Orcish Fear

[Sharkû]

<font face="Verdana"><table><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Hungry Ghoul
Posts: 545</TD><TD><img src=http://www.cs.uit.no/~espensk/kittelsen/skogtroll.jpg WIDTH=60 HEIGHT=60></TD></TR></TABLE>
Re: Orcish Fear

T.A. Shippey, The Road to Middle-Earth (p. 60):
<blockquote>Quote:<hr> &quot;'Orcs' go back to orcnéas, the 'demon-corpses' of the Beowulf-poet, and to another Old English word orcthyrs, 'orc-giant'.<hr></blockquote>

And now, J.R.R. Tolkien, in his letter to Naomi Mitchison, in 1954 (see Letters p.177f.):
<blockquote>Quote:<hr> Orcs (the word as far as I am concerned actually derived from Old Englishorc 'demon', but only because of its phonetic suitability) [...]<hr></blockquote>

<h6> Be still, O wand'rer! / Dost thou not hear the sad song of night? / How the wind does beckon thee to rest for a while / and to lend him thine ear? / What woeful tale does it tell tonight? / What tragedy of old? </h6></p>