Changes: Bolg

Revision as of 14:41, 17 December 2021

Bolg was an Orc leader of the Misty Mountains in the late Third Age, and the son of Azog.

Biography

In The Hobbit, Bolg had succeeded Azog after the latter's death in the Battle of Azanulbizar (the last battle of the War of the Dwarves and Orcs) in TA 2799 by Dáin II Ironfoot, and had resettled in the old refuge of Mount Gundabad. There he would rule over the goblins of the Misty Mountains.

After about 150 years, he led an army of goblins, wargs, and bats in the Battle of the Five Armies, into which he took his bodyguards with him as well. In that battle he was crushed by the mighty Beorn, who in the act avenged Thorin II Oakenshield, who had been fatally wounded.^[1]

Etymology

The meaning of the name Bolg is uncertain. As discussed in the book The History of The Hobbit ^[2], the word bolg is listed as meaning "strong" in the vocabulary list for Mágol, one of the languages constructed by Tolkien. Mágol seems to have been based on Hungarian, and Tolkien seems to have worked on it in the years he was writing The Hobbit, or even earlier. The History of The Hobbit also cites Bolg as being a word of unknown meaning in the language of the Iverni, a people of early Ireland mentioned in Ptolemy's 2nd century Geography. This would be supported by Celtic legends about the Fir Bolg; one of the enemies of the Tuatha de Danan.

Portrayals in adaptations

The Hobbit film trilogy

In Peter Jackson's The Hobbit film trilogy, Bolg was played by Lawrence Makoare in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and John Tui in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. He is portrayed as a huge, pale Orc clad in armor and bones.

Bolg and his father Azog consulting with each other in Dol Guldur.

Bolg appears extensively in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. He bears a strong resemblance to his father, Azog the Defiler (who survives the War of the Dwarves and Orcs in the films). Azog is summoned to Dol Guldur to become the commander of Sauron's Orc armies. While there, Azog dispatches his son Bolg to take his place in hunting Thorin and his company. With his pack of Orcs, Bolg tracks Thorin and Company through Mirkwood, where he and his pack of Orcs attack the Wood-elves as the Dwarves escape in barrels. Bolg and his pack continued to track down the Dwarves, which eventually lead them to Lake-town.

Around nightfall, Bolg and his Orcs arrive at Lake-town where they attack Bard's family in search of the Dwarves, but they only found four. When they attack, they are in turn attacked by Legolas and Tauriel who were tracking the Orcs down. He goes after Legolas, and the two begin a duel (in which Legolas uses Orcrist, the weapon that Thorin held during his quest to Erebor). Bolg gains the upper hand and then has a bodyguard deal with him. While Legolas is distracted by other Orcs, Bolg rides away on his Warg down a dock. He is then pursued by Legolas, who is now on a horse and chasing after him.

Bolg later reports to his father that he was attacked by Legolas and Azog yells at him because the Elf Prince survived and would now send an army after the Orcs. He then tells Bolg to travel to Mount Gundabad and prepare a second Orc army for war along with swarms of Bats. Legolas and Tauriel follow Bolg to Gundabad and leave to warn the others. Bolg later appears at Ravenhill with his second army to aid Azog. Bolg knocks Bilbo out with his mace before finding Tauriel and badly injuring her in combat. Before he can finish her, Kíli arrives and briefly duels the Orc but Bolg proves to be stronger and he impales Kíli through the chest with his mace's hilt resulting in the Dwarf's death. In anger, Tauriel throws Bolg off the mountain and is dragged down with him. He is then spotted by Legolas and the two engage in a fierce duel. Bolg gains the upper hand, but Legolas ultimately kills Bolg in the end by stabbing a dagger through his head. The giant Gundabad Orc then falls down to a large rock below, and was crushed by a giant boulder.

Personality

Bolg summoned by his father in Dol Guldur

Hardly any different from Azog, Bolg is a murderous, callous, idealistic, merciless and cruel warrior. He is extremely sadistic, showing no qualms about massacring the Men of the Lake-town and even relishing Kíli's death. He is also psychopathic and remorseless, shown by how he pitilessly orders the attack on Lake-town. But he is highly intelligent, an excellent leader and tactician. Bolg is enigmatic and powerful, possessing immense strength of will and superb tactical ability. He shows himself to be just as pitiless as his warrior father and is extremely determined and ferocious. Despite this, he has a strong relationship with Azog as Bolg displays fierce loyalty to his father and a great desire to make him proud.

Abilities

Bolg is a skilful leader, which is likely why he was Azog's second-in-command of the Gundabad Orc pack. He is highly skilful in hand-to-hand combat and swordsmanship. His fighting style, (unlike Azog's preferred Warg-riding style that emphasized blows with heavy momentum) is emphasized with lightning speed and agility, as well as martial arts techniques and using the environment against his opponent. His skill as a fighter is later shown by how he is put in charge of the Orc packs whilst Azog stays to fight Gandalf. Bolg has an astonishingly high tolerance of pain, shown by the fact that he refuses to show pain or even bleed when Legolas plunges his knife into his hand nearing the end of their battle. Though his preferred fighting style is surely not Warg-riding, he is highly skilled at it.

Models and toys

M2780255a 99801462028 Bolg03 873x627 — Miniature by Games Workshop (N.B. This miniature was initially released under the name "Bolg," but after Bolg's appearance was re-vamped for *The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug*, the miniature's name was changed to "Gundabad Orc General").

A model of Bolg was done as a miniature by the Games Workshop, though the title became obsolete following the decision to change the identity of the character and create a new appearance for Bolg in The Desolation of Smaug.

Video games

Bolg appears as the final boss in The Hobbit GBA game.

Gallery

Translations

Foreign Language	Translated name
Amharic	ቦልግ
Arabic	بولج
Armenian	Բոլգ
Belarusian Cyrillic	Болг
Bengali	বল্গ
Bulgarian Cyrillic	Болг
Chinese (Hong Kong)	波格
Croatian	Bolg
Georgian	ბოლგი
Greek	Μπόλγκ
Gujarati	બોલ્ગ
Hebrew	בולג
Hindi	बोल्ग
Kazakh Cyrillic	Болг
Kyrgyz Cyrillic	Болг
Lao	ບໂຣg ?
Macedonian Cyrillic	Болг
Marathi	बोल्ग
Mongolian Cyrillic	Болг
Nepalese	बोल्ग
Pashto	بولګ ?
Persian	بولگ
Russian	Больг
Sanskrit	बोल्ग्
Sinhalese	බොල්ග්
Serbian	Болг (Cyrillic) Bolg (Latin)
Spanish	Bolgo
Tajik Cyrillic	Болг
Tamil	பொல்க்
Telugu	బొల్గ
Thai	บอล์ก
Ukrainian Cyrillic	Болґ
Urdu	باولگ
Uzbek	Болг (Cyrillic) Bolg (Latin)
Yiddish	באָלג

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 The Hobbit, Chapter XVII: "The Clouds Burst"
↑ The History of The Hobbit is a two-volume work containing Tolkien's unpublished drafts of the novel, accompanied by commentary written by John D. Rateliff.

[clouds-1] 1.0 ^1.1 The Hobbit, Chapter XVII: "The Clouds Burst"

[2] The History of The Hobbit is a two-volume work containing Tolkien's unpublished drafts of the novel, accompanied by commentary written by John D. Rateliff.

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Infobox Person Servants of Evil
 |image = Bolg in Ravenhill.jpg
-|caption = '''Bolg''' in the [[Peter Jackson]]'s ''The Hobbit'' film trilogy
+|caption = '''Bolg''' in [[Peter Jackson]]'s ''The Hobbit'' film trilogy
 |name = Bolg
-|title = Bolg of the North<ref name=clouds/> Castellan of [[Mount Gundabad]] (film only)
+|title = Bolg of the North<ref name=clouds/>
-Spawn of [[Azog]] the Defiler (film only)
 |realms =
 |rule =
 |birth = Unknown
 |death = [[TA 2941]]
+|weapon =
-|weapon = Bone club, Mace, and [[Morgul bow|Morgul bow and arrows]] in the film.
 |race = [[Goblin]]/[[Orc]]
-|culture = [[Gundabad Orcs]] (Goblins of [[Moria]])
+|culture = Orcs of Moria
 |gender = Male
 |height =
 |hair =
+|eyes =
-|eyes =  Blue (right)<br />White (left) (film)
-|actor = [[Lawrence Makoare]] (DOS)<br />[[John Tui]] (BOTFA)
+|actor = [[Lawrence Makoare]] (Desolation of Smaug)<br />[[John Tui]] (Battle of the Five Armies)
+}}'''Bolg''' was an [[Orcs|Orc]] leader of the [[Misty Mountains]] in the late [[Third Age]], and the son of [[Azog]].
-}}
-'''Bolg''' was an [[Orcs|Orc]] leader of the [[Misty Mountains]] during the late [[Third Age]], and the son of [[Azog]].
 == Biography ==
-In ''[[The Hobbit]]'', Bolg had succeeded [[Azog]] after the latter's death in the [[Battle of Azanulbizar]] (the last battle of the [[War of the Dwarves and Orcs]]) in [[TA 2799]] by [[Dáin II Ironfoot]], and had resettled in the old refuge of [[Mount Gundabad]] after the kingdom of [[Angmar]] was abandoned. There he would rule over the goblins of the [[Misty Mountains]] from their seat at Mount Gundabad.
+In ''[[The Hobbit]]'', Bolg had succeeded [[Azog]] after the latter's death in the [[Battle of Azanulbizar]] (the last battle of the [[War of the Dwarves and Orcs]]) in [[TA 2799]] by [[Dáin II Ironfoot]], and had resettled in the old refuge of [[Mount Gundabad]]. There he would rule over the goblins of the [[Misty Mountains]].
-After about 150 years, he led an army of goblins, [[Warg|wargs]], and [[Bat|bats]] in the [[Battle of the Five Armies]], into which he took his [[Bolg's Bodyguards|bodyguards]] with him as well. In that battle he was crushed by the mighty [[Beorn]], who in the act avenged [[Thorin II Oakenshield]], who had just been fatally wounded.<ref name="clouds">''[[The Hobbit]],'' Chapter XVII: "[[The Clouds Burst]]"</ref>
+After about 150 years, he led an army of goblins, [[Warg|wargs]], and [[Bat|bats]] in the [[Battle of the Five Armies]], into which he took his [[Bolg's Bodyguards|bodyguards]] with him as well. In that battle he was crushed by the mighty [[Beorn]], who in the act avenged [[Thorin II Oakenshield]], who had been fatally wounded.<ref name="clouds">''[[The Hobbit]],'' Chapter XVII: "[[The Clouds Burst]]"</ref>
 == Etymology ==
 The meaning of the name ''Bolg ''is uncertain. As discussed in the book ''[[The History of The Hobbit]] ''<ref>''[[The History of The Hobbit]]'' is a two-volume work containing Tolkien's unpublished drafts of the novel, accompanied by commentary written by John D. Rateliff.</ref>, the word ''bolg'' is listed as meaning "strong" in the vocabulary list for [http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/M%C3%A1gol Mágol], one of the [[Wikipedia:Languages constructed by J. R. R. Tolkien|languages constructed by Tolkien]]. Mágol seems to have been based on Hungarian, and Tolkien seems to have worked on it in the years he was writing ''[[The Hobbit]],'' or even earlier. ''The History of The Hobbit'' also cites ''Bolg'' as being a word of unknown meaning in the language of the [[Wikipedia:Iverni|Iverni]], a people of early Ireland mentioned in [[Wikipedia:Geography (Ptolemy)|Ptolemy's 2nd century ''Geography'']]. This would be supported by Celtic legends about the Fir Bolg; one of the enemies of the Tuatha de Danan.
-== Appearances in the Books and Films ==
-=== In the books ===
-*''[[The Hobbit]]'' <small>(First appearance)</small>
-=== In the films ===
-*''[[The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug]]''
-*''[[The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies]]''
 == Portrayals in adaptations ==
 === The Hobbit film trilogy ===
-In [[Peter Jackson]]'s ''[[The Hobbit (films)|The Hobbit]]'' film trilogy, Bolg was played by [[Lawrence Makoare]] in ''[[The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug]]'' and [[John Tui]] in ''[[The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies]]''. He is portrayed as a huge, pale Orc clad in armour and bones. Bolg's father [[Azog]] has a greatly expanded role in the ''[[The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey]],'' the first film of the trilogy.
+In [[Peter Jackson]]'s ''[[The Hobbit (films)|The Hobbit]]'' film trilogy, Bolg was played by [[Lawrence Makoare]] in ''[[The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug]]'' and [[John Tui]] in ''[[The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies]]''. He is portrayed as a huge, pale Orc clad in armor and bones.
-[[File:IMG_0215.png|thumb|240px|Bolg and his father]]
+[[File:IMG_0215.png|thumb|240px|Bolg and his father Azog consulting with each other in Dol Guldur.]]
-Bolg appears extensively in ''[[The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug]]''. In the new film he bears a strong resemblance to his father, Azog the Defiler (who survives the War of the Dwarves and Orcs in the films). Azog is summoned to [[Dol Guldur]] to become the commander of Sauron's orc armies. While there, Azog dispatches his son Bolg to take his place in hunting Thorin and his company. With his pack of Orcs, Bolg tracks Thorin and Company through [[Mirkwood]], where he and his pack of Orcs attack the [[Wood-elves]] as the Dwarves escape in barrels. Bolg and his pack continued to track down the Dwarves and followed their trail which lead them to [[Lake-town]].
+Bolg appears extensively in ''[[The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug]]''. He bears a strong resemblance to his father, Azog the Defiler (who survives the War of the Dwarves and Orcs in the films). Azog is summoned to [[Dol Guldur]] to become the commander of Sauron's Orc armies. While there, Azog dispatches his son Bolg to take his place in hunting Thorin and his company. With his pack of Orcs, Bolg tracks Thorin and Company through [[Mirkwood]], where he and his pack of Orcs attack the [[Silvan Elves|Wood-elves]] as the Dwarves escape in barrels. Bolg and his pack continued to track down the Dwarves, which eventually lead them to [[Lake-town]].
-At around nightfall, Bolg and his Orcs arrive to Lake-town where they attack [[Bard the Bowman|Bard]]'s family in search of the Dwarves, but they only found four. When they attack, they are in turn attacked by [[Legolas]] and [[Tauriel]] who were tracking the Orcs down. He goes after Legolas, and the two begin a duel (in which Legolas uses Orcrist, the weapon that Thorin held during his quest). While Legolas is distracted by other Orcs, Bolg withdraws from the duel and rides away on his Warg down a dock. He is then pursued by Legolas, who was now on a horse and chased after him.
+Around nightfall, Bolg and his Orcs arrive at Lake-town where they attack [[Bard the Bowman|Bard]]'s family in search of the Dwarves, but they only found four. When they attack, they are in turn attacked by [[Legolas]] and [[Tauriel]] who were tracking the Orcs down. He goes after Legolas, and the two begin a duel (in which Legolas uses Orcrist, the weapon that Thorin held during his quest to Erebor). Bolg gains the upper hand and then has a bodyguard deal with him. While Legolas is distracted by other Orcs, Bolg rides away on his Warg down a dock. He is then pursued by Legolas, who is now on a horse and chasing after him.
-[[File:Bolg's death.PNG|thumb|220x220px|Bolg meets his death by the hands of Legolas.]]
-Bolg later reports to his father that he was attacked by Legolas and Azog yells at him because the Elf Prince survived and would now send an army after the Orcs. He then tells Bolg to travel to [[Mount Gundabad]] and prepare a second Orc army for war along with swarms of [[Bats]]. Legolas and Tauriel follow Bolg to Gundabad and leave to warn the others. Bolg later appears at [[Ravenhill]] with his second army to aid Azog. Bolg knocks [[Bilbo]] out with his mace before finding Tauriel and badly injuring her in combat. Before he can finish her, [[Kili]] arrives and briefly duels the Orc but Bolg proves to be stronger and he impales Kili through the chest with his mace's hilt resulting in the Dwarf's death. In anger, Tauriel throws Bolg off the mountain and is dragged down with him. He is then spotted by Legolas and the two engage in a fierce duel ending with Legolas killing Bolg by stabbing a dagger through his head. The giant Gundabad orc then falls down to a large rock below, and was crushed by a giant boulder.
+Bolg later reports to his father that he was attacked by Legolas and Azog yells at him because the Elf Prince survived and would now send an army after the Orcs. He then tells Bolg to travel to [[Mount Gundabad]] and prepare a second Orc army for war along with swarms of [[Bats]]. Legolas and Tauriel follow Bolg to Gundabad and leave to warn the others. Bolg later appears at [[Ravenhill]] with his second army to aid Azog. Bolg knocks [[Bilbo Baggins|Bilbo]] out with his mace before finding Tauriel and badly injuring her in combat. Before he can finish her, Kíli arrives and briefly duels the Orc but Bolg proves to be stronger and he impales Kíli through the chest with his mace's hilt resulting in the Dwarf's death. In anger, Tauriel throws Bolg off the mountain and is dragged down with him. He is then spotted by Legolas and the two engage in a fierce duel. Bolg gains the upper hand, but Legolas ultimately kills Bolg in the end by stabbing a dagger through his head. The giant Gundabad Orc then falls down to a large rock below, and was crushed by a giant boulder.
 ==== Personality ====
@@ Line 58: / Line 45: @@
 [[File:IMG_0260.png|thumb|250px|Bolg summoned by his father in [[Dol Guldur]]]]
-Hardly any different from Azog, Bolg is a murderous, callous, idealistic, merciless and cruel warrior. He is extremely sadistic, showing no qualms about massacring the Men of the Lake-town and even relishing Kili's death. He is also psychopathic and remorseless, shown by how he pitilessly orders the attack on Laketown. But he is highly intelligent, an excellent leader and tactician. Bolg is enigmatic and powerful, possessing immense strength of will and superb tactical ability. He shows himself to be just as pitiless as his warrior father and is almost unimaginably determined and ferocious. Despite this, he has a strong relationship with Azog as Bolg displays fierce loyalty to his father and a great desire to make him proud.
+Hardly any different from Azog, Bolg is a murderous, callous, idealistic, merciless and cruel warrior. He is extremely sadistic, showing no qualms about massacring the Men of the Lake-town and even relishing Kíli's death. He is also psychopathic and remorseless, shown by how he pitilessly orders the attack on Lake-town. But he is highly intelligent, an excellent leader and tactician. Bolg is enigmatic and powerful, possessing immense strength of will and superb tactical ability. He shows himself to be just as pitiless as his warrior father and is extremely determined and ferocious. Despite this, he has a strong relationship with Azog as Bolg displays fierce loyalty to his father and a great desire to make him proud.
 ==== Abilities ====
-Bolg is a skillful leader, Azog's second-in-command of the Gundabad Orc pack. He is a highly skillful hand-to-hand combatant and swordsman, showing excellent skill during his climactic fight against Legolas. His fighting style, unlike Azog's preferred Warg-riding style that emphasized blows with heavy momentum, is emphasized with lightning speed and agility, as well as martial arts techniques and using the environment against his opponent. His skill as a fighter is later shown by how he is put in charge of the Orc packs whilst Azog stays to fight Gandalf. Bolg has an astonishingly high tolerance of pain, shown by the fact that he refuses to be knocked out or even bleed when Legolas slams his head into a wooden pillar repeatedly. He is also a highly skilled Warg-rider.
+Bolg is a skilful leader, which is likely why he was Azog's second-in-command of the Gundabad Orc pack. He is highly skilful in hand-to-hand combat and swordsmanship. His fighting style, (unlike Azog's preferred Warg-riding style that emphasized blows with heavy momentum) is emphasized with lightning speed and agility, as well as martial arts techniques and using the environment against his opponent. His skill as a fighter is later shown by how he is put in charge of the Orc packs whilst Azog stays to fight Gandalf. Bolg has an astonishingly high tolerance of pain, shown by the fact that he refuses to show pain or even bleed when Legolas plunges his knife into his hand nearing the end of their battle. Though his preferred fighting style is surely not Warg-riding, he is highly skilled at it.
 === Models and toys ===
@@ Line 74: / Line 61: @@
 Bolg appears as the final boss in ''[[The Hobbit (2003 video game)|The Hobbit]]'' GBA game.
+== Gallery ==
-== Translations around the world ==
+<gallery>
+File:Bolgnewmovie.jpg|Bolg as he appears in Peter Jackson's ''The Hobbit Trilogy''
+File:Bolg1.jpg|Bolg's appearance from Games Workshop, before it was changed.
+File:Bolg - LOTR The Card Game.JPG|Bolg from ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game]], The Hobbit: On the Doorstep expansion''
+</gallery>
+== Translations ==
 <div style="overflow:auto; height:300px; width:500px; float:left">
 <!--<div style="overflow:auto; height:200px;">-->
 {| class="itemtable" style="color:#6f3d0b; border:2px solid #FFF; border-top: 0; text-align:left; -moz-border-radius-bottomleft:8px; -moz-border-radius-bottomright:8px; -webkit-border-bottom-left-radius:8px; -webkit-border-bottom-right-radius:8px;" bgcolor="#edeeff"
@@ Line 109: / Line 106: @@
 |-
 |Greek
+|Μπόλγκ
-|Μπολγκ
 |-
 |Gujarati
@@ Line 186: / Line 183: @@
 |באָלג
 |}
+</div>
-</div>
 {{Clear}}
 == References ==
-<references />
+<references />[[ca:Bolg]]
-[[ca:Bolg]]
 [[de:Bolg]]
 [[es:Bolgo]]
@@ Line 211: / Line 206: @@
 [[Category:Deaths in Battle]]
 [[Category:Azog's army]]
-[[Category:Servants of Sauron]]
+[[Category:Non-canonical Servants of Sauron]]