What was the origin of Sarumans Uruk-hai?
Whatever the details of their origins, all evidence indicates that like all Orcs, Saruman’s Uruk-hai were bred “naturally” by mating humanoid creatures who then bore live young. The real questions are whether it was Sauron or Saruman who planned that breeding, and what stock they were bred from. It is important that the meaning of “Uruk-hai” be clear from the start. Appendix F says that “the word uruk of the Black Speech… was applied as a rule only to the great soldier-orcs that at this time issued from Mordor and Isengard.” As for the plural, the index of Unfinished Tales says that “Uruks” is an “Anglicized form of Uruk-hai of the Black Speech”. A similar translation is provided in Parma Eldalamberon 17 within Tolkien’s explanatory note for the first appearance of the Ring verse: The debased form of the B. S. which survived in the Third Age only in the Dark Tower is seen in a few names (as Uruk-hai ‘Orc-folk’) In addition to the translation, this shows that the term “Uruk-hai” was u
