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Dates
Bred by Saruman in the years before the War of the Ring1
Location
Originated in Isengard
Origins
Created by Saruman, apparently by breeding goblins and Men
Race
Probably a hybrid of Orcs and Men
Other names
Apparently a type of half-orc, or a creature of similar kind

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 7 June 2003
  • Updates planned: 1

Goblin-men

Creatures bred by Saruman as his servants

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"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...'"
Words of Gamling
from The Two Towers III 7, Helm's Deep

Creatures created by Saruman, apparently by blending the races of Orcs and Men. Precisely what they were is mysterious - they are only ever mentioned once by name, during the Battle of the Hornburg - but the limited evidence available seems suggest that they were distinct from half-orcs.


Notes

1

Goblin-men are only ever identified by name on one occasion - at the Battle of the Hornburg on the night of 3 March III 3019. Even then, the term is only ever used by Gamling of Rohan, who would hardly be expected to have a detailed knowledge of Saruman's breeding programmes. For that reason, we cannot be certain that 'goblin-men' existed as a separate type of creature: they may have been no more than a variation of the half-orcs, or something else beyond Gamling's knowledge.

See also...

Half-orcs

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