![]() giants), would it be too much of a stretch to imagine they ended up as ents? (You’re right that’s where the term comes from. ![]() But we got orcs…so, zombie orcs? - Ed.)Īs for ylfe, or elves, well… Apparently, they make one or two appearances in Tolkien’s Legendarium! For eotenas, or ettens (i.e. In Eastern Europe, these kind of coalesced into what we now know as vampires. (The supernatural in Old English, and Norse, poetry of the time is often centred around corpses, and burial rites. Orcnéas, (I’m reliably informed by that great linguist, Google), is a compound of orc (from the Latin orcus, the underworld) and neas, or corpses. A common translation of these three species of evil is ‘ettens’, ‘elves’, and ‘demons’, or even ‘demon-corpses’. I’d love to wax lyrical about Beowulf here (because IT’S AMAZING) but it’s not particularly pertinent, so suffice to say, Beowulf inspired Tolkien a lot.Īnyway, in line 112 of Beowulf, a selection of evil creatures are referenced as arising from Grendel’s lair, including, “eotenas ond ylfe ond orcnéas ”. It’s d erived from an old English word, famously employed in Tolkien's beloved Beowulf, the poem about a mythical hero’s confrontations with various fearsome monsters. So where did the word ‘orc’ come from? And what sets orcs apart from your run-of-the-mill goblin? The OG Orcs It’s fair to say they’re synonymous with the orcs of The Lord of the Rings, so it’s a linguistic rather than categorical distinction. The race of ugly, twisted humanoid servants of evil living under the Misty Mountain are referred to as goblins, a race with a much clearer fantasy lineage. ![]() ![]() Interestingly, in The Hobbit, Tolkien’s first foray into Middle-earth (Although, as every Tolkien nerd is now shouting, The Hobbit wasn’t set in Middle-earth until he started writing Lord of the Rings… - Ed.), there’s precious (sorry) little mention of orcs. There’s some truth to that, especially in the ‘modern’ sense of orcs, but it’s certainly not the full picture. I’d got it into my head that Tolkien actually invented orcs. Well, actually, there are other good places to start – particularly if you’re of the chronological persuasion – but I didn’t realise that when I embarked on this month’s Chronicle. Where else to begin but with Tolkien? (I mean, I’d start with Orcus, but YMMV - Ed.) We’ve got our very own take on the orc in Epic Encounters: Hall of the Orc King and I’d be delighted if you’d give it a look!) Orcs vs Goblins (And no, I didn’t just pick orcs at random. Now that the evenings are drawing in, the trees are turning golden, and the season of mist and mellow fruitfulness sets in, it’s the perfect time to settle into an armchair by the fire with a cuppa as we turn our attention to the history of orcs through the ages! (Ahem, mandatory salesman moment: make sure you check them out here !) This blog series comes as I, a self-confessed RPG noob, journey to research the various creatures appearing in our incredible roleplaying sets, Epic Encounters. (And I’m the blog’s Editor, Rich August – Steamforged Games’ Lead Writer – you'll hear more from me later in the blog but I'll be dropping in thoughts and behind-the-scenes info throughout the series.) In case you’re joining us for the first time, Hi! I’m your host, Dylan Wilby – Steamforged Games’ Copywriter – and each month I’m gonna be investigating a different RPG monster, diving into its journey through history in folklore, myth, literature, and popular culture. I hope you enjoyed last month’s maiden voyage for this blog series where I discussed the Hydra’s journey to becoming the roleplaying mainstay it is now. Welcome back to Volume 2 of the Creature Chronicles!
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