Originally a third-millennium compilation of information on poisons to aid professional assassins, The Assassin's Handbook was expanded in the fifth millennium (5345-5348) by a committee appointed by the Padishah Emperor to discuss the theory and practice of legalized murder under the rules of the Great Convention and the conditions defined by the Guild Peace. The expanded Handbook resulting from the committee's deliberations was widely circulated and read during the days of the Faufreluches, for it was held in high regard by mercenaries and master assassins employed by the Emperor and the Great Houses.
Also used by several training schools for professional assassins, the Handbook fell into some official disrepute during the reign of Muad’Dib and the Regency of his sister Alia, although its principles continued to be employed. During the long reign of Emperor Leto Atreides II, the Handbook was officially held to be as contemptible as the profession of assassin; Emperor Leto's Imperial guard, the warrior females or Fish Speakers were ordered to confiscate copies of the Handbook whenever they found it, although privately they were instructed to master its principles.
Authorship
The authorship of the original version of the handbook is unknown. One theory was that it was written by a third millennium assassin employed by House Moritani who killed several prominent aristocrats, including members of House Ginaz. The expanded version of The Assassin's Handbook was attributed by most authorities to the committee of nine appointed by the aforementioned Padishah Emperor. Presumably it was later ratified by the Landsraad, by which time several of the authors, themselves mentats and master assassins employed by the Great Houses, had become victims of the vicissitudes of their profession.
The Art of Assassination
In the early millennia after the Butlerian Jihad, assassination flourished, but assassination in general was often crude and impulsive, lacking in the finer artistry and subtlety which master assassins managed to attain in the latter days of the Corrino Imperium. The accomplishments of these highly skilled professionals must be in large part attributed not only to years of careful refinement of their art, but to the tutelage of such tomes as The Assassin's Handbook. The handbook was divided into four major parts, the first dealing with poisons - a legacy from the first version - the second with other weapons and their uses, and the third section with a discussion of strategies and odds, as well as methods of circumventing the Great Convention, and the rules of kanly. The fourth section of the Handbook described certain professional standards and rules of prudence.
Section 1: Poisons
In the section devoted to poisons, the various possibilities of chaumurky and chaumas received the greatest attention. Chaumurky was a general term for any poison administered in a drink, and was thus a logical agent for murder for a political world heavily dependent on festivals and ceremony. Chaumas was poison placed in food. Other poisons would be found on the tip of a knife or sword. This was a favorite with many professional assassins in the Imperium, though its use depended usually on some context where the rules of hand-to-hand combat would apply.
Section 2: Conventional Weapons
The second section of the Handbook devoted itself to the discussion of conventional weapons, primarily swords and lasguns, and their functional advantages and disadvantages for the assassin. As with poisons, subtlety was recommended, for as the Handbook noted, "Any mindless mercenary can commit indiscriminate homicide which will probably rebound upon himself." (In passing, it might be noted that the manual was written in a style that was often trenchant and sometimes characterized by a rich sense of irony.) Assassins were instructed to acquire Swordmaster training as a matter of course, and, if at all possible, to develop considerable competence in marksmanship, although the Handbook implies that the master assassin would, whenever possible, leave slaughter with lasguns to ordinary journeymen.
Section 3: Strategies
Section three of the Handbook provided a detailed analysis of the odds for success in given situations where the assassin might be expected to perform his work. The best strategies, for instance, for murdering guests at a formal dinner were evaluated, as well as the methods of avoiding swift reprisal. Much space was given to the problems of infiltrating a ducal palace or launching attacks at public events and ceremonies, especially sporting events, such as a bullfight, or gladiator ring.
Section 4: Kanly
The fourth part of the Handbook's commentary presented the rules of the Great Convention and the code of kanly and provided numerous suggestions of how these might be circumvented or turned to the advantage of the assassin. A favorite method involved bribing the judges or Imperial representatives at various transactions between the Great Houses. The use of poisoned swords in single combat was brought up again here, although much had already been said of this tactic in earlier sections. Various means of infiltrating the defenses of ducal castles, despite the use of shields and other protections, were also considered at length here.
This section also presented the conventions and ritual formulas involved in a War of Assassins, from the formal declaration of intent with the Imperial Registrar and the Landsraad Secretariat to the final moment when victory was declared for one side or the other. The Handbook, however, seemed to imply that even such formal wars were best carried out on a small scale and waged with subtlety by experts, rather than becoming engagements involving large groups of soldiers, so that the lives of innocent bystanders could be spared. A frequent metaphor in the Handbook is that of the Cheops master, and the authors seemed to regard the art of assassination as a profession rather like that of the grand master of Cheops.
Caveats
A final note at the end of the Handbook concerned the assassin's need for self-protection. He was enjoined to learn much of his employer's private crimes, and to store the information in places beyond the employer's reach, with provisions that would allow it to become public in the event of his own death. The assassin was also warned to make himself as valuable as possible to his master, yet never to believe himself irreplaceable. Most important, the Handbook advised the assassin to respect his profession and to avoid the temptations of political ambition or personal involvement in his work. Although many famous assassins found the first easy enough, some authorities doubt that most of them were able to avoid the second pitfall.
Some or all of this article was copied from the following external source:
The Dune Encyclopedia