Fall of Gondolin

[Urwen]

But don't forget that Orc are corrupted Elves. Maybe one of those sired Eol.

[Huinesoron]

Originally Posted by Urwen

But don't forget that Orc are corrupted Elves. Maybe one of those sired Eol.

Well, yes, which is how they could breed at all. But the orc-taint apparently breeds true; note Saruman's half-orcs, who certainly weren't 'half-corrupted'. So Eol couldn't be a child of a pair of Orcs - he would need at least one Elvish parent.

hS

[Urwen]

Originally Posted by Huinesoron

Well, yes, which is how they could breed at all. But the orc-taint apparently breeds true; note Saruman's half-orcs, who certainly weren't 'half-corrupted'. So Eol couldn't be a child of a pair of Orcs - he would need at least one Elvish parent.

hS

The child of Orc and Elf would still have Orc blood in their veins, and pass said blood to next generation too.

[Huinesoron]

I think my ramblings about previous versions hid my second paragraph from you; I did write a bit about how the Orcish strain might have entered his lineage.

hS

[Urwen]

Well, I am overjoyed at this. The Elves are portrayed as too perfect, so knowing that there exist at least two with Orcish blood in their veins makes me feel all tingly.

[Urwen]

He seized him by that hand that held the knife, and broke the arm with a wrench...And then, taking him by the middle, leapt with him upon the walls, and flung him far out.....

When I read that part, I couldn't help but imagine something like this....

Tuor: Yeah, it was me who broke his arm. With a wrench. Specifically, this wrench.

And.....that is going to be my signature

[Huinesoron]

Haha.

It's actually remarkable how little Tolkien runs afoul of linguistic shift or variance ('wrench' as a tool isn't British English use; we'd say 'spanner' usually). There are other cases - Tom Bombadil springs to mind, with "soon you will be groping!", and then there's Sam describing Elves as 'gay and sad' - but by and large he's managed to avoid it.

hS