Information AboutUruk-hai |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT URUK-HAI | |
| middle-earth races | |
| orcs | |
| fictional warrior races | |
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LITERATURE The race of Uruk-hai, described as large black orcs of great strength, first appeared about the year 2475 of the Third Age , when they conquered Ithilien and destroyed the city of Osgiliath . These original Uruks were of Sauron's breeding, but Saruman bred his own, making further improvements like resistance to sunlight, and giving them different armour and weapons. Being stronger, the Uruk-hai looked down upon and often bullied and cowed other kinds of Orcs. In '' The Two Towers '', Aragorn observes that the fallen Uruk-hai at Amon Hen were not like any breed of Orc he has seen before. Since he had previously served in the Army of Gondor as "Thorongil" and probably encountered the Uruks of Mordor, this strongly implies that those of Isengard are a different breed of Uruk, modified by Saruman. Treebeard speculates that Saruman has crossed Orcs with Men, a "''black evil''". Other forces in Saruman's armies, and under his command in the Shire, definitely were hybrids, though these individuals, called " Half-orc s" and "goblin-men" in ''The Two Towers'', were as tall as Men and are never described simply as Orcs, as the Uruk-hai frequently are, and an account of the first battle of the Fords of Isen in '' Unfinished Tales '' (part of Tolkien's hitherto unpublished writings) apparently treats Uruk-hai and "orc-men" separately. These Uruk-hai made up a large part of Saruman 's army, together with the Dunlendings and other Human enemies of Rohan . They were faster, stronger, and larger than normal Orcs and could travel during the day without being weakened, although they still did not like it. These Uruks called themselves "the fighting Uruk-hai" (''The Two Towers'', "Helm's Deep"). Saruman's Uruk-hai fought against the Rohirrim at the Battles of the Fords Of Isen , at the first of which King Théoden 's son Théodred was killed, and the Battle Of The Hornburg , where they were defeated and destroyed. The Uruks and other Orcs in the service of Barad-dûr , the folk of Mordor, used the symbol of the red Eye Of Sauron . The Red Eye was also painted on their shields. At least one, a guard, on the march with Merry and Pippin had a black knife with a long saw-edged blade, used by Pippin to cut through the ropes on his hands. These Uruks of Mordor referred to Sauron as the Great Eye, and Grishnákh was one of their captains. They were all long-armed and crook-legged, not as tall as the Isengarder Uruks but larger than the Moria (common) Orcs, who could see better in the dark than the Isengarders. The Uruk-hai of Saruman the White used an , Gimli , and Legolas followed the party of Uruks who kidnapped Merry and Pippin, Saruman's will caused weariness of the heart for the pursuers and lent speed to the Orcs. Uglúk led the Uruk-hai of Isengard, and since they were the strongest he felt that he led the Hobbit march as well, insisting on going back by way of Isengard. This was the group that slew Boromir . Uglúk accepted an offer of help from Mordor Uruks at face value, although Grishnákh's hidden objective was to recover the Ring for Sauron. Even in defeat, the Isengarders showed training and discipline, retaining unit cohesion in their desperate drive for the forest's safety when the other Orcs scattered. The term The name "Uruk-hai" has the element ''Uruk'', which is a Black Speech word related to ''Orc'', related to the (Valinórean) Quenya word Urko ( Noldor in Quenya: Orko) of the same meaning. Christopher Tolkien describes "Uruks" as an anglicization of "Uruk-hai" and his father used the two terms interchangeably many times. Some readers assume the two terms are different because in '' The Lord Of The Rings '' 'Uruk-hai' is used primarily to describe Saruman 's forces while 'Uruks' and 'Black Uruks of Mordor' are used primarily to describe Sauron 's. However, there are examples of each term being used in reference to either group. While 'Uruk-hai' means simply 'Orc-folk' the term was reserved for the soldier orcs of Mordor and Isengard , with other breeds often being called 'snaga' ('slave') by them. Hai is a collective plural. "The Uruk-hai" in some contexts is to "Uruk" as "Mankind" is to "man". But it can also mean all Uruks under consideration. "Saruman's Uruk-hai" means all Saruman's Uruks, "The Uruk-hai" in the description of a battle would mean all Uruks present on the battlefield. It is not used for ordinary plural, as in "several Uruks", and of course never in the singular. "Hai" is also used in other words, e.g. the Olog-hai ("troll-folk"), the especially strong and vicious trolls capable of surviving sunlight that Sauron bred towards the end of the Third age. Crossbreeding with Men Following Treebeard's speculative statements, some readers have questioned whether Saruman's Uruk-hai at least, and all Uruk-hai at most, were bred by crossbreeding with Men. The book does not directly state this, though it heavily hints at it. Other forces in Saruman's armies, and under his command in the Shire, definitely appear to have been hybrids, though these individuals, called " Half-orc s" and "goblin-men" in ''The Two Towers'', were as tall as Men and are never described simply as Orcs, as the Uruk-hai frequently are, and an account of the first Battle of the Fords of Isen in '' Unfinished Tales '' (part of Tolkien's hitherto unpublished writings) apparently treats Uruk-hai and "orc-men" separately. A relevant passage in '' Morgoth's Ring '' (also part of Tolkien's hitherto unpublished writings) states that some Orcs at least were derived from Mannish stock.
Given that "Orc-men" and "Men-orcs" are treated as distinct types of hybrids, and that "orc-men" are differentiated from Uruk-hai in '' Unfinished Tales '', some then assume that the "Men-orcs large and cunning" are the Uruk-hai, at least those of Saruman. However, there is nothing in the quote itself that states that the term "Men-orcs" specifically applies to Uruk-hai. Robert Foster's '' The Complete Guide To Middle-earth '' makes no references to Uruk-hai as the results of crossbreeding since the issue hinges on material unpublished when his book was written. ADAPTATIONS |
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