgoth for evil. Ultimately, it’s unclear, and that’s sort of the point.
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We have also established that half-Orcs and Goblin-men (two other Orc hybrids) already exist, so the Uruk-hai simply being another crossbreeding between two different species (as in, one Orc and one not) may make the most sense. Of course, the whole thing is something of a mystery. Even in his letters,Tolkien was pretty vague as to the origins of the Uruk-hai, and certainly the Orcs in general. From what we see in the films, we can conclude that, so far as the Jackson universe is concerned, the Uruk-hai were crafted through some sort of combination of dark magic and natural means. This makes them not just more formidable than standard Orcs (able to walk in the sun without losing any power), but it means that they are also infused with dark enchantments that no doubt contribute to their excessive strength and stamina.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
