Monsters
In addition to the Free Peoples
(Men,
Elves,
Dwarves, and
Hobbits) Middle-earth is also populated by many other races and species of beings, some good and some evil. Below are some of those groups and/or a representative of a group of the evil creatures that inhabit Middle-earth.
*Goblins#:
The
Hobbits' name for Orcs.
*Orcs#:
Evil race of Middle-earth, first bred by Morgoth in mockery of the
Elves, and like Elves they were fierce warriors and did not die naturally. They tended to be short, squat, and bow-legged, with long arms, dark faces, squinty eyes, and long fangs. Most Orcs were weakened in the sun and all of them preferred the dark. They were skilled at tunneling, preferred scimitar-like swords as their weapon of choice, and hated all things of beauty. Orcs lived in the
Misty Mountains and elsewhere. Nothing is said about female Orcs - Orcs were said to be spawned. They were called 'orch' (pl. 'yrch') in
Sindarin, 'uruk' in the
Black Speech of
Mordor, 'orc' by the
Rohirrim, and 'goblins' by the
Hobbits.
GOBLIN SONGS are on the 'Poems' page.
*Uruk-hai:
Strain of Orcs bred by
Sauron in
Mordor during the
Third Age. Used as soldiers by both Sauron and
Saruman, the Uruk-hai were almost as tall as
Men. They were black and slanty-eyed with straight, strong legs, and they considered themselves superior to other Orc breeds.
Azog#:
Orc, king of the Orcs of
Khazad-dûm. His murder and defilement of
Thrór in 2790 touched off the
War of the Dwarves and Orcs. In the Battle of Azanulbizar, Azog led the Orkish forces and was slain by
Dáin II.
Bolg#:
Large Orc of the
Misty Mountains, the son of Azog and possibly an Uruk. He led the Orcs and Wargs in the
Battle of the Five Armies, in which he was slain by
Beorn.
Great Goblin#:
Orc, perhaps leader of all the Orcs of the
Misty Mountains, or at least of those near the High Pass. He was slain by
Gandalf after he had captured
Thorin and Company.
*Balrogs:
Evil beings (possibly lesser
Valar) and servants of Morgoth, at least one of whom survived Morgoth's defeat in the
First Age. The surviving Balrog hid in the deeps of
Kazad-dûm until
Third Age 1980, when he was released by the
Dwarves. Known as Durin's Bane, he was the sole cause of the Dwarves' flight from Kazad-dûm. The Balrog was slain by
Gandalf when the
Companions of the Ring passed through Moria.
*Crebain:
Black crows, possibly from
Fangorn and/or Dunland, used as spies by
Saruman.
*Great Spiders#:
Descendants of Ungoliant of Beleriand. One of Ungoliant's offspring, Shelob, lived in a vast den under
Cirith Ungol, one of the entrances into
Mordor. At around
Third Age 3000, she captured
Gollum who then led
Frodo and
Sam into her clutches during their journey to
Mount Doom. Shelob was blinded and wounded by Sam, who used the phial of
Galadriel and
Sting against her, and she may eventually have died of her wounds or of starvation due to her inability to hunt blind. Shelob's offspring dwelt in
Mirkwood.
*Oliphaunts:
Elephants, considerably larger than modern elephants, but otherwise much the same. Oliphaunts were used by the Haradrim as beasts of war. They carried war-towers and, being virtually invulnerable, formed centers of defense for the Haradrim armies. They could be killed by a shot in the eye, and they had a tendency to go mad. They were generally called 'mûmakil' (sing. 'mûmak') and it was the
Hobbits who called them 'oliphaunts' after the traditional
Shire-poem
"OLIPHAUNT".
Smaug#:
The greatest dragon of his time, Smaug drove the
Dwarves away from the
Kingdom under the Mountain in 2770. He remained there for nearly two hundred years, until 2941, when he was disturbed by
Thorin and Company. After unsuccessfully trying to find and kill the company of Dwarves, he attacked nearby
Esgaroth where he was slain by
Bard the Bowman.
Stone-giants#:
Creatures of great size and strength living in the high passes of the northern
Misty Mountains, possibly creatures of fiction, no more serious than Golfimbul (the Orc supposedly defeated by Bandobras Took, who knocked his head off with a club and inadvertently invented the game of Golf when the head landed in a rabbit hole).
*Trolls#:
Evil race of Middle-earth, originally bred by Morgoth in mockery and imitation of
Ents. Trolls were very large, strong, ugly, and stupid. They hoarded treasure and killed for pleasure, but they would turn permanently into stone when exposed to sunlight. There were at least four strains of trolls: the Stone-trolls, Cave-trolls, Hill-trolls, and the Olog-hai, which were created by
Sauron during the
Third Age. William, Bert, and Tom, the trolls encountered by
Thorin and Company, were probably Stone-trolls, as those were the only trolls which spoke
Westron. Trolls probably became extinct in the
Fourth Age.
*Wargs#:
Evil wolves of Rhovanion, allies of the Orcs and servants of
Sauron.
*Watcher in the Water:
A many-tentacled creature who guarded the West-gate of
Moria for a period of time during the
Third Age, the Watcher lived next to the gates in a lake it created by damming a nearby stream. It was perhaps related to the nameless things below Khazad-dûm, but while it was definitely evil, it is unclear whether it was controlled by
Sauron or the Balrog.
Were-worms#:
Probably-mythical monsters of the far East of Middle-earth, mentioned in passing by
Bilbo when he agrees to join the
Company.
*Mouth of Sauron:
Númenorean servant of
Sauron who became a great sorceror and was therefore able to extend his life by thousands of years. By the
War of the Ring, he had become the Lieutenant of the Tower of
Barad-dûr and could no longer remember his real name. He was doubtless killed when Sauron fell.
*Lord of the Nazgûl (Witch-King of Angmar)#:
The chief Nazgûl, mightiest of
Sauron's servants. He was originally a king and sorceror, but was enslaved by Sauron when he received the greatest of the
Nine Rings in the
Second Age. He and the other eight Nazgûl (also
Men given Rings and thereby enslaved) acted as Sauron's messengers and scouts and led his armies. Their powers were strongest at night, but they feared fire and the name of
Elbereth. They could only be wounded by weapons with special spells upon them, and any blade which touched them melted. They fell with Sauron at the end of the Second Age and rose again as Sauron began to regain power in the
Third Age. Disguising himself as a mortal sorceror, the Lord of the Nazgûl formed the evil realm of Angmar, seeking to destroy the already weakened Dúnedain of Arnor. In Third Age 1975, his forces were routed in the Battle of Fornost and he disappeared from the North, reappearing in 2000 when he and the other Nazgûl attacked and claimed
Minas Ithil. During the
War of the Ring, he led the search for
Frodo, following him on his flight from the
Shire to
Rivendell, and wounding him at
Weathertop. When their steeds (swift black horses) were destroyed in the river that borders Rivendell, the Nazgûl reappeared in the skies, riding flying beasts. The Lord of the Nazgûl led the army that attacked
Minas Tirith in the
Siege of Gondor. During the
Battle of the Pelennor Fields, he killed King
Théoden and was then killed (or at least severely wounded) by
Éowyn and
Meriadoc Brandybuck, fulfilling a prophecy from the Battle of Fornost that he was not to fall by the hand of man. The Lord of the Nazgûl was taller then the other Nazgûl and wore a crown; his fear and power were also greater than theirs. He was called the Wraith-lord/king, the Morgul-lord/king, the Black Captain, the Black Shadow, the Dwimmerlaik (by Éowyn), and the High Nazgûl (by the Orcs of Minas Morgul). As a group, the Nazgûl were also called the Ringwraiths, the Nine Riders, and the Black Riders.
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Last updated: March 19, 2022 |
