Was Gothmog Actually an Orc in The Lord of the Rings? (2025)

Gothmog was a high-ranking Orc officer who appeared in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. He led Sauron's forces in assaults against the Gondorian cities of Osgiliath and Minas Tirith, and he ordered the use of Grond to destroy the latter city's Great Gate. In the theatrical cut of the film, Gothmog seemingly died when the Rohirrim charged into battle to aid Gondor. The extended edition revealed that he survived nearly until the end of the Battle of Pelennor Fields. He tried to kill Éowyn, who was wounded from her battle with the Witch-king of Angmar, but Aragorn and Gimli cut him down before he could harm her.

Unlike some Orcs from Jackson's adaptations, Gothmog also appeared in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings novel. However, there was no indication that this version of Gothmog was an Orc. Tolkien's only description of Gothmog was that he was "the Lieutenant of [Minas] Morgul," as stated in the chapter "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields" from The Return of the King. This vagueness has led fans of The Lord of the Rings to create several theories regarding Gothmog's true identity.

Updated on October 22, 2024, by Ajay Aravind: The race of Orcs are among the vilest creatures in Middle-earth, having infested the world since the birth of the Elves. And yet, their origins are shrouded in mystery — the most believable theory is that Morgoth tortured some of the earliest Elves into the first of the Orcs. Furthermore, some of the better-known Orcs in the story have unclear backstories, explaining why we have updated this article with some more relevant information about the Orc-like Gothmog.

Names Like Gothmog & Grond Have Been Reused in the Legendarium

Tolkien Was Known For Repeating Certain Iconic Names

The first Gothmog in Middle-earth existed before the world itself, having been born as an Ainu in the Timeless Halls of Eru Ilúvatar. He followed the Dark Lord Morgoth at some point after entering Arda, becoming the fiery spirit known as a Balrog or Valaraukar. As the Valaquenta states, Morgoth "corrupted [several Maia] to his service with lies and treacherous gifts," although others were drawn to his "splendour in the days of greatness." It is unclear when Gothmog became a Balrog, nor when he was appointed the leader of his kind as well as the High-captain of Angband. Gothmog was killed during the Fall of Gondolin, his flames doused forever by the Fountains of the King.

Another name reused by Tolkien is Grond, which first existed as the Hammer of the Underworld. Morgoth wielded Grond in battle, notably when Fingolfin challenged him to duel outside Angband. The hammer was so powerful that it caused small quakes and left craters where the ground was struck. Fingolfin was ultimately killed by Grond, but only after the Elven High King had grown too tired to move. Sauron later had a battering ram created and named after his former master's greatest weapon, and this Grond appears in the movies. The gates of Minas Tirith were consequently destroyed by the battering ram.

This habit of repeating names caused a minor problem when Tolkien realized that he had inadvertently created two Elves named Glorfindel. As Elven names were never supposed to be reused by anyone else, the author went about a different path to solving this issue. The first Glorfindel died fighting a Balrog at the end of the Fall of Gondolin, a noble death that led his spirit to the Halls of Mandos. Tolkien rewrote the canon such that the Glorfindel who appeared in The Lord of the Rings was the reincarnation of the original Elf, thereby conserving his previously established rule.

Gothmog Held a Higher Rank Than Most Orcs

He Could Have Also Been a Type of Balrog in the Books

There was evidence that the Gothmog in The Lord of the Rings was not an Orc — at least, not an ordinary Orc. Gothmog was not an Orcish name; it came from the Elvish language of Sindarin. This did not entirely rule out the possibility that he was an Orc, as Gothmog could have been a title instead of a given name. The greater piece of evidence that Gothmog was not an Orc was that he led Easterlings, Haradrim, and other Men during the Battle of Pelennor Fields. While Men and Orcs did fight together in Sauron's army, there were no other instances of Orcs commanding Men. Orcs were at the very bottom of Sauron's hierarchy, so the odds of an Orc outranking the entire Easterling and Haradrim armies were slim.

Rather than a true Orc, Gothmog could have been a Boldog. Boldogs were a type of Maiar, the same divine spirits as the Balrogs, the Wizards, and even Sauron himself. But instead of assuming the forms of Men or fiery demons, they chose to resemble Orcs. Boldogs were not as strong as the Balrogs, but they would have ranked highly among Sauron's forces.

However, Tolkien only wrote about Boldogs in the First Age, and there was no evidence that they still existed during the War of the Ring. They might never have existed, as they did not appear in The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, or The Silmarillion. Fans only learned about Boldogs through some of Tolkien's notes published after he died in The History of Middle-earth.

Gothmog Was Similar to the Mouth of Sauron

Both of Them Could Have Belonged to the Race of Men

If Gothmog was not an Orc, the most likely option was that he was a Man, specifically a Black Númenórean like the Mouth of Sauron. This would explain his name, as some Númenóreans had Sindarin names. It would make sense that Gothmog and the Mouth of Sauron were both Black Númenóreans because they held similar positions. Just as Gothmog was the Lieutenant of Minas Morgul, the Mouth of Sauron was the Lieutenant of Barad-dûr, one of Sauron's other fortresses.

• Craig Parker, who provided the voice of Gothmog in The Return of the King film, played Haldir in Jackson's previous The Lord of the Rings films.
• In The Return of the King film, Gothmog is paler than most Orcs, not unlike Azog and his son Bolg from The Hobbit films.
• In The Return of the King film, Gothmog was also physically disabled and could not use his left arm.

It was also possible that Gothmog was once a Man but became something far more dangerous: a Nazgûl. Since Tolkien only named two of the nine Nazgûl, Gothmog could have been one of them. Minas Morgul was the home of the Nazgûl, so its lieutenant also being a Ringwraith is a logical conclusion to make. Further evidence for this theory was that Gothmog took over for the Witch-king after his defeat at the Battle of Pelennor Fields. However, if a Nazgûl inherited the Witch-king's position, it should have been his second in command, Khamûl, rather than Gothmog.

Gothmog's Identity Will Always Remain a Mystery

Gothmog's Name Roughly Translates to "Dread Oppressor"

Fans have posited a few other theories regarding Gothmog's identity, but none as likely as him being an Orc or Man. He could have been a troll, as they were present at the Battle of Pelennor Fields, but the trolls in Tolkien's stories did not seem intelligent enough to lead armies. Based on the Sindarin name, he could have been an Elf, but evil Elves were extremely rare in Middle-earth, and none canonically served Sauron. If an Elf had led Sauron's forces at the Battle of Pelennor Fields, Tolkien would have drawn attention to such an unusual occurrence.

The many adaptations of The Lord of the Rings have not agreed on Gothmog's identity. In the tabletop role-playing game Middle-earth Role Playing, Gothmog is a powerful half-troll, making him smarter than his troll brethren. In the video game The Lord of the Rings: Online, he was a former Gondorian king transformed into a Wraith. And in the "Tales of Middle-earth" set from Magic: The Gathering, he was a pale, long-haired man classified as a Human Soldier. Tolkien wrote only a single line about Gothmog in The Lord of the Rings, so despite his important role in Sauron's army, his identity will always be a mystery for fans to debate.

The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings is a series of epic fantasy adventure films and television series based on J. R. R. Tolkien's novels. The films follow the adventures of humans, elves, dwarves, hobbits and more in Middle-earth.

Created by

J.R.R. Tolkien

First Film

The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring

Latest Film

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Upcoming Films

The Lord of The Rings: The War of The Rohirrim

First TV Show

The Lord of the Rings The Rings of Power

Latest TV Show

The Lord of the Rings The Rings of Power

First Episode Air Date

September 1, 2022

Cast

Elijah Wood , Viggo Mortensen , Orlando Bloom , Sean Astin , Billy Boyd , Dominic Monaghan , Sean Bean , Ian McKellen , Andy Serkis , Hugo Weaving , Liv Tyler , Miranda Otto , Cate Blanchett , John Rhys-Davies , Martin Freeman , Morfydd Clark , Ismael Cruz Cordova , Charlie Vickers , Richard Armitage

Genre

Fantasy , Action-Adventure

Where to Stream

Max , Prime Video , Hulu