#uruk meta

This appears to be the third installment in what has become a series of metas on Orc and Uruk-related topics. My wish is to share what is known from Tolkien’s own writings and commentary while attempting to be transparent about what is my conjecture and without mixing in personal headcanons. 

This post is on a topic that I actuallly already mentioned in the previous post on Orc immortality, because of the way it ties in with the subject, so there will be a bit of repetition here.

For the sake of the subject at hand I first have to make a distinction between ‘Uruks’ and ‘Uruk-hai’ and where the name even comes from. Although there’s quite a bit of inconsistency across the various sources in the use of the terms ‘uruk’, orc’ and ‘goblin’ and Tolkien himself admitted to using them interchangeably for a time, the terms and various spellings eventually take on contextual meaning and disctinctions.

The base of the term ‘Uruk’ is the archaic stem ruku that is to be found across all the tongues of the Eldarin in multiple derivatives. The noun urko (pl. urqui) first appears in Quenya, along with urug in Sindarin. At first it stands for something that’s a bit vague in meaning: “dreadful terror-inspiring shapes”.

The eventual Sindarin form of orch (pl. yrch) was immediately applied to Orcs once they appeared. And Orcs themselves adopted the term for themselves as well. ‘Uruk’ seems to reenter the picture in Black Speech once Sauron decided to adopt it from Quenya, but:

“It referred, however, specially to the trained and disciplined Orcs of the regiments of Mordor. Lesser breeds seem to have been called snaga.” (Quendi and Eldar, The War of the Jewels, pg.390)

Basically what this says is that ‘Uruk’ is a term for a different kind of Orc, that is not only distinguished from snaga on the basis training and social placement in Mordorian society, but most importanly on the basis of ‘breed’. And that this is a distinction that Orcs make and reinforce themselves.

The Uruks of Mordor, also know as the Black Uruks, were the first of their kind, and to be called such. It is unclear what their ancestry is because although they’re different from other Orcs that aready exist early on, and Tolkien describes certain differences, then they are still all Elvish in their origin. Which is what brings us to the Uruk-hai. 

‘Uruk-hai’ is only ever used to refer to Uruks that originate from Isengard in the Third Age, also known as Isengarders. Even though they’re colloquially called Uruks then they’re not to be confused with the “original” Uruks. They may share some similarities, which is kind of what Saruman was after, no doubt, but Tolkien makes his intention quite clear. 

Their ancestry may be left a bit vague in The Lord of the Rings both in book and film form, but Tolkien keeps circling back to the same point in additional materials. I already explained the nature of Text X and its three versions in my previous post, but it’s also important for this subject. 

In the second version of Text X, Orcs, Tolkien gives the most compact account of the origins of Orcs. And while this version is centered around the idea that all Orcs originate at least partially from the race of Men, which he later decides against, he doesn’t later contradict what he has stated here regarding the Uruk-hai and their origin:

“There is no doubt that long afterwards, in the Third Age, Saruman rediscovered this, or learned of it in lore, and his lust for mastery committed this, his wickedest deed: the interbreeding of Orcs and Men, producing both Men-orcs large and cunning, and Orc-men treacherous and vile.” (Text X, Myths Transformed, pg.419)

The Men-orcs in question are the Uruk-hai. And I think that these Orc-men that he refers to here are those that have also been referred to as Saruman’s spies in the book (and films). They were implied to be of mixed-race, but perhaps to a lesser degree so that they would pass for Men and not stand out so much in the general population of Mannish settlements. If my memory serves me well, there’s at least a couple of mentions of them in the LotR. 

I think it’s important to mention here that the ‘treachery’ and ‘vileness’ in question are something I believe to be a moral evaluation. In my opinion it’s still Saruman that Tolkien holds accountable for this treachery. After all, creating them had been his wickedest deed. And so by way of serving as his spies, these people became Saruman’s accomplices and in doing so betrayed what was Mannish in them by extension, because it was Saruman that had by his own actions inflamed the conflict between Orcs and Men. 

I think that one thing that should be fairly obvious an it’s that Tolkien never holds the footman responsible for all the ills in the world. He doesn’t hold Orcs of any kind responsible for the evils of their masters. And all True Evil in the context of Middle-Earth is, after all, divine in origin. 

What I'm talking about here is the idea of bonded mates. More specifically of Uruks being mates with characters who belong to the race of Men. Particularly when applied in a manner that completely removes freedom of choice from the Uruk character and the process.

I will get to all those aspects in turn, but as you can probably imagine, based on the fact that I'm bringing it up - I don't like it, so I'm going to begin by explaining why. In theory there probably could be a way to implement this concept in a manner that doesn't present the problems that I will be getting to, but it's just not all that likely. Unless, of course, that is a choice that has been made consciously. I'm not going to argue with anyone's right to write whatever they want, but I'm bringing it up becaue I think a lot of the times it's not so much a creative choice but rather something people haven't consciously considered from that particular angle.

One of the main issues I take with it is when instead of something that could in theory be understood and applied as a soul bond becomes something that is closer to physical, biologically predestined bondage. Only made worse by its usual lack of reciprocity. More often than not it becomes a physical compulsion, and not anything to do with kinship of souls.

It may or may not make one question the validity of his true feelings, the substance of his relationship, and the gravity of personal choices he makes that establish him as an individual apart from the Orc monolith, which is pretty much the most effective way of shifting the POV.

Not to mention that binding an Uruk character to what appears as biological determinism and portraying it as an unbreakable compulsion over something that is up to his free will is actually undermining all the ways in which I would hope to see Uruks redeemed. That way contradicting the arguments that stand in favor of them beeing freed from all such compulsion with the breaking of Saruman's, and eventually Sauron's control over them.

The implications that Saruman held the Uruks in thrall by means of deception, magic and manipulation relieves them from a great deal of individual responsiblity for what they did in the war, under his rule and compulsion. But showing them to still be slaves to something that they have no control over by means of personal willpower moves to undo it and undermines the idea that they are no more fundamentally this or that than any other race.

Personally I also feel the one-sidedness is really sad to contemplate. Like what does that imply then? That as it is, they will never experience the same level of love, devotion, lust or longing in return? If you then ask why it would be one-sided then I would point back to what I said at the beginning about Uruk-Human pairings.

I don't know if there are any alternate sources from which this idea came into use in Tolkien-based fanfiction or other fandom lore, but the one that I suspect is the description of how the Eldar came into being. And that is, in pairs. Even their names were reflective of that. So the first Elf to awaken was Imin, and the second one was Iminyë who became his wife. You get the idea.

While not much of a choice there either then the implcation is that these were souls created as paired anyway and thus it still fits our understanding of a soulmate. Not to mention that Tolkien himself put emphasis on a spiritual closeness rather than physical.

So, given that the first Orcs were originally Elves and their descendants still carry that DNA so to speak, this is a manifestation of that aspect. At least if my assumption is correct about how it first came into use in application to Orcs and Uruks. Given that this is something that occurs in connection to those who are of Elven or Orc blood it rules out the race of Men. Not just in theory but so far also in practice as far as I am aware.

I'm sorry for how long it took me to get to answering your ask. This week has been such a mess. Anyway...

I don’t think there’s any one answer to this... luckily. Which gives us more room to fantasize/speculate on the matter without necessarily entering AU territory. Which I mean is fine if that’s what people are looking for, to each their own. But to me what’s always been interesting and most appealing is figuring out that way forward. Perhaps especially because of the plot potential that is presented by the situation as is. With the added implications of The New Shadow and what's been laid out in the Appendixes to the Ring trilogy. I don’t know if you’ve gotten a chance to read The New Shadow but basically it is what solidifies something that is to me one of the most prominent elements in all of Tolkien’s work involving Middle-Earth. It’s the cyclical nature. Tolkien's own commentary simply seals it. So this is essentially what sets the scene. Peace will only ever last so long.

What The New Shadow establishes is the awareness that by the time after Aragorn's death when Eldarion has become king of the Reunited Kingdoms the people can sense a brewing tension. Darkness has not disappeared from the world with Sauron's demise and I think in any later works Tolkien might have turned to the civilizations bordering the regions we know, but at the same time it was never going to be about any of those other lands because the entirety of these works are created as a mythology for England.

Returning to your original question... based on what is known from The New Shadow neither Orcs nor Uruks have become integrated into Gondorian society so even if any exist in proximity to Mannish settlements it's likely that if any remain (and we don't have evidence for or against) they generally try to stay out of the way and I guess lead as peaceful a life as they can. They too, are finally free.

But now coming to the Uruks specifically... canon establishes that pretty much all of the Uruk-hai that reached Helm's Deep died. If not in the battle itself then trying to escape (basically a quarter of Fangorn had gathered there to block their way). But again, as neither the book nor films really focus on the Uruk question much there's still room for individual stories here and there.

I've been in the planning and plotting stages for a long time, working out individual stories. But basically there's no way Isengard actually emptied completely once Saruman sent the Uruk-hai to fight at Helm's Deep. And even of the ones he sent I'm sure a number broke off from the main force, either on the excuse of scouting or some such thing. By which I mean that they defected along the way. Even before they ever reached anywhere near Fangorn. Plus I'm sure there are those that escaped the sacking of Isengard. So basically my whole thing is to find out exactly what has been said to work my way around it. Plus I'm sure there are those Uruks of Mordor who escaped the battle of Pelennor Fields when they saw things going South.

Yes, Uruks and other Orcs alike had been groomed and were motivated to do as told or else, but there's always a flicker of independence remaining somewhere which has to me always embodied by the conversation that Gorbag and Shargat have. Remember the good old days without any of those damn Big Bosses. So to me Orcs are all about surviving the circumstance. So I think there are many ways and circumstances in which some found a way out, and to survive the war.