Beowulf contains the Old English word “orcneas,” a term linked to J.R.R. Tolkien’s orcs.
In Beowulf, the word appears in a passage describing monstrous beings descended from Cain. Tolkien was a leading scholar of Old English and knew the poem exceptionally well. The vocabulary and imagery of Beowulf helped inform his conception of monsters and heroic storytelling.
Tolkien’s orcs are not simply copied from the poem. He developed them as a major race of enemies in Middle-earth, with their nature and origins changing across different writings. In The Lord of the Rings, they serve Sauron and Saruman and are associated with warfare, cruelty, and industrial destruction.
The connection is linguistic and inspirational rather than a claim that Beowulf contains Tolkien’s Middle-earth creatures. “Orcneas” is a difficult Old English term, and scholars debate its exact interpretation, but Beowulf is the specific poem associated with it.