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Dates
Known to have been used during the Wars of Beleriand in the late First Age
Race
Orcs
Meaning
Orc comes from the Old English for 'demon, monster'

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 7 March 2020
  • This entry is complete

Orc-fire

The unquenchable fire of the servants of Morgoth

As part of the kit carried by Orc raiders during the First Age, their equipment included a flammable substance to aid them in their destructive missions. What this substance contained was a mystery - some said it might be brimstone - but its effect was well known. Once a fire was set with this material, it became all but inextinguishable, and so Orc-fires of this kind were a terror to the Men of the northern lands in their wooden homes.


Notes

1

Orc-fire seems to have been in widespread use by the invaders of Beleriand in the First Age, though our information comes from a single account of its use by raiders in the Forest of Brethil. We have no record of it being used after the end of the First Age. This may imply that the secret of its making was lost in the fall of Angband, or it may have remained in common use, but simply been irrelevant to our scarce later accounts of Orcs and their doings.

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 7 March 2020
  • This entry is complete

For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page.

Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 2008, 2020. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ.

Website services kindly sponsored by Discus from Axiom Software Ltd.
Discus DISC Candidate Matching helps find the optimum personalities for any role in moments.
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Orc-fire

The unquenchable fire of the servants of Morgoth

Dates
Known to have been used during the Wars of Beleriand in the late First Age
Race
Orcs
Meaning
Orc comes from the Old English for 'demon, monster'

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 7 March 2020
  • This entry is complete

Orc-fire

The unquenchable fire of the servants of Morgoth

As part of the kit carried by Orc raiders during the First Age, their equipment included a flammable substance to aid them in their destructive missions. What this substance contained was a mystery - some said it might be brimstone - but its effect was well known. Once a fire was set with this material, it became all but inextinguishable, and so Orc-fires of this kind were a terror to the Men of the northern lands in their wooden homes.


Notes

1

Orc-fire seems to have been in widespread use by the invaders of Beleriand in the First Age, though our information comes from a single account of its use by raiders in the Forest of Brethil. We have no record of it being used after the end of the First Age. This may imply that the secret of its making was lost in the fall of Angband, or it may have remained in common use, but simply been irrelevant to our scarce later accounts of Orcs and their doings.

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 7 March 2020
  • This entry is complete

For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page.

Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 2008, 2020. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ.

Website services kindly sponsored by Discus from Axiom Software Ltd.
Discus DISC Candidate Matching helps find the optimum personalities for any role in moments.