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This article refers to elements from Original Dune Pages for this subject as it appears in other canons: |
Great Houses in Dune II
House crests (Dune, 2021)
A House, in the time of the Imperium, was a dynastic seat of power, sometimes limited to a world and sometimes spanning several worlds. Numerous Houses existed within the imperial hierarchy, and collectively they formed the Landsraad, which was governed by the High Council. Houses could be differentiated into Houses Major and Houses Minor.
Balance of Power[]
Each House usually maintained a base of operations on a specific planet - typically their ancestral homeworld. Banished Houses were exiled to the set of planets collectively known as Tupile. Banishment was usually decreed by the Emperor, or by a ruling of the Landsraad. This would usually occur because the House in violated the Great Convention by employing atomics against human beings or because the offending House committed a terrible crime, such as high treason.
Not surprisingly, some Houses possessed more power and influence than others. Some even possessed enough power to rule entire planetary systems. These were known as Great Houses, Houses Major, or Great Families. It was from one of these Houses that control of the Imperium, the official realm of the known universe, was maintained. For more than 10,000 standard years, the Imperium was ruled by House Corrino.
As a consequence of this governmental structure, there was a near-constant state of plotting conducted between the various noble Houses, though on occasion two or more Houses would form an alliance with one another to thwart or destroy a rival House.
This House system represented the nobility of the Imperium, and formed part of the Faufreluches class system: "A place for every man and every man in his place."
Houses Major[]
Typically, a House Major was a familial dynasty that ruled a planet or a planetary system. During the time of the Padishah Emperors, this usually took the form of a fiefdom handed down by the Emperor himself.
A House Major that ruled a planet was ruler of that world, and charged by the Emperor to uphold the laws of the Imperium, and the galactic order of the Faufreluches. A House Major would usually have its own standing army, flag, symbol, coat-of-arms, and representative colors. It was said that only the combined military power of all the Houses Major in the Imperium would have been enough to defeat the Sardaukar armies of the Corrino Emperors. Thus, a delicate balance was struck between the Houses Major and the Imperial House, since all the Houses Major were never expected to ally themselves together against the Emperor, or anyone else. Indeed, during the time of the Corrinos, the majority of the Houses Major seemed to be preoccupied with petty squabbles.
Each House Major maintained trade and business interests, and some Houses Minor could, over time, be granted House Major status through amassed wealth from enterpreneurial endeavors.
Houses Major and the Bene Gesserit[]
Some of the richer Houses Major paid the Bene Gesserit to train the females of the household. The Bene Gesserit also incorporated members of the Houses Major into their Breeding Program over the course of the millennia. Bene Gesserit sisters also became part of the Houses Major by either being taken as wives or as concubines by male members of the Houses Major.
Known Houses[]
Known Houses Major[]
- House Atreides[1]
- House Corrino[2]
- House Ginaz[3]
- House Harkonnen[4]
- House Metulli[5]
- House Moritani[6]
Known Houses Minor[]
The Landsraad[]
The titles for the heads of the Houses Major were usually Archduke, Duke, Count, Viscount, or Baron. Collectively, the Houses Major decided matters among themselves through the High Council, which was overseen by the Emperor. The Houses Major also maintained a stake in CHOAM through the Landsraad.
Houses Minor[]
The Houses Minor were aristocratic dynasties that were largely planet-bound. They did not rule planets, but rather were regarded as nobility nonetheless, either through bloodlines or through the accumulation of wealth. They also enjoyed a small vote in the Landsraad. Houses Minor were frequently guests in the dining halls and entertainment events of the Houses Major.
Presumably, the Houses Minor would be found in large numbers on planets with strong trade or planets where the Houses Major ruling them maintained large extended families. Some Houses Minor were more famous than others, depending on the items they were known to trade.
Houses under Paul Atreides[]
During the imperial reign of Paul Atreides, very little was revealed about the fate of the Houses Major. It was believed that the majority of them managed to maintain their status, provided that they recognised Atreides ascension to the Golden Lion Throne. Some, however, appeared to fall under Muad'Dib's Jihad that swept the universe after Paul's ascension.
Houses under Leto II[]
Shortly into his reign, Emperor Leto II dissolved the Landsraad. During the 3500 years that Leto ruled the Empire, many of the Houses Major had disappeared, since Leto's control over space travel and monopoly on melange meant that trade and political maneuvering was virtually impossible. Particularly in the last 1000 years of Leto's reign, the Houses Major experienced a significant downturn. Though he permitted them to exist, Leto regarded the remaining Houses Major as "degenerate."
In one Bene Gesserit reporting period just prior to Leto's death, 31 Houses Major experienced complete economic collapse. Of these 31, six managed to maintain House Minor status through heavy investment in the Star Jewel Project and diversified investment portfolios.
It was also during this time that the fees charged by the Bene Gesserit for the schooling of the females of the Houses Major were doubled.[9]
The Scattering and beyond[]
In the 1500 years after Leto's death, it appeared that some Houses Major continued to exist, and some of them managed to re-emerge and reaccumulate power and wealth to some degree. This was possibly because the lack of a central power figure and rigid structure in the Old Imperium had left a power vacuum.
Behind the Scenes[]
- While Frank Herbert named a few Houses, the fact that others exist (more than 31) is mentioned in God Emperor of Dune. Some of these Houses were later named through other sources, such as The Dune Encyclopedia, and the novels by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.
- Frank Herbert mentions in Heretics of Dune that Great Houses were beginning to re-emerge some 1500 years after the death of Leto II. However, it is not known whether these re-emerging Great Houses were the same as those that existed during the days of the Imperium, or whether they were new ones.
References[]
- ↑ Dune - Appendix IV: The Almanak en-Ashraf (Selected Excerpts of the Noble Houses): LETO ATREIDES (10,140-10,191) A distaff cousin of the Corrinos, he is frequently referred to as the Red Duke. House Atreides ruled Caladan as a siridar-fief for twenty generations until pressured into the move to Arrakis.
- ↑ Dune - Appendix IV: The Almanak en-Ashraf (Selected Excerpts of the Noble Houses): SHADDAM IV (10,134-10,202) The Padishah Emperor, 81st of his line (House Corrino) to occupy the Golden Lion Throne, reigned from 10,156 (date his father, Elrood IX, succumbed to chaumurky) until replaced by the 10,196 Regency set up in the name of his eldest daughter, Irulan. His reign is noted chiefly for the Arrakis Revolt, blamed by many historians on Shaddam IV's dalliance with Court functions and the pomp of office. The ranks of Bursegs were doubled in the first sixteen years of his reign. Appropriations for Sardaukar training went down steadily in the final thirty years before the Arrakis Revolt.
- ↑ Dune - Terminology of the Imperium: GINAZ, HOUSE OF: one-time allies of Duke Leto Atreides. They were defeated in the War of Assassins with Grumman.
- ↑ Dune - Appendix IV: The Almanak en-Ashraf (Selected Excerpts of the Noble Houses): VLADIMIR HARKONNEN (10,110-10,193) Commonly referred to as Baron Harkonnen, his title is officially Siridar (planetary governor) Baron. Vladimir Harkonnen is the direct-line male descendant of the Bashar Abulurd Harkonnen who was banished for cowardice after the Battle of Corrin. The return of House Harkonnen to power generally is ascribed to adroit manipulation of the whale fur market and later consolidation with melange wealth from Arrakis. The Siridar-Baron died on Arrakis during the Revolt. Title passed briefly to the na-Baron, Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen.
- ↑ Children of Dune - Chapter 59: Three hundred and twenty-one liters were said to have bought half of Novebruns Planet from the Metulli Family.
- ↑ Dune - Terminology of the Imperium: GRUMMAN: second planet of Niushe, noted chiefly for the feud of its ruling House (Moritani) with House Ginaz.
- ↑ Dune - Chapter 48: "He is to be stripped. I'll want an earldom and CHOAM directorship for Gurney Halleck, and him in the fief of Caladan. There will be titles and attendant power for every surviving Atreides man, not excepting the lowliest trooper."
- ↑ Children of Dune - Chapter 11: Her temple guards had brought her a prisoner to judge at sunset the previous day: one Essas Paymon, a dark little man ostensibly in the pay of a house minor, the Nebiros, who traded in holy artifacts and small manufactured items for decoration.
- ↑ God Emperor of Dune, page 72
Some or all of this article was copied from the following external source:
The Dune Encyclopedia