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Fans ofThe Lord of the Ringsare very familiar with the species of Orcs; horrible, brutish creatures who serve the Dark Lord Sauron in his conquest of Middle-Earth. Interestingly, in both Peter Jackson’s film trilogy and the original novels, Orcs are shown to be strongly afraid of the sunlight. Where does this aversion come from, and why are some Orcs able to overcome it?
In most instances across Middle-Earth, Orcs do their utmost to keep to the shadows, advancing only at night and dwelling in dark towers and caves. This is one of the primary weaknesses of their entire species, and one of the reasons that Sauron’s armies are so inefficient and cumbersome. While Orcs can tolerate the sunlight, they completely revile it and do their utmost to avoid being in the open during the day. This fear is a deep-rooted trait for the vast majority of Orcs, one that dates back to the earliest days of their evil creation.
The Origins of the Orcs
The origin of the race of Orcs is a controversial topic among scholars of Tolkien’s mythology, as it’s something the author changed his mind on quite a few times before his death. For the most part, however, the accepted tale of their creation is found within the pages ofThe Silmarillion. In this telling,Orcs are made in the earliest days of the world, as servants forthe original Dark Lord: Melkor (AKA Morgoth).
Thousands of years beforeThe Lord of the Rings, Elves first awoke within Middle-Earth. At this time, the Sun and Moon weren’t yet created, and the world was instead lit only by stars. While the Valar, god-like beings of Tolkien’s world, had been anxiously awaiting the coming of the “Children of Ilúvatar” (Elves and Men), they dwelt far in the west and were initially unaware of the Elves. Instead, the Elves were first discovered by the worst person imaginable: Melkor, a disgraced Vala who aimed to lay claim to Middle-Earth.
Melkor threatened the Elves with dark creatures, hoping to make them afraid of outsiders as well as the Valar. Eventually, his meddling reached new levels of treachery: he began to capture Elves that wandered too far into the wilderness. These poor souls were then dragged back to the Dark Lord’s hidden fortress of Utumno, and tortured for endless years by the foulest of black magic. With this torture, and his own hatred for the creations of Ilúvatar,Melkor transformed these captured Elves into the first Orcs. They were cruel, foul, and blindly loyal to their new master. Thus, the most evil race in Middle-Earth was created, and their offspring would bring bloodshed to the free peoples for ages to come.
The Creation of the Sun and the Moon
After many years, Melkor was finally imprisoned by the Valar in Valinor, and his servants were left scattered to the far reaches of Middle-Earth. For three thousand years, the Dark Lord bided his time, and when he was finally freed in an ill-fated act of generosity by Manwë, he immediately set to work on his evil schemes. Above all, he desired to destroy theTwo Trees of Valinor, radiant creations of Yavannathat illuminated all of the Blessed Realm.
Before long, Melkor’s treachery was discovered, and he fled back to Middle-Earth. There, he encountered Ungoliant, the mother of Shelob, and together they launched a surprise attack upon the land of the Valar. During a great feast, Melkor and Ungoliant destroyed the Two Trees, plunging Valinor into a terrible darkness. The Dark Lord returned to Middle-Earth, content with his mischief, and he soon began to rally his forces again.
While the Valar could never again replicate the brilliance of the Two Trees, Yavanna did manage to grow a flower and a fruit from their remains. These were crafted into jewels by the Vala Aulë, and set into the sky as the Sun and the Moon. The Moon was raised first, and its beauty was so great that even the Orcs stopped to admire its wonder. Then, the Sun was placed on the horizon, and while the Children of Ilúvatar welcomed its rays, the servants of Melkor were deathly afraid. They fled into caves in the ground, refusing to come into contact with the new light of day. Melkor himself was dismayed by the light, and soon cast a dark spell that coated his lands in darkness. Under the foul clouds of their master, the Orcs once again emerged into the daytime, but they would forever fear the pure light of the Sun.
Orcs in the Third Age
Thousands of years after the creation of the Moon and the Sun, the Orcs of Sauron continued to hate sunlight and avoided it at all possible costs. Because of this, Sauron followed Melkor’s design and made sure to cover his lands in perpetual darkness, which explains the grey pallor that hangs over Mordor.
InThe Lord of the Rings, however, a new breed of Orcs is introduced that are quite resistant to sunlight: Uruk-hai.The Uruk-hai are basically an evolution of Orcs, and it is speculated that they are the result of a foul cross-breeding between Orcs and Men (in the films, however, it is said to be Orcs and Goblins). While the Uruk-hai were originally created by Sauron, their species is perfected by Saruman, and they make up the bulk of his military power duringThe Two Towers.
In the text, Treebeard gives a concise description of the distinct difference between how the Orcs of Mordor and the Uruk-hai are affected by sunlight:
“It is a mark of evil things that came in the Great Darkness that they cannot abide the Sun; but Saruman’s Orcs can endure it, even if they hate it.” - Treebeard, The Two Towers
Ultimately, the fear that Orcs feel when in the light of the Sun is a result of the imperfect and hateful machinations of their masters. Both Melkor and Sauron lack the power to truly create life of their own accord, and are left to merely mar and distort the world around them. Because of this, Orcs are, by nature, impure and wicked, and therefore vulnerable to the purity of the Sun. It’s not a stretch to imagine that, if Sauron had been more patient, he could have bred a race of servants that were stronger than even the Uruk-hai. An army of that kind would have been a nearly insurmountable enemy for the free peoples of Middle-Earth to contend with, but instead, he resorted to Orcs, despite their deep-seated Vitamin D deficiency.
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is one of the most iconic names in entertainment. The franchise started with novels from J. R. R. Tolkien before being adapted onto the big screen by Peter Jackson in one of the most critically-acclaimed film trilogies of all time. There have also been numerous The Lord of the Rings video games of varying quality.
