Ogre
239835
224669762
2008-07-09T22:07:04Z
Skyezx
6902614
Reverted 2 edits by [[Special:Contributions/71.58.182.177|71.58.182.177]] and [[Special:Contributions/XCrysis|XCrysis]] to last version by 86.27.182.3 (using [[WP:HG|Huggle]])
{{otheruses1|the mythological creature}}
[[Image:Giovanni Lanfranco Norandino and Lucina Discovered by the Ogre.jpg|thumb|right|[[Giovanni Lanfanco]]'s painting, a scene from ''[[Orlando Furioso]]'', depicts Norandino and Lucina discovered by an ogre during their honeymoon.]]
An '''ogre''' (feminine: ''ogress'') is a large, cruel and hideous [[humanoid]] [[monster]], featured in mythology, folklore and fiction. Ogres are often depicted in [[fairy tales]] and folklore as feeding on human beings, and have appeared in many classic works of [[literature]]. In [[art]], ogres are often depicted with a large head, abundant hair and beard, a voracious appetite, and a strong body. The term is often applied in a metaphorical sense to disgusting persons who exploit, brutalize or devour their victims.
==Etymology==
[[Image:Poucet10.jpg|thumb|left|[[Hop o' My Thumb]], illustrated by [[Gustave Doré]]]]
The word ''ogre'' is of [[French language|French]] derivation, and is believed to have been coined by either [[Charles Perrault]] (1628-1703) or [[Madame d'Aulnoy|Marie-Catherine Jumelle de Berneville, Comtesse d' Aulnoy]] (1650-1705), both of whom were French authors. Other sources say that the name is derived from the word ''Hongrois'', which means Hungarian.<ref>Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, (1932-1935)</ref> The word ''ogre'' is thought to have been inspired by the works of Italian author [[Giambattista Basile]] (1575-1632), who used the Neapolitan word ''uerco'', or in standard Italian, ''orco''. This word is documented <ref>[http://vocabolario.biblio.cribecu.sns.it/cgi-bin/Vocabolario/search_context?rimando=1&pattern=ORCO.&tag_n=ENTRY&attr_n=ID&attr_v=W288 Vocabolario Degli Accademici Della Crusca]</ref> in earlier Italian works ([[Italian_literature#Imitators|Fazio degli Uberti]], XIV cent.; [[Luigi Pulci]], XV; [[Ludovico Ariosto]], XV-XVI) and has even older cognates with the Latin ''[[orcus (mythology)|orcus]]'' and the Old English ''orcnēas'' found in [[Beowulf]] lines 112-113, which inspired J.R.R. Tolkien's ''[[Orc#Early_modern_usage|Orc]]''.<ref>[http://www.humanities.mcmaster.ca/~beowulf/main.html Beowulf<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> All these words may derive from a shared Indo-European mythological concept (as Tolkien himself speculated, as cited by [[Tom Shippey]], ''The Road to Middle-earth'', 45).
The first appearance of the word ''ogre'' in Perrault's work occurred in his ''Histoires ou Contes du temps Passé'' (1697). It later appeared in several of his other fairy tales, many of which were based on the [[Naples|Neapolitan]] tales of Basile. The first example of a female ogre being referred to as an ''ogress'' is found in his version of ''[[Sleeping Beauty]]'', where it is spelled ''ogresse.''
The Comtesse d' Aulnoy first employed the word ''ogre'' in her story ''L'Orangier et l' Abeille'' (1698), and was the first to use the word ''ogree'' to refer to the creature's offspring.
==Ogres in modern fiction==
[[Image:4377 - Bern - Kindlifresserbrunnen am Kornhausplatz.JPG|thumb|right|upright|The Ogre Fountain in [[Bern]], [[Switzerland]]]]
Literature for children is rife with tales involving ogres and kidnapped [[princess]]es who were rescued by valiant knights, and sometimes peasants. Ogres are also popular in [[fantasy fiction]], such as [[C. S. Lewis]]'s ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia]]'', and in various fantasy [[game]]s.
*The [[protagonist]] of the ''[[Shrek]]'' films is an ogre. Shrek is voiced by [[Mike Myers (actor)|Mike Myers]], using a cartoonish [[Scotland|Scottish]] accent. Shrek is not a hostile ogre. He is not a villain, but an ogre that lives in a swamp and prefers not to be disturbed.
* In ''[[Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears]]'', there is an army of villainous ogres residing in Castle Drekmore and led by Duke Igthorn, who attempt to conquer King Gregor and Dunwyn Castle.
*In the movie ''[[Time Bandits]]'', the protagonists are found by an ogre and his wife on the ogre's ship. The ogre is outwitted and left at sea after the protagonists commandeer the ship.
*In the ''[[Xanth]] Chronicles'' by [[Piers Anthony]], ogres are stupid beasts with immense strength that communicate almost exclusively through rhyme as in the Chronicle ''[[Ogre, Ogre]].'' At several points in ''[[A Spell for Chameleon]]'', the first Xanth novel, the lead character worries that the women he encounters are actually female ogres in human form.
*In the ''[[Spiderwick]] Chronicles'' (the fifth book), Mulgarath, the primary antagonist, is an evil ogre who wants to enslave the world, ridding it of all humans.
*In [[Tamora Pierce]]'s books that revolve around [[Tamora Pierce#The Tortall Universe|Tortall]], there are two kinds of ogres: peaceful farmers and warlike monsters. Both types are extremely tall and often seem menacing. In her book ''[[Wolf-Speaker]]'', the peaceful "breed" are slaves who mine black opals.
*''[[A Book of Ogres and Trolls]]'' by [[Ruth Manning-Sanders]] contains 13 fairy tales.
* The ''[[Revenge of the Nerds]]'' (1984) and film sequels featured [[Donald Gibb]] as "Ogre", the most brutish of the fraternity jocks.
''Ogre'' is often used metaphorically, as in the association of ogres with [[Nazis]] made in [[Michael Tournier|Michel Tournier's]] novel ''Le Roi des aulnes'' (1970; ''The Ogre''). Other modern works depicting ogres include ''L'Ogre'' (1973) by [[Jacques Chessex]], and [[Nacer Khemir|Nacer Khemir's]] ''L'Ogresse'' (1975), a collection of [[Tunisia|Tunisian]] tales.
==Ogres in modern games==
Ogres appear in many popular [[fantasy]] [[roleplaying]] and video games series such as ''[[AdventureQuest]]'', ''[[DragonFable]]'', ''[[Guild Wars]]'', ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'', ''[[The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion]]'', ''[[Eternal Lands]]'', ''[[EverQuest]]'', ''[[Final Fantasy]]'', ''[[Flintloque]]'', ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'', ''[[Ogre Battle]]'', ''[[Quake]]'', ''[[Ragnarok Online]]'', ''[[RuneScape]]'', ''[[Sacred_(game)|Sacred]]'', ''[[Tekken 3]]'', ''[[Two Worlds]]'', ''[[Warcraft]]'', ''[[Warhammer Fantasy (setting)|Warhammer Fantasy]]'' , ''[[The Spiderwick Chronicles (video game)|The Spiderwick Chronicles]]'' and ''[[Black & White (video game)|Black & White]]''. See also [[Ogre (disambiguation)]].
==See also==
{{wiktionarypar|ogre}}
{{commonscat}}
* [[:Category:Fictional ogres|Fictional Ogres]]
* [[Giant (mythology)|Giant]]
* [[Homo heidelbergensis]]
* [[Oni (Japanese folklore)|Oni]]
* [[Troll]]
* [[Fomor]]
* [[Orc]]
* [[Cyclops]]
* [[Monster]]
* [[Kaiju]]
==References==
* Rose, Carol. ''Giants, Monsters, & Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth''. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2001. ISBN 0-393-32211-4
* Shippey, Tom. ''The Road to Middle-earth''. London: HarperCollins, 1992 (rev.). ISBN 0-261-10275-3
* South, Malcom, ed. ''Mythical and Fabulous Creatures: A Source Book and Research Guide.'' Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1987. Reprint, New York: Peter Bedrick Books, 1988. ISBN 0-87226-208-1
* "Ogre." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2006. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 15 May 2006 <http://www.search.eb.com/eb/article-9125639>
===Notes===
<references/>
[[Category:European legendary creatures]]
[[Category:Ogres]]
[[Category:English legendary creatures]]
[[bg:Огре]]
[[ca:Ogre]]
[[cs:Zlobr]]
[[de:Oger]]
[[es:Ogro]]
[[fr:Ogre]]
[[ko:오거]]
[[it:Orco (folclore)]]
[[he:עוג (פנטזיה)]]
[[hu:Ogre]]
[[nl:Oger (folklore)]]
[[ja:オーガ]]
[[pl:Ogr]]
[[pt:Ogro]]
[[ru:Огры]]
[[sr:Огр]]
[[fi:Jätti]]