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Orc (Middle-earth)
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Orcs
Goblins, Yrch, Rakhâs, Gorgûn
Artist's impression of an Orc of Mordor
Attributes
Founder
Morgoth
Leader(s)
The Great Goblin (in The Hobbit)
Capital
Mount Gundabad, Goblin-town, Barad-dûr, Orthanc
Home world
Arda
Base of operations
Misty Mountains, Mordor, Isengard
Language
Orkish, Black Speech
Races of
Middle-earth
Ainur
Valar
Maiar
Other races
Elves
Men
Hobbits
Dwarves
Ents
Eagles
Orcs
Trolls
Dragons
v
t
e
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings, Orcs are a race of creatures who are used as soldiers and henchmen by both the greater and lesser villains of The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings—Morgoth, Sauron and Saruman.
Although not entirely dim-witted and occasionally crafty, they are portrayed as miserable beings, hating everyone including themselves and their masters, whom they serve out of fear. They make no beautiful things, but rather design cunning devices made to hurt and destroy.
In some of his unpublished early work, Tolkien appears to distinguish orcs from goblins. By the time of his published work, however, the terms had become synonymous. The Hobbit generally uses the term goblin, while The Lord of the Rings prefers orc. The opponents of the dwarves in "Dwarf and Goblin War" of The Hobbit are described as orcs in Appendix A of The Lord of the Rings. No distinction is made by size; large orcs, including the Uruk-hai, are just as much goblins as are smaller ones.
Tolkien's The Father Christmas Letters also features goblins; they share traits with those in his Middle-earth writings, including being the arch-enemies of elves.
Contents
[hide]
1 Tolkien's influences
2 Middle-earth terms for Orcs
2.1 Orcs, Goblins, and Uruks
3 Physical appearance
4 Types of Orcs
5 Orcish culture
6 Orcish language
7 The origin of Orcs
7.1 A list of origins, proposed by Tolkien
7.1.1 Made from the earth
7.1.2 East Elves (Avari)
7.1.3 Sentient beasts
7.1.4 Fallen Maiar
7.1.5 Corrupted Men
7.1.6 A mix of corrupted Elves and Men
7.1.7 Some cross-bred with Men
8 Individual Orcs
9 Influence on later fantasy
10 Adaptations
11 See also
12 Notes and references
12.1 Works cited
13 External links
Tolkien's influences[edit]
See also: Orc
Orc is from Old English orcneas, which appears in the epic poem Beowulf, and refers to one of the races who are called the offspring of Cain during the initial description of Grendel ("Þanon untydras ealle onwocon,/eotenas ond ylfe, ond orcneas", ll. 111–112). In a letter of 1954 Tolkien gave orc as "demon" and claimed he used the word because of its "phonetic suitability"—its similarity to various equivalent terms in his Middle-earth languages.[1] In an essay on Elven languages, written in 1954, Tolkien gives meaning of 'orc' as "evil spirit or bogey" and goes on to state that the origin of the Old English word is the Latin name Orcus—god of the underworld.[2]
About the goblins of The Hobbit, Tolkien wrote:
They are not based on direct experience of mine; but owe, I suppose, a good deal to the goblin tradition ... especially as it appears in George MacDonald, except for the soft feet which I never believed in.[1]
Middle-earth terms for Orcs[edit]
In the High-elven tongue Quenya, the word for "Orc" was urco, plural urqui, meaning "bogey", or "bogeyman", that is, something that provokes fear. In the Grey-elven tongue Sindarin, it was orch, plural yrch. In the Dwarven tongue Khuzdul, it was rukhs, plural rakhâs. In the language of the Drúedain or Wild Men, it was gorgûn. In the Black Speech of Mordor, the equivalent was Uruk, as can be seen in Uruk-hai, "Orc-folk". Orc itself is from Rohirric[3] and the Hobbit-language,[4] which shared linguistic roots, but the term is clearly related to the older Elvish words.
Uruk and Uruk-hai were reserved for the Uruks themselves, a special breed or breeds of Orc; they called smaller, weaker Orcs snaga, "slave". The Grey Elves also referred to the Orcs as a whole as the Glamhoth, "noisy horde".[5] The word "goblin" is used to represent the original Hobbit Orc. In The History of Middle-earth Tolkien writes about an Orc captain named Boldog[6] but later specifies that Boldog may have been either a term or a title for another special kind of Orc instead of a personal name.[7]
Orcs, Goblins, and Uruks[edit]
The earliest appearance of goblins in Tolkien's writings is the 1915 poem Goblin Feet, also his first published work, which appeared in the annual volume of Oxford Poetry published by Blackwells. It features quaint elvin creatures, and some 45 years later Tolkien dismissed it as juvenile.[citation needed]
In The Book of Lost Tales the names Orcs and goblin are given to creatures who enslave and war with the Elves. Christopher Tolkien notes that while the author clearly differentiates between "goblins and Orcs" in the Tale of Tinúviel, the two terms appear to be synonymous in the Tale of Turambar. The word Gongs is also used on a few occasions; it appears both distinct from Orcs[8] and as a sub-type of Orc.[9] Christopher Tolkien remarks that Gongs are "evil beings obscurely related to Orcs".[10] Both goblins and Orcs are occasionally mentioned as being "of Melkor" and also acting independently. Orcs, goblins, and gongs appear in Tolkien's two lexicons of elvish languages. The Qenya Lexicon from approximately 1915 defines Orc as meaning "monster, demon", and the Gnomish Lexicon dated 1917 defines Orc as "goblin" and Gong as "one of a tribe of the Orcs, a goblin". Christopher Tolkien also notes that in the latter lexicon, the word Gnome (later Noldor) is an emendation from Goblin.
In The Hobbit the inhabitants of the Misty Mountains who capture the Dwarves of Thorin's Company, and who later fight the Men, Elves, and Dwarves at the Battle of the Five Armies, are identified as goblins, which is largely consistent with the usage in The Book of Lost Tales. The term Orc does occur twice; once in an instance where Gandalf is trying to scare Bilbo by mentioning creatures of the wilderness "goblins, hobgoblins, and orcs of the worst description," and again when the narrator mentions the large goblins ("great Orcs of the mountains"), as well as in the Elvish name of Thorin's sword, Orcrist.
In The Lord of the Rings, Orc is used predominantly, and goblin appears mostly in the hobbits' speech. The second volume of the story, The Two Towers, "goblin" is applied to large orcs of the Uruk-hai:
There were four goblin-soldiers of greater stature, swart, slant-eyed, with thick legs and large hands. They were armed with short broad-bladed swords, not with the curved scimitars usual with Orcs: and they had bows of yew, in length and shape like the bows of Men.[11]
And:
Upon a stake in the middle was set a great goblin head; upon its shattered helm the white badge could still be seen.[12]
The "white badge" mentioned in the latter passage makes it clear that the beheaded goblin was one of Saruman's Uruk-hai. Tolkien writes that these bore a white Elf-rune with the value of "S" on their helmets.
Tolkien also wrote the following note, appearing in some editions of The Hobbit:
Orc is not an English word. It occurs in one or two places but is usually translated goblin (or hobgoblin for the larger kinds). Orc is the hobbits' form of the name given at that time to these creatures, and it is not connected at all with orc, ork, applied to sea-animals of dolphin-kind.[4]
The original edition of The Hobbit and early drafts of The Lord of the Rings first used goblin everywhere and used hobgoblin for larger, more evil goblins. While investigating possible sources for the word "Hobbit", Tolkien realised he had made a mistake in using hob-, which is traditionally used to mean a smaller entity, not a larger one.
In later writings, after The Lord of the Rings, (including The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and many essays published in The Peoples of Middle-earth), Tolkien preferred the spelling Ork, evidently mainly to avoid the form Orcish, which would be naturally pronounced with the c as /s/ instead of /k/ in English. Tolkien indeed used the adjective Orkish.[13]
According to George MacDonald Fraser in The Light's on at Signpost, Tolkien answered a letter on this subject, confirming that Orcs and goblins were indeed identical.
Physical appearance[edit]
Orcs are described as ugly and filthy fanged humanoids. The largest can reach near-human height, but they are almost always shorter, and some are as small as Hobbits (since Frodo and Sam disguise themselves as such when they enter Mordor). In contrast, crossbreeds between Men and Orcs are called "man-high, but with goblin-faces."[14] However, some Orcs are very broad, if not tall. Many Orcs have long arms, like monkeys or apes. Many of them also have crooked backs and legs.
Tolkien describes Orcs explicitly in one of his Letters:
...they are (or were) squat, broad, flat-nosed, sallow-skinned, with wide mouths and slant eyes; in fact degraded and repulsive versions of the (to Europeans) least lovely Mongol-types.[15]
Readers have debated at length the extent and meaning of the racial imagery in Tolkien's writings, including Michael D. C. Drout,[16] Tom Shippey,[17] Stephen Shapiro[18] and Mount Vernon Nazarene University professor Anderson Rearick III.[19]
Types of Orcs[edit]
There is much variation among Orcs. The Uruks (who called themselves Uruk-hai) are larger, more powerful and cruel and "black"; they call smaller and weaker Orcs snaga ("slave"). Sauron apparently bred specialized types, such as the "super-soldier" Uruk-hai, and smaller tracker Orcs or "Snufflers" (described as "of a small breed, black-skinned").[20] Early texts in The History of Middle-earth mention Maiar incarnate in Orc-bodies called Boldogs (see below).
Tolkien wrote of Saruman crossbreeding Orcs and Men, producing Men-orcs and Orc-men in "Myths Revisited" in Morgoth's Ring.[citation needed] The half-orcs and goblin-men, mentioned by Gamling at Helm's Deep, seem likely to have been crossbreeds, and they are not described much beyond being "creatures of Isengard", "that the foul craft of Saruman has bred", and that "they will not quail at the sun". The first encounter with one of these half-goblins occurs in The Fellowship of the Ring when the Hobbits encounter a suspicious character they refer to as the Southerner who is in cahoots with Bill Ferny (the Southerner turns out to be a spy of Saruman and possibly Sauron, and possibly a double spy for both as Aragorn suggests). Half-orcs are described later on by Meriadoc Brandybuck, who saw them marching out of Isengard, as "horrible: man-high, but with goblin-faces, sallow, leering, squint-eyed." The hobbits occasionally encounter unusual-looking Men such as the "ruffians" in the Shire, implying some of these might be half-orcs. During the scouring of the Shire it is stated that the ruffians that have invaded include half-orcs and more of the sallow-skinned, slant/squinty eyed folks like the Southerner spy.
The Uruk-hai of Saruman, exemplified by Uglúk, are shown to be physically different from the regular Orcs of Sauron. They are taller and have more human-like proportions while the latter are shorter and have longer arms (according to the description of Grishnákh). They also grudgingly tolerate the sunlight better. The Uruk-hai are different from most of the "Northerners", who came down from the Misty Mountains. These are said to be smaller than Grishnákh, who is "a short crook-legged creature".[21]
Some of the Northerners, called "larger and bolder Northerners", stayed with Saruman's Uruk-hai when most of the Northern Orcs deserted. The deserters, "flagging in the rays of the bright sun", were later overtaken by the party of the Uruk-hai, showing differing tolerance to the sunlight.
Orcs served Morgoth in Angband and Sauron in Mordor. By the time of the War of the Ring, some served Saruman in Isengard. However, some Orcs seem to have worked independently. Before and during the time of The Hobbit, some Orcs had Mount Gundabad as their capital, the Orcs of the Misty Mountains were apparently ruled by one "Great Goblin", the former Dwarf-realm of Moria was held by orcs under one Azog and then his son Bolg, and one Golfimbul had led the orcs of Mount Gram in a foray into the Shire.
Orcish culture[edit]
Tolkien does not elaborate on Orc culture and customs. Orcs know some form of healing arts (as the Orc-band apply harsh but effective Orkish medicine to Pippin's and Merry's injuries while they are in their captivity). Also their armour, though inferior to that of Elves and Dwarves, is serviceable. Orcs often use poisoned blades (as Aragorn observes while inspecting a wound received by Sam)[22] and arrows (as they use on Isildur). They like to sing horrible songs (as in The Hobbit). The Goblins of the Misty Mountains were a smaller breed of Orc, and invented horrid machines used to torture and kill things. In some texts,[citation needed] Tolkien suggests that after the fall of Morgoth, some of his Orcs set up petty kingdoms of their own.
Tolkien indicates that Orcs are "always hungry".[23] Orcs eat all manner of flesh, including men and horses, and there are frequent hints of cannibalism among Orcs. Grishnákh, leader of the Mordor Orcs, accuses Saruman's Uruks of eating Orc-flesh, which they angrily deny.[21] In Cirith Ungol, Gorbag suggests that Frodo (recently poisoned by Shelob) should "go in the pot"; Shagrat indicates that Gorbag could be "for the pot" for making such a suggestion.[24] Shagrat threatens to eat a disobedient orc, and after killing Gorbag he licks his blood from the blade.[25]
Orcish language[edit]
The Orcs had no language of their own, merely a pidgin of many various languages. However, individual tribes developed dialects that differed so widely that Westron, often with a crude accent, was used as a common language. A few words of the Black Speech are common among Orcs: ghâsh ("fire"), sharkû ("old man", leading to Saruman's nickname "Sharkey"), snaga ("slave"), and Uruk ("orc"). Another Orkish word is tark ("Man of Gondor") from Westron and ultimately Quenya tarkil.
When Sauron returned to power in Mordor in the Third Age, Black Speech was used by the captains of his armies and by his servants in Barad-dûr. A substantial sample of debased Black Speech/Orkish can be found in The Two Towers, where a "yellow-fanged" guard Orc of Mordor curses Uglúk of Isengard:
Uglúk u bagronk sha pushdug Saruman-glob búbhosh skai!
In The Peoples of Middle-earth,[26] Tolkien gives the translation: "Uglúk to the cesspool, sha! the dungfilth; the great Saruman-fool, skai!". However, in a note published in Vinyar Tengwar he gives an alternative translation: "Uglúk to the dung-pit with stinking Saruman-filth, pig-guts, gah!"[27]
Alexandre Nemirovsky speculates that Tolkien may have drawn upon the language of the ancient Hittites and Hurrians for Black Speech and Orkish.[28]
The origin of Orcs[edit]
The origin of Orcs is an open question. Tolkien developed various origins for his Orcs throughout his life but died before he could fully revise The Silmarillion with his final view on their origins and nature. Tolkien's Orc origin ideas were published posthumously in The Silmarillion, with other versions of events appearing later in The History of Middle-earth.
In Tolkien's writings, evil is not capable of independent creation, making it unlikely that the Vala Morgoth, who was the first to produce them, could create them from nothing.
No female Orcs are ever mentioned by Tolkien in any publication. However, in the published Silmarillion it is stated that Orcs "had life and multiplied after the manner of the Children of Ilúvatar", implying that they exist; in The Hobbit the Orc Bolg is the son of one Azog, while Gollum is described as having eaten a young Goblin-imp (Goblins often being synonymous with orcs) shortly before he first met Bilbo (which seems to be alluded to in The Lord of the Rings films when Gollum goes on (with himself) about how unpleasant-tasting orcs are and that sweet Hobbit meat would suit Shelob better).
In an unpublished letter, written in 1963 to a Mrs. Munsby (and auctioned in 2002 at Sotheby's), Tolkien confirmed that female Orcs did exist. He wrote:
"There must have been orc-women. But in stories that seldom if ever see the Orcs except as soldiers of armies in the service of the evil lords we naturally would not learn much about their lives. Not much was known."[29]
Compare this with Tolkien's more thorough explanation of the existence of Dwarf-women, given in the Appendix. Dwarf-women seldom leave their underground cities, and are not encountered as frontline soldiers in war, but that does not mean they do not exist.
It is said in The Silmarillion:[30]
"But of those unhappy ones who were ensnared by Melkor little is known of a certainty. For who of the living has descended into the pits of Utumno, or has explored the darkness of the counsels of Melkor? Yet this is held true by the wise of Eressëa, that all those of the Quendi who came into the hands of Melkor, ere Utumno was broken, were put there in prison, and by slow arts of cruelty were corrupted and enslaved; and thus did Melkor breed the hideous race of the Orcs in envy and mockery of the Elves, of whom they were afterwards the bitterest foes."
This text refers to the Quendi who ran and hid at the sight of Oromë when he came to lead them from Cuiviénen westward. These "corrupted elves" were the first orcs. There are various races of orcs (though with later races of orcs came different physical and non-physical characteristics like increasing tolerance to sunlight) all identical in their hate for everything that Ilúvatar and the Valar had constructed (including themselves) to resemble the hate that lay within Melkor.
A list of origins, proposed by Tolkien[edit]
Made from the earth[edit]
According to the oldest "theory" proposed by J.R.R. Tolkien (found in The Fall of Gondolin, from The Book of Lost Tales, circa 1917—the first tale of Middle-earth to be written in full), Orcs were made of slime through the sorcery of Morgoth: "bred from the heats and slimes of the earth".[31]
However, it is consistently stated in Tolkien's other writings, with regard to his creation myth, that only Eru Ilúvatar (God) can create new life from nothing. Therefore, by whatever means the orcs came into being, it is certain that either they were "descended" from other beings or a deliberate manifestation of Ilúvatar's thought.
East Elves (Avari)[edit]
The Silmarillion contains a suggestion that Orcs are descended from East Elves (Avari) captured by Melkor, their minds and bodies distorted and corrupted.[30]
There is evidence of the immortality, or otherwise long life of Orcs. They certainly did live for at the very least hundreds of years, since Bolg was the son of Azog and his death occurred over 140 years after the death of his father. This theory is consistent with a statement made in the "Myths Transformed" essay of Morgoth's Ring that the Orcs had short lifespans in relation to the Númenóreans.
This corrupted elves origin is probably the one used in Peter Jackson's live action films. In the film of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Saruman says:
"Do you know how the Orcs first came into being? They were elves once, taken by the dark powers, tortured and mutilated. A ruined and terrible form of life..."
Of course this leaves open the possibility of one of the mixed origins (see below) being true in the films, as this was how they "first" appeared, not discounting other corrupted creatures or men being added to the ranks later.
Sentient beasts[edit]
Another of Tolkien's theories proposes that Orcs may have begun as soulless beasts of vaguely humanoid shapes, empowered by the will of the Dark Lord (Morgoth) and learning language only as parrots do:
"The Orcs were beasts of humanized shape (to mock Men and Elves) deliberately perverted / converted into a more close resemblance to Men. Their 'talking' was really reeling off 'records' set in them by Melkor. Even their rebellious critical words – he knew about them. Melkor taught them speech and as they bred they inherited this; and they had just as much independence as have, say, dogs or horses of their human masters. This talking was largely echoic (cf. parrots)."[32]
Later in the same text he theorizes that some Orcs may have been Elves, who then mated with these beasts and with Men.
"It remains therefore terribly possible there was an Elvish strain in the Orcs. These may then even have been mated with beasts (sterile!) – and later Men. Their life-span would be diminished. And dying they would go to Mandos and be held in prison till the End."[32]
It is certain all Orcs were dependent on the Dark Lord in various ways: after their leader was defeated, the Orcs were confused and dismayed, and easily scattered by their enemies. In the millennia after Morgoth's defeat and banishment from Arda, they were without a leader, and degenerated to small, quarrelsome tribes hiding in the Misty Mountains. Only when Sauron returned to power did they begin to reclaim some of their old standing. The same happened after Sauron's defeat by the Last Alliance of Elves and Men: only when Sauron returned as the Necromancer of Mirkwood did the Orcs become a real danger for Middle-earth again.
Fallen Maiar[edit]
There are hints in the History of Middle-earth series of books, (especially in Morgoth's Ring in the section "Myths Transformed"), that some Orc leaders, such as the First Age's Boldog, or the Great Goblin encountered by Bilbo and the Dwarves, may in fact have been fallen Maiar which had taken Orc form:
"Some of these things may have been delusions and phantoms; but some were, no doubt, shapes taken by the servants of Melkor, mocking and degrading the very forms of the Children [of Ilúvatar]. For Melkor had in his service great numbers of the Maiar, who had the power, as had their Master, of taking visible and tangible shape in Arda."[33]
"Boldog (…) is a name that occurs many times in the tales of the War. But it is possible that Boldog was not a personal name, and either a title, or else the name of a kind of creature: the Orc-formed Maiar, only less formidable than the Balrogs".[34]
"Melkor had corrupted many spirits—some great, as Sauron, or less so, as Balrogs. The least could have been primitive (and much more powerful and perilous) Orcs; but by practising when embodied procreation they would (cf. Melian) [become] more and more earthbound, unable to return to spirit-state (even demon-form), until released by death (killing), and they would dwindle in force."[32]
Corrupted Men[edit]
While Tolkien at some point saw all Orcs as descended from the original corrupted and tortured Elves, later comments of his indicate, according to Christopher Tolkien in Morgoth's Ring "Myths Transformed" text X, that he began to feel uncomfortable with this theory. At about the same time he removed the references to the Thrall-Ñoldorin, he also began searching for a new origin for the Orcs. It seems Tolkien wanted to change the origin of the Orcs to make them corrupted and twisted Humans. He says of this Human origin view of the Orcs:
"This view of the origin of the Orcs thus meets with difficulties of chronology. But though Men may take comfort in this, the theory remains nonetheless the most probable. It accords with all that is known of Melkor, and of the nature and behaviour of Orcs – and of Men. Melkor was impotent to produce any living thing, but skilled in the corruption of things that did not proceed from himself, if he could dominate them."[33]
Also in Unfinished Tales there is a passage about the Drúedain which says :
"To the unfriendly who, not knowing them well, declared that Morgoth must have bred the Orcs from such a stock the Eldar answered: 'Doubtless Morgoth, since he can make no living thing, bred Orcs from various kinds of Men, but the Drúedain must have escaped his shadow; for their laughter and the laughter of Orcs are as different as the light of Aman from the darkness of Angband.' But some thought, nonetheless, that there had been a remote kinship, which accounted for their special enmity. Orcs and Drûgs each regarded the other as renegades."[35]
Tolkien would have had to change the prehistory of Arda, for the awakening of Men to happen earlier, for there to have been Men for Morgoth or Sauron to corrupt.
A mix of corrupted Elves and Men[edit]
A late idea of Tolkien seems to be that Orcs had a mixed origin of Elves and Men. Text IX of the "Myths Transformed" section of Morgoth's Ring shows this view. The text has no date, but uses the late spelling "Ork" instead of "Orc". This new spelling was adopted in a note of 1969:[33]
"Since Melkor could not 'create' an independent species, but had immense powers of corruption and distortion of those that came into his power, it is probable that these Orks had a mixed origin. Most of them plainly (and biologically) were corruptions of Elves (and probably later also of Men). But always among them (as special servants and spies of Melkor, and as leaders) there must have been numerous corrupted minor spirits who assumed similar bodily shapes. (These would exhibit terrifying and demonic characters.)"[36]
Some cross-bred with Men[edit]
Tolkien also suggested that Men were cross-bred with Orcs under Morgoth's lieutenant, Sauron (and possibly under Morgoth himself). The process was later repeated during the War of the Ring by Saruman. This possibly refers to the way the Uruk-hai and the Half-orcs were created, in The Lord of the Rings.
"There is no doubt that long afterwards, in the Third Age, Saruman rediscovered this, or learned of it in lore, and in his lust for mastery committed this, his wickedest deed: the interbreeding of Orcs and Men, producing both Men-orcs large and cunning, and Orc-men treacherous and vile."[33]
‘But these creatures of Isengard, these half-orcs and goblin-men that the foul craft of Saruman has bred, they will not quail at the sun,’[37]
The first appearance of these half-goblins occurs in The Fellowship of the Ring in describing one known as the Southerner, a spy of Saruman's;
In one of the windows he caught a glimpse of a sallow face with sly, slanting eyes; but it vanished at once. ‘So that’s where that southerner is hiding!’ he thought. ‘He looks more than half like a goblin.’[38]
Further description follows in The Two Towers.
But there were some others that were horrible: man-high, but with goblin-faces, sallow, leering, squint-eyed. Do you know, they reminded me at once of that Southerner at Bree; only he was not so obviously orc-like as most of these were.’[39]
We had many of these half-orcs to deal with at Helm’s Deep. It seems plain now that that Southerner was a spy of Saruman’s; but whether he was working with the Black Riders, or for Saruman alone, I do not know. It is difficult with these evil folk to know when they are in league, and when they are cheating one another.[39]
In the 'Scouring of the Shire', there is further mention of the half-orcs under Sharkey's control, and they are described as men having squinty (or slanty) eyes and sallow complexion (a description used to describe the Southerner, Saruman's spy in The Fellowship of the Ring, as well as some of the orcs in The Two Towers). Which seems to suggest that they look mostly human but share some of the features of the orcs.
they were disturbed to see half a dozen large ill-favoured Men lounging against the inn-wall; they were squint-eyed and sallow-faced. ‘Like that friend of Bill Ferny’s at Bree,’ said Sam. ‘Like many that I saw at Isengard,’ muttered Merry.[40]
‘Of all the ends to our journey that is the very last I should have thought of: to have to fight half-orcs and ruffians in the Shire itself - to rescue Lotho Pimple!’[41]
Individual Orcs[edit]
Main article: List of Middle-earth Orcs
See also: List of original characters in The Lord of the Rings film series
Influence on later fantasy[edit]
Tolkien's Orcs have been a major influence on fantasy fiction and games; they are the literary precursors of the Orcs (and similar races) of many different settings. The Orcs of Warhammer Fantasy, Dungeons & Dragons and other games most often differ from Tolkien's Orcs in that they are taller than Humans and usually have green or greyish-green skin rather than dark or yellowish skin. A notable exception are the Orcs in the most popular German role playing game The Dark Eye, which like Tolkien's orcs are small and dark, but also furry. The world of Hârn has an Orc-inspired race known as Gargun, whose name recalls the term gorgûn ("orcs") from the language of Tolkien's Druedain.
C. S. Lewis may have inserted a nod to his friend's Orcs in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. When Aslan goes to his death on the Stone Table, the narrator mentions various evil creatures gathered around the White Witch—including "Orknies". (The name is also directly based on the Old English term above).
Adaptations[edit]
Orcs have been featured in many adaptations of Tolkien's Middle-earth writings, from film to stage to video games. The Goblins in the 1977 animated adaptation of The Hobbit were likened to the work of Maurice Sendak.[42] They are portrayed in exactly the same manner as the Orcs in the sequel The Return of the King.
Some adaptations have made Goblins distinct from Orcs. This was implied in New Line Cinema's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy directed by Peter Jackson, and made explicit in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, where orcs and goblins are portrayed as distinctly different races. Elven blades are described as turning blue when "orcs or goblins are near", a departure from the source text, and goblins have a notably different appearance in the film from orcs.
This distinction can also be seen in the real-time strategy games The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring and The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II. In the former, Goblins can be used alongside common Orcs and Uruk-hai, while in the latter Goblins get their own playable faction. The same is true for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online. Goblins are depicted as a race distinct from Orcs.
In the film The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring some Uruk-hai are seen being birthed full-grown from what appear to be sacs in muddy pits. (This is used as a device to allow Saruman to build his army practically overnight, as opposed to taking the time to breed his "improved" Orcs through more conventional means.)
In The Rise of the Witch-king, an expansion pack for The Battle for Middle-earth II, the Angmar faction uses "Gundabad Orcs" as ordinary foot soldiers, referring to their capital of Mount Gundabad. Like the Goblins of the Misty Mountains, they sometimes ride Wargs into battle.
In the video game Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, the Orc hierarchy in Mordor plays a pivotal role in both the story and gameplay.
See also[edit]
Middle-earth portal
Battle of the Hornburg
Boromir
List of Middle-earth Orcs
Túrin Turambar
War of Wrath
Notes and references[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b Carpenter 1981, Letter No. 144
Jump up ^ Tolkien, J. R. R. (1994), Christopher Tolkien, ed., The War of the Jewels, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, ISBN 0-395-71041-3
Jump up ^ Tolkien 1955, "Appendix F: The Languages and Peoples of the Third Age": "Orc is the form of the name that other races had for this foul people as it was in the language of Rohan."
^ Jump up to: a b What was the relationship between Orcs and Goblins? from The Tolkien Meta-FAQ by Steuard Jensen. Brackets by eds.
Jump up ^ Tolkien, J. R. R. (1980), Christopher Tolkien, ed., Unfinished Tales, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, "Of Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin", ISBN 0-395-29917-9
Jump up ^ Tolkien, J. R. R. (1985), Christopher Tolkien, ed., The Lays of Beleriand, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, "The Lay of Leithian", ISBN 0-395-39429-5
Jump up ^ Tolkien 1993, "Myths Transformed"
Jump up ^ Tolkien 1984, "The Nauglafring"
Jump up ^ Tolkien 1984, "Gilfanon's Tale"
Jump up ^ Tolkien 1984, "The History of Eriol or Aelfwine"
Jump up ^ Tolkien 1954, "The Departure of Boromir"
Jump up ^ Tolkien 1954, "The Riders of Rohan"
Jump up ^ Tolkien 1996
Jump up ^ Tolkien 1954, "Flotsam and Jetsam"
Jump up ^ Carpenter 1981, Letter No. 210
Jump up ^ Drout, Michael D. C. (2006). J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment. Taylor & Francis, Inc. p. 558. ISBN 978-0-415-96942-0. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
Jump up ^ Young, Helen (2010). "Diversity and Difference: Cosmopolitanism and The Lord of the Rings". Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts. 21 (3).
Jump up ^ Bhatia, Shyam (8 January 2003). "The Lord of the Rings rooted in racism: Academic". Rediff.com.
Jump up ^ Rearick, Anderson (2004). "Why is the only good orc a dead orc? The dark face of racism examined in Tolkien's world" (PDF). Modern Fiction Studies. 50 (4). [permanent dead link]
Jump up ^ Tolkien 1955, "The Land of Shadow"
^ Jump up to: a b Tolkien 1954, "The Uruk-hai"
Jump up ^ Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring, "Lothlórien".
Jump up ^ Tolkien, J. R. R. (2012). The Hobbit. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 60. ISBN 978-0-54795-197-3.
Jump up ^ Tolkien 1954, "The Choices of Master Samwise"
Jump up ^ Tolkien 1955, "The Tower of Cirith Ungol"
Jump up ^ Tolkien 1996, Part One: the Prologue and Appendices to The Lord of the Rings. Draft of Appendix F.
Jump up ^ Hostetter, Carl F. (November 1992). "Ugluk to the Dung-pit". Vinyar Tengwar. The Elvish Linguistic Fellowship (26).
Jump up ^ Fauskanger, Helge K. "Orkish and the Black Speech – base language for base purposes". Ardalambion. University of Bergen.
Jump up ^ "The Science of Middle-earth: Sex and the Single Orc". TheOneRing.net. Retrieved 29 May 2009.
^ Jump up to: a b Tolkien, J. R. R. (2004). The Silmarillion. HarperCollins. p. 40. ISBN 0-00-717302-4.
Jump up ^ Tolkien 1984, p. 159
^ Jump up to: a b c Tolkien 1993, "Myths transformed", text VIII
^ Jump up to: a b c d Tolkien 1993, "Myths transformed", text X
Jump up ^ Tolkien 1993, "Myths transformed", author's footnote to the text X
Jump up ^ Unfinished Tales, "The Drúedain"
Jump up ^ Tolkien 1993, "Myths transformed", Text IX
Jump up ^ Tolkien 2009, p. 536
Jump up ^ Tolkien 2009, pp. 180–181
^ Jump up to: a b Tolkien 2009, p. 566
Jump up ^ Tolkien 2009, p. 1004
Jump up ^ Tolkien 2009, p. 1006
Jump up ^ O'Connor, John J. (November 25, 1977). "The Hobbit (review)". New York Times.
Works cited[edit]
Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. (1981), The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, ISBN 0-395-31555-7
Tolkien, J. R. R. (1954), The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings, Boston: Houghton Mifflin (published 1987), ISBN 0-395-08254-4
Tolkien, J. R. R. (1955), The Return of the King, The Lord of the Rings, Boston: Houghton Mifflin (published 1987), ISBN 0-395-08256-0
Tolkien, J. R. R. (1984), Christopher Tolkien, ed., The Book of Lost Tales, 2, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, ISBN 0-395-36614-3
Tolkien, J. R. R. (1993), Christopher Tolkien, ed., Morgoth's Ring, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, ISBN 0-395-68092-1
Tolkien, J. R. R. (2009). The Lord of the Rings (Kindle ed.). HarperCollins.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Middle-earth Orcs.
"Orcs". Tolkien Gateway.
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Griot
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This article is about the West African poets. For the rapper, see Griot (rapper).
This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (June 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Senegalese Wolof griot, 1890
A Hausa Griot performs at Diffa, Niger, playing a Komsa (Xalam).
A griot (/ˈɡri.oʊ/; French pronunciation: [ɡʁi.o]), jali or jeli (djeli or djéli in French spelling) is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet and/or musician. The griot is a repository of oral tradition and is often seen as a societal leader due to his or her traditional position as an advisor to royal personages. As a result of the former of these two functions, he or she is sometimes also called a bard. According to Paul Oliver in his book Savannah Syncopators, "Though [the griot] has to know many traditional songs without error, he must also have the ability to extemporize on current events, chance incidents and the passing scene. His wit can be devastating and his knowledge of local history formidable". Although they are popularly known as "praise singers", griots may use their vocal expertise for gossip, satire, or political comment.
Griots today live in many parts of West Africa and are present among the Mande peoples (Mandinka, Malinké, Bambara, etc.), Fulɓe (Fula), Hausa, Songhai, Tukulóor, Wolof, Serer, Mossi, Dagomba, Mauritanian Arabs and many other smaller groups. The word may derive from the French transliteration "guiriot" of the Portuguese word "criado", or masculine singular term for "servant". These story-tellers are more predominant in the northern portions of West Africa.[citation needed]
In African languages, griots are referred to by a number of names: jeli in northern Mande areas, jali in southern Mande areas, guewel in Wolof, gawlo in Pulaar (Fula), and iggawen in Hassaniyan. Griots form an endogamous caste, meaning that most of them only marry fellow griots and that those who are not griots do not normally perform the same functions that they perform.
Francis Bebey writes about the griot in his book African Music, A People's Art (Lawrence Hill Books):
"The West African griot is a troubadour, the counterpart of the medieval European minstrel... The griot knows everything that is going on... He is a living archive of the people's traditions... The virtuoso talents of the griots command universal admiration. This virtuosity is the culmination of long years of study and hard work under the tuition of a teacher who is often a father or uncle. The profession is by no means a male prerogative. There are many women griots whose talents as singers and musicians are equally remarkable."[1]
Contents
[hide]
1 Terms "griot" and "jali"
2 In the Mali Empire
3 In Mande society
4 Popular instruments in griot culture
5 Today
6 In popular culture
6.1 Film
6.2 Music
6.3 Print
7 Notable griot performers
7.1 Burkina Faso
7.2 Côte d'Ivoire
7.3 Gambia
7.4 Guinea
7.5 Guinea Bissau
7.6 Mali
7.7 Mauritania
7.8 Nigeria (northern)
7.9 Niger
7.10 Senegal
8 See also
9 Notes
10 References
11 External links
Terms "griot" and "jali"[edit]
The Manding term jeliya (meaning "musicianhood") is sometimes used for the knowledge of griots, indicating the hereditary nature of the class. Jali comes from the root word jali or djali (blood). This word is also the title given to griots in areas corresponding to the former Mali Empire. Though the usage "griot" is far more common in English, some griot advocates such as Bakari Sumano prefer the term jeli.
In the Mali Empire[edit]
Griots of Sambala, king of Médina (Fula people, Mali), 1890
The Mali Empire (Malinke Empire), at its height in the middle of the 14th century, extended from central Africa (today's Chad and Niger) to West Africa (today's Mali and Senegal). The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita, whose exploits remain celebrated in Mali today. In the Epic of Sundiata, King Naré Maghann Konaté offered his son Sundiata a griot, Balla Fasséké, to advise him in his reign. Balla Fasséké is considered the founder of the Kouyaté line of griots that exists to this day.
Each aristocratic family of griots accompanied a higher-ranked family of warrior-kings or emperors, called jatigi. In traditional culture, no griot can be without a jatigi, and no jatigi can be without a griot; the two are inseparable and worthless without the other. However, the jatigi can accept a "loan" of his griot to another jatigi.
Most villages also had their own griot, who told tales of births, deaths, marriages, battles, hunts, affairs, and hundreds of other things.
In Mande society[edit]
In Mande society, the jeli was an historian, advisor, arbitrator, praise singer (patronage), and storyteller. Essentially, these musicians were walking history books, preserving their ancient stories and traditions through song. Their inherited tradition was passed down through generations. Their name, jeli, means "blood" in Manika language. They were said to have deep connections to spiritual, social, or political powers as music is associated as such. Speech is said to have power as it can recreate history and relationships.
Despite the authority of griots and the perceived power of their songs, griots are not treated as positively in west Africa as we may imagine. In fact, as Thomas A. Hale puts it: " Another [reason for ambivalence towards griots] is an ancient tradition that marks them as a separate people categorized all too simplistically as members of a "caste," a term that has come under increasing attack as a distortion of the social structure in the region. In the worst case, that difference meant burial for griots in trees rather than in the ground in order to avoid polluting the earth (Conrad and Frank 1995:4-7). Today, although these traditions are changing, griots and people of griot origin still find it very difficult to marry outside of the group of artisans to which they belong."[2] Fortunately, such discrimination is now deemed illegal.
Popular instruments in griot culture[edit]
In addition to being singers and social commentators, griots are often skilled musicians. Their instruments include the kora, the khalam (also spelled xalam), the goje (called n'ko in the Mandinka language), the balafon and the ngoni.
The kora is a long-necked lute-like instrument.with 21 strings. The xalam is a variation of the kora, and usually consists of less than 5 string. Both have gourd bodies that act as resonator. The ngoni is also similar to these two instruments, and has 5 to 6 strings. The balafon is a wooden xylophone, while the goje is a stringed instruments that is played with a bow, much like a fiddle.
According to the Encyclopædia Britannica: "West African plucked lutes such as the konting, khalam, and the nkoni (which was noted by Ibn Baṭṭūṭah in 1353) may have originated in ancient Egypt. The khalam is claimed to be the ancestor of the banjo. Another long-necked lute is the ramkie of South Africa."[3]

Griots also wrote stories for their time that younger children enjoyed listening too. these stories were passed down from them to their kids and so on.
Today[edit]
Today, performing is one of the most common functions of a griot. Their range of exposure has widened, and many griots now travel all over the world singing and playing the kora or other instruments. Bakari Sumano, head of the Association of Bamako Griots in Mali from 1994 to 2003, was an internationally-known advocate for the importance of the griot in West African society.
In popular culture[edit]
Film[edit]
In the Malian film Guimba the Tyrant (1995) directed by Cheick Oumar Sissoko, the storytelling is done through the village griot, who also provides comic relief.
I was born as a Djeli (2007), a French documentary film written by Gwenaelle de Kergommeaux and Olivier Janin, directed by Cédric Condom
Music[edit]
"Griot" is the name of an instrumental track on Jon Hassell and Brian Eno's ambient album Possible Musics (1980).
Innercity Griots (1993) is the second album by Los Angeles hip-hop group Freestyle Fellowship, released through 4th & B'way Records. The group, consisting of four emcees — Aceyalone, P.E.A.C.E., Mikah 9 and Self Jupiter — received worldwide acclaim with their second project. Released during the prominent gangsta era of West Coast hip hop, Innercity Griots, along with albums such as The Pharcyde's Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde and Del tha Funkee Homosapien's I Wish My Brother George Was Here, established an acclaimed era of alternative hip hop in California.[citation needed]
"Griot" is the first song on the album Rubber Orchestras by Trinidadian poet and musician Anthony Joseph and The Spasm Band.[4]
"From Filthy Tongue of Gods and Griots" is the second studio album by New Jersey experimental hip-hop outfit Dälek (2002).
"The Griot's Footsteps" [1] (Antilles/Verve) is a studio album by cornetist, composer, Graham Haynes.
"The Griot" is the name of a track written and arranged by Armand Sabal-Lecco found on John Patitucci's album Another World (1993).
Print[edit]
Alex Haley's book Roots makes references to a griot who passed down his family history through the oral tradition. When Haley traces his history, passing from his previous generation through the slave time, back to Africa, he thought there should be griots telling his history and the history of his ancestor, known in the family as "The African", who was captured in the bushes as he was seeking timber to make a talking drum. When Haley arrived in Africa to do research for his book, he believed he had found griots telling his history. Through them he learned the ancestor's identity: Kunta Kinte. Since he had first heard the story from his grandmother and later refreshed by his older cousin, he believed that they were griots in their own way until someone put the story to writing. He later learned that his cousin had died within an hour of his arrival at the village. (However, this story illustrates the problems and complexities of oral tradition, especially when approached without expert knowledge. In 1981, it was shown by Donald Wright[5] that the story of Kunta Kinte had been manufactured by a well-wisher. Following the publication of Roots, the story was being told in multiple versions with differing embellishments, having entered the stock of general stories.)
In the novel The Book of Negroes main character Aminata Diallo becomes a jeli.
In the late novels of the Ivorian writer Ahmadou Kourouma, Waiting for the Wild Beasts to Vote takes the form of a praise-song by the Sora, the griot, Bingo to the president-dictator of the fictitious République du Golfe. His final novel Allah is not Obliged prominently features a griot character.
In Paule Marshall's Praisesong for the Widow, the protagonist Avatara (Avey) might take on some of the characteristics of a griot, especially in her commitment to passing on to her grandchildren her aunt's oral story of the Igbo Landing, in which Africans brought to the U.S. Sea Islands to be slaves promptly turned around and walked back to Africa over the water.
Malian novelist Massa Makan Diabaté was a descendant and critic of the griot tradition. Though Diabaté argued that griots "no longer exist" in the classic sense,[6] he saw this tradition as one that could be salvaged through written literature. His fiction and plays blend traditional Mandinka storytelling and idiom with Western literary forms.
Notable griot performers[edit]
Mandinka Griot Al-Haji Papa Susso performing songs from the oral tradition of the Gambia on the kora
This ancient baobab tree in the Réserve de Bandia, Sénégal, forms a living mausoleum for the remains of famed local griots.
Burkina Faso[edit]
Sotigui Kouyaté (Burkina Faso)
Côte d'Ivoire[edit]
Tiken Jah Fakoly (Odienné)
Gambia[edit]
Lamin Saho (Gambia)
Foday Musa Suso (Gambia)
Papa Susso (Gambia)
Sona Jobarteh (Gambia)
Guinea[edit]
Ba Cissoko (Guinea)
Djeli Moussa Diawara or Jali Musa Jawara (Guinea)
Mory Kante
N'Faly Kouyate (Guinea)
Guinea Bissau[edit]
Nino Galissa (guinea Bissau)
Buli Galissa (Guinea Bissau)
Mali[edit]
Abdoulaye Diabaté
Baba Sissoko
Bako Dagnon
Balla Tounkara
Cheick Hamala Diabaté
Djelimady Tounkara
Habib Koité
Mamadou Diabaté
Sara M'Bodji
Salif Keita
Toumani Diabaté
Babani Konkistatu ne
Mauritania[edit]
Dimi Mint Abba
Malouma
Nigeria (northern)[edit]
Dan Maraya Jos (Nigeria)
Muhamman Shata (Nigeria)
Niger[edit]
Etran Finatawa (Niger)
Yacouba Moumouni (Niger)
Senegal[edit]
Ablaye Cissokko (Senegal)
Baaba Maal (Senegal)
Nuru Kane (Senegam)
Mansour Seck
Youssou N'Dour (Senegal)
Coumba Gawlo Seck (Senegal)
Thione Seck (Senegal)
See also[edit]
Africa portal
Music portal
Azmari
Bard
Extempo
The Griot Museum of Black History
Rapping
Skald
Sub-Saharan African music traditions
Notes[edit]
Jump up ^ Bebey, Francis (1969, 1975) African Music, A People's Art. Lawrence Hill Books. Brooklyn.
Jump up ^ Hale, Thomas A. (1997). "From the Griot of Roots to the Roots of Griot: A New Look at the Origins of a Controversial African Term for Bard" (PDF). Oral Tradition. 12 (2): 249–278 – via http://journal.oraltradition.org/.
Jump up ^ Robotham, Donald K.; Kubik, Gerhard (2012-01-27). "African Music". Britannica. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
Jump up ^ Rubber Orchestras
Jump up ^ *Wright, Donald R. (1981). "Uprooting Kunta Kinte: on the perils of relying on encyclopoaedic informants." History in Africa, vol. VIII.
Jump up ^ Diabaté, Massa Makan (1985). L'assemblée des djinns (in French). Paris: Éditions Présence Africaine. pp. 62–63.
References[edit]
Charry, Eric S. (2000). Mande Music: Traditional and Modern Music of the Maninka and Mandinka of Western Africa. Chicago Studies in Ethnomusicology. Includes audio CD. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Hale, Thomas A. (1998). Griots and Griottes: Masters of Words and Music. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press.
Hoffman, Barbara G. (2001). Griots at War: Conflict, Conciliation and Caste in Mande. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press.
Leymarie, Isabelle (1999). Les griots wolofs du Sénégal. Paris: Maisonneuve et Larose. ISBN 2706813571.
Suso, Foday Musa, Philip Glass, Pharoah Sanders, Matthew Kopka, Iris Brooks (1996). Jali Kunda: Griots of West Africa and Beyond. Ellipsis Arts.
I was born as a Djeli (2007), a French documentary film written by Gwenaelle de Kergommeaux and Olivier Janin, directed by Cédric Condom
Menuhin, Yehudi; Davis, Curtis W. "Novas vozes para o homem". A música do homem (in Portuguese). São Paulo: Editora Martins Fontes/Fundo Educativo Brasileiro. pp. 105–106. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
External links[edit]
Lavender, Catherine (2000). "African Griot Images". (Webpage for a course at CSI/CUNY)
Salmons, Catherine A. (2004). Balla Tounkara "Griot"
The Maninka and Mandinka Jali/Jeli
The Ancient Craft of Jaliyaa
Keita: The Heritage of the Griot – Film Notes
The Griot Music documentary by Volker Goetze
theGrio News The Grio is African-American News from NBC.
Jeliya – The art of Jeli (being a griot)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Griot&oldid=837364189"
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text:
Cowboys–Steelers rivalry
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Dallas Cowboys–Pittsburgh Steelers
Dallas Cowboys
Pittsburgh Steelers
First meeting
September 10, 1960
PIT 35, DAL 28
Latest meeting
November 13, 2016
DAL 35, PIT 30
Statistics
Meetings total
32
All-time series
Dallas Cowboys 17–15
Regular season series
DAL 16–13
Postseason results
PIT: 2–1
January 18, 1976, Super Bowl X, Steelers won 21–17
January 21, 1979, Super Bowl XIII, Steelers won 35–31
January 28, 1996, Super Bowl XXX, Cowboys won 27–17
Largest victory
Cowboys 52–21 10/30/1966[1]
Longest win streak
DAL: 7 (November 14, 1965 – October 8, 1972)
PIT: 5 (January 18, 1976 – September 13, 1982)
Current win streak
DAL: 2 win
Championship Success
NFL Championships (11)
PIT (6) – 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 2005, 2008
DAL (5) – 1971, 1977, 1992, 1993, 1995
NFL Conference Championships (16)
PIT (8) – 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1995, 2005, 2008, 2010
DAL (8) – 1970, 1971, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1992, 1993, 1995
The Cowboys–Steelers rivalry is a rivalry in the NFL. The Cowboys currently lead the all-time series 17–15. As the two teams met in the Super Bowl 3 times and play in different conferences (In which the Dallas Cowboys are in the NFC East and the Pittsburgh Steelers are in the AFC North), they only meet once every 4 regular seasons and occasionally in the preseason.
Contents
[hide]
1 Similarities between the two regions
2 History
2.1 1952–1960: Before the Cowboys
2.2 1960–1969: Early years
2.3 1970–1979: Teams of the 1970s
2.4 1980–1989: Down years
2.5 1990–present: Return to prominence
3 References
Similarities between the two regions[edit]
Western Pennsylvania with the Pittsburgh Tri-State area (including parts of Northern West Virginia and Eastern Ohio) and the entire state of Texas are known to be football hotbeds at all levels. High school football in both regions draws crowds in the tens of thousands and gets regular press coverage in both regions. The local communities in both regions usually shut down local businesses for these games, which also serve as the largest social gathering for many of these communities.
College football is popular in both regions, and have produced powerhouse football teams. Four of the ten Big 12 Conference schools are located in Texas, while Pitt Panthers, Penn State Nittany Lions and West Virginia Mountaineers are in the Pittsburgh Tri-State Region with many fans of the nearby Ohio State Buckeyes residing in the area. In addition to these traditional powers, during the birth of the college game the Pittsburgh city schools of Duquesne University, Carnegie Mellon University and Washington & Jefferson College all qualified for multiple major-bowls in the 1910s through the 1940s and annually ranked in the top 10 of the AP. While in Texas the Longhorns have had at least one player selected in each of the last 71 NFL Drafts dating back to 1938,[2] while Penn State itself had a 53-year draft streak that ended in 2005.[3]
Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive lineman Ernie Stautner, who played his entire 14-year career with the Steelers, later served as defensive coordinator under Cowboys head coach and fellow Hall of Famer Tom Landry during the Cowboys successful run in the 1970s, while the Cowboys would later draft another Hall of Famer, Tony Dorsett, the Pitt standout and Heisman Trophy winner and native of the Pittsburgh suburb of Hopewell Township. Both of Dallas' 1970s Super Bowl MVP's--Chuck Howley and Randy White—hail from the Pittsburgh Tri-State, as well as Super Bowls V and VI Cowboys star Mike Ditka. Conversely, two members of the Steelers' famed Steel Curtain defensive line (Ernie Holmes and "Mean Joe" Greene) are Texas natives, as is former Steelers Pro Bowl nose tackle Casey Hampton, as well as the player that Chuck Noll chose in front of Dan Marino during the 1983 NFL Draft, Gabriel Rivera. Former Buffalo Bills head coach Chan Gailey served as offensive coordinator in Pittsburgh before becoming the head coach of the Cowboys for two years in the late 1990s.
There have also been demographic shifts in both regions that have contributed to Pittsburgh fans living in Dallas, and Dallas fans living in Pittsburgh. In the 1980s the Pittsburgh region was hit hard by the decline and closure of many steel mills and related industries in the region. Many left the region to find work elsewhere, including Texas.[4] Since this was shortly after the Super Bowl teams of the 1970s, fans' allegiance to the Steelers naturally stayed strong – the beginnings of Steeler Nation. In the mid-2000s the reverse happened – Marcellus Shale drilling in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan region brought a significant influx of Texans and Oklahomans to the region due to the expertise needed to drill wells and related personnel originally from the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Today there are significant numbers of persons living in the Dallas Metroplex and Houston that were born and raised in the Pittsburgh region,[5] as well as significant numbers of North Texans living in the southern and western areas of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan region[citation needed]. Finally, a large number of native Texans that lived outside the DFW Metroplex adopted the Steelers during the 1970s, in what seems to be a type of blowback for the cultural pervasiveness of the "big city" "America's Team" phenomenon. This group of Steeler fans mostly grew up in East Texas[citation needed].
History[edit]
1952–1960: Before the Cowboys[edit]
The roots to the Cowboys–Steelers rivalry can be traced several years before the Cowboys played a game, and to another team entirely. Following the 1951 NFL season, New York Yanks owner Ted Collins sold his team back to the NFL due to financial difficulties competing with the New York Giants in the same market, as well as the All-America Football Conference folding just two years before and putting a severe drain on the team.
Not wanting the team to compete with the Giants in the same market, the NFL decided to move the rights to the franchise to either the Dallas – Fort Worth Metroplex or Baltimore. Baltimore had previously been home to an NFL team, the original Baltimore Colts which had come over from the AAFC along with the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers, but had folded after the 1950 NFL season due to financial difficulties despite strong fan support. Dallas, and the state of Texas in general, was a true expansion market that was untapped, and the NFL owners liked the appeal that Dallas offered due to the aforementioned following of football in the state.
The NFL owners voted 10–1 to award the assets of the Yanks to the Dallas group led by Giles Miller as opposed to the Baltimore group, which became the Dallas Texans. The lone holdout was Steelers founder and owner Art Rooney.[6] Rooney, an Irish Catholic, was more tolerant of African Americans than the other owners (most of whom were Protestant and had their own discrimination towards Catholics) and was concerned about the racism that existed in the Southern United States at the time and the subsequent civil rights movement that would take place later in the decade. Rooney's assumptions would be later proven correct: while the Texans struggled on the field, it also struggled at the gate partly because two of the team's best players, George Taliaferro and Buddy Young, were both black, which made fans in Texas automatically turn away from the team simply because of prejudice.
The Texans folded after the 1952 NFL season and their assets would be sold to Carroll Rosenbloom to form the new Baltimore Colts, which currently play in Indianapolis.
1960–1969: Early years[edit]
After the failure of the Texans, the NFL had no plans to return to the state in the foreseeable future. However, in 1959, Lamar Hunt, the son of oil tycoon H. L. Hunt, approached the NFL about putting another expansion team in Dallas. The NFL said no, stating that the league was not expanding at the time. He then approached the Chicago Cardinals about buying the team from owner Violet Bidwill Wolfner, who ultimately decided to keep the team and whose son Bill Bidwill remains the owner (the Cardinals did move to St. Louis, Missouri for the 1960 NFL season; the team currently is based in Phoenix, Arizona; the Cowboys and Cardinals were divisional rivals from 1961–66, and again from 1970–2001). Due to these rebuffs, Hunt formed the American Football League with his own Dallas team, the AFL's incarnation of the Dallas Texans.
In response, the NFL suddenly reversed course and awarded an expansion team to Dallas for the 1960 season that ultimately became the Cowboys. The plan worked: although the Texans were by far the better team on the field and won the 1962 AFL Championship, due to the Cowboys being part of the more-established NFL, the Texans took their AFL Championship north to Kansas City, Missouri, where they remain as the Kansas City Chiefs.
In the meantime, the Cowboys started play in the NFL in 1960. Their first game was against the same Steelers team that voted against putting an NFL team in Dallas eight years earlier, with the Steelers coming away with a 35–28 victory at the Cotton Bowl, en route to an 0–11–1 first season for the Cowboys. The following year, the two teams met again in the season opener at the Cotton Bowl and the results would be different: the young Cowboys beat the veteran-filled Steelers 27–24, the first victory for the Cowboys in franchise history.
The two teams would head in opposite directions the rest of the decade, with the Cowboys competing for the NFL championship in 1966 and 1967 (both losses to the Vince Lombardi-led Green Bay Packers, the latter matchup in the Ice Bowl) while the Steelers would be among the NFL's worst teams, culminating in a 1–13 record in 1969 that saw the team win its season opener against the Detroit Lions, then lose every game afterwards in the first season of Hall of Fame head coach Chuck Noll. The Cowboys defeated the Steelers 10–7 at Pitt Stadium in week 12 of the 1969 season, the final meeting between the clubs before the AFL-NFL merger.
1970–1979: Teams of the 1970s[edit]
The Steelers would be moved to the newly formed American Football Conference as a result of the AFL–NFL merger for the 1970 NFL season while the Cowboys would be placed in the National Football Conference. The Cowboys would split the first two Super Bowl matchups of the decade while the Steelers started improving.
Around this time, both teams would have firm identities. Both were strong on defense with the Steelers' famed Steel Curtain defense, called a "Stunt 4–3", while the Cowboys boasted the Doomsday Defense, based around Landry's "Flex" 4–3 defense. On the offensive side of the ball brought key differences, as the Cowboys had Hall of Fame quarterback Roger Staubach and his aerial attack, as well as his reputation for fourth-quarter comebacks, earning him the nickname "Captain Comeback". The Steelers meanwhile, were powered offensively by the running game, led by Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris.
The teams met in September 1972 at Texas Stadium, with the Cowboys prevailing 17–13. The Steelers would go on to win the AFC Central division and qualify for the playoffs for the first time. In the postseason, Pittsburgh defeated the Oakland Raiders 13–7 on Franco Harris' "Immaculate Reception", but lost the AFC championship game to the eventual Super Bowl champion Miami Dolphins 21–17.
The two would have their first postseason meeting in Super Bowl X, with both teams vying to tie the Packers and Miami Dolphins for their second Super Bowl Championship. The Steelers won this game, 21–17, after safety Glen Edwards intercepted a Staubach pass in the end zone to seal the victory. The hostility was evident in the third quarter when Steelers kicker Roy Gerela missed his second field goal, a 33-yard attempt. After the miss, Cowboys safety Cliff Harris mockingly patted Gerela on his helmet and thanked him for "helping Dallas out", but was immediately shoved to the ground by Steeler linebacker Jack Lambert. Lambert could have been ejected from the game for defending his teammate, but the officials decided to allow him to remain.[7]
After the Cowboys won Super Bowl XII, the two would meet again in Super Bowl XIII, considered one of the greatest Super Bowls ever played and consisted of a combined 20 players, coaches, and front-office administration that ended up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, an NFL record. The Steelers would once again come victorious, holding off the Cowboys 35–31. By this point, both teams would have rabid fan bases established nationally due to prominent television exposure.
The two would meet in the regular season in 1979 at Three Rivers Stadium, a 14–3 Steelers victory that many thought would be preview of Super Bowl XIV. While the Steelers did go on to win Super Bowl XIV that season, the Los Angeles Rams crashed the party, having upset the Cowboys in the divisional round of the playoffs 21–19 in Staubach's last game en route to meeting the Steelers in Super Bowl XIV.
1980–1989: Down years[edit]
Age eventually caught up to both teams once the 1980s hit, though both remained competitive into the middle of the decade. The highlight of the decade for this rivalry would come in the 1982 season opener at Texas Stadium, when the Steelers ended the Cowboys NFL-record 17-year season-opening winning streak with a 36–28 victory against the Cowboys.
By the middle of the decade, both teams were rebuilding. The 1986 NFL season would be the first year since the 1965 NFL season that both teams missed the playoffs, which would happen for two more years before the Steelers clinched a wild card spot in 1989. During this time, the Steelers, with a mix of aging veterans and younger players, remained competitive in the AFC Central while the wheels fell off completely in Dallas. In 1988, both Tom Landry and Chuck Noll appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated together, asking if both coaches had lost their touch. Though both teams had young future Hall of Famers in Michael Irvin and Rod Woodson, the Cowboys and Steelers would finish 3–13 and 5–11, respectively, for 1988. New Cowboys owner Jerry Jones fired Landry after the season. Noll would retire just three seasons later after missing the playoffs by just a few games each year after his breakout 1989 wild-card spot and two playoff thrillers, a 26–23 overtime victory in Houston and a 24–23 loss at Denver.
1990–present: Return to prominence[edit]
The Cowboys would return to prominence in the 1990s, winning three Super Bowls, while the Steelers would return to AFC Championship contention under head coach Bill Cowher. The rivalry resumed in the 1990s, but unlike the 1970s matchups that were dominated by Pittsburgh, Dallas got the upper hand this time around. The Cowboys swept all four matchups between the two teams in the decade.
The possibility of Cowboys–Steelers III for Super Bowl XXIX existed, as both teams advanced to their respective conference championships. Such a matchup would be a rematch from Week 1 of the regular season, which the Cowboys won 26–9. The Cowboys were the two-time defending Super Bowl champions, while the Steelers behind their "Blitzburgh" defense was the favorite to win the AFC. However, the favored Steelers were upset by the San Diego Chargers 17–13 while the San Francisco 49ers, who had lost in the NFC Championship game the previous two years to the Cowboys, beat the Cowboys 38–28.
Fans would only have to wait another year for Cowboys–Steelers III in the Super Bowl, as both teams advanced to Super Bowl XXX. Like the previous two matchups, the game was close, but this time favored the Cowboys, who won 27–17 after Steelers quarterback Neil O'Donnell threw two interceptions to Cowboys cornerback Larry Brown, who would be named Super Bowl MVP for his efforts.
The Steelers have remained competitive since and have won two more Super Bowls (Super Bowl XL, Super Bowl XLIII) and losing one (Super Bowl XLV) while the Cowboys have not been back to the Super Bowl since Super Bowl XXX and have won only three playoff games from 1996 onward. The two teams have only met four times since the 1998 NFL season. The Steelers defeated the Cowboys in the first two games, winning 24–20 in 2004 and 20–13 in 2008. The Cowboys then defeated the Steelers in 2012 by a 27–24 margin in overtime and again in 2016 by a 35–30 margin.
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Cowboys vs Steelers, footballdb.com
Jump up ^ "All-Time NFL Draft Picks". MackBrownTexasFootball. Archived from the original on June 12, 2008. Retrieved May 13, 2008.
Jump up ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2006-03-11. Retrieved 2010-03-15.
Jump up ^ https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/08/business/economy/08collapse.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1338474337-iJrNlZ4IxiQcQEBug4LpCg
Jump up ^ http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7239692/nfl-displaced-steelers-fans-found-new-home-houston
Jump up ^ 75 Seasons: The Complete Story of the National Football League, p. 103
Jump up ^ No. 13 of 100 Greatest Super Bowl Moments, espn.com (Last retrieved October 28, 2005)
[show]
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[show]
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[show]
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