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Re: Orcish Fear
Interesting conversation.
I have to go with orcs having been corrupted Elves. It's the only theory that makes sense. Most likely they were Moriquendi captured by Melkor and transformed through unspeakable torture and powerful spells. Genetics would have to be involved, however, for the orcs to pass on their transformation to their offspring. That Tolkien may have regretted this original idea is irrelevant. That this was his original idea is clear. Orcs were also referred to as goblins, and goblins in folklore have always been associated with elves (small e used to indicate the original conception of elves, from Germanic folklore), which could be either good or bad. This is probably what led to the notion that orcs were really corrupted Elves. The reason why it's the only explanation that works has already been stated in this thread, so I won't go into that. Suffice it to say that Melkor either corrupted Elves to make orcs or he made them from scratch. We already know he did not make them from scratch. But why is the idea of Elves changing so drastically so hard for some of you to accept? Gollum was once a hobbit, and he was transformed almost beyond recognition in a single lifetime. The orcs were probably transformed over generations.
Incidentally, Earendil comes from the Germanic god Earendel, who was the god associated with the Morning or Evening Star, and this could be any bright planet seen at twilight, whether Venus, Mars, or Mercury. Earendel was a god of mariners because stars were essential to navigation.
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