Lord Of The Rings: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Orcs

It's no surprise that the servants of Sauron didn't get along with each other. By all accounts, life in Mordor seemed pretty bleak; the air was a poisonous fume; the views were endless landscapes of volcanic rock; and giant spiders were running around in the mountains - it seemed like hell, no one wonder the inhabitants were touchy.

According to Tolkien, orcs have always squabbled amongst themselves. By their nature, they're short tempered and aggressive; and when there's nothing to eat but maggoty bread, tensions are bound to boil over. But the orcs didn't really hate one another with any lasting resentment. They did, however, loath the Nazgûl.

While Frodo and Sam travel through Mordor, they overhear several orcs talking about the ongoing war. They grumble about being sent to fight, and worrying that things aren't going well. The only thing stopping them from deserting Sauron, seems to be the terror of the Nazgûl. They refer to them as "filthy Shriekers"; the word is capitalised by Tolkien, indicating it was an established derogatory name, that the orcs used for the Ringwraiths.