What was the origin of Orcs?
[This updates question V.G.1 of the Tolkien LessFAQ.] Tolkien never seems to have firmly resolved this question in his own mind, let alone on paper. While The Silmarillion as published states fairly clearly that Orcs were corrupted Elves, Unfinished Tales hints that some strains of Orcs may have been bred from the Druedain. Tolkien’s latest writings on the issue (found in Texts VIII-X of the “Myths Transformed” section in Morgoth’s Ring) show him considering many possible origins: corrupted Elves, corrupted Men, very minor Maiar (a small number of original Orcish leaders only), or even beasts given fragments of Morgoth’s own will so they would have some measure of independence. Some combination of these origins seems most likely from the texts, though the last of them was probably rejected. All of these suggested origins still support the notion that Orcs reproduced in the same manner as other races (and therefore that there were female Orcs). This is explicitly discussed in Text X of
