House Corrino
Encyclopedia
- For the novel of the same name, see Dune: House CorrinoDune: House CorrinoDune: House Corrino is a 2001 science fiction novel by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, set in the fictional Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. It is the third book in the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy, which takes place before the events of Frank Herbert's celebrated 1965 novel Dune...
.
Imperial House Corrino is a fictional noble family
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
from the Dune universe
Dune universe
Dune is a science fiction franchise which originated with the 1965 novel Dune by Frank Herbert. Considered by many to be the greatest science fiction novel of all time, Dune is frequently cited as the best-selling science fiction novel in history...
created by Frank Herbert
Frank Herbert
Franklin Patrick Herbert, Jr. was a critically acclaimed and commercially successful American science fiction author. Although a short story author, he is best known for his novels, most notably Dune and its five sequels...
. The Corrinos come to power after mankind's victory against the thinking machines
Thinking machines (Dune)
Thinking machines is a collective term for artificial intelligence in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. The Butlerian Jihad a human crusade against thinking machines is an epic turning point in the back-story of the Dune universe...
at the Battle of Corrin (from which they take their name), and rule until deposed by Paul Atreides
Paul Atreides
Paul Atreides is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Paul is a prominent character in the first two novels in the series, Dune and Dune Messiah , and returns in Children of Dune . The character is brought back as two different gholas in the Brian Herbert/Kevin J...
approximately 10,000 years later during the events of the novel Dune
Dune (novel)
Dune is a science fiction novel written by Frank Herbert, published in 1965. It won the Hugo Award in 1966, and the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel...
(1965).
Rule as Emperors
Members of this Imperial House rule as Padishah EmperorPadishah Emperor
Padishah Emperor is the title given to the hereditary rulers of the Old Empire in the science fiction Dune universe created by Frank Herbert.-Original series:...
s of the Known Universe for over 10,000 years, from the time of the Butlerian Jihad
Butlerian Jihad
The Butlerian Jihad is an event in the back-story of Frank Herbert's fictional Dune universe. Occurring over 10,000 years before the events chronicled in his 1965 novel Dune, this jihad leads to the outlawing of certain technologies, primarily "thinking machines", a collective term for computers...
until the defeat of the 81st Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV
Shaddam Corrino IV
Shaddam Corrino IV is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. He is Padishah Emperor of the known universe in Herbert's 1965 novel Dune. Shaddam's accession to the throne is chronicled in the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.Born...
by "Muad'Dib
Muad'Dib
Muad'Dib is a desert mouse within Frank Herbert's Dune universe. It is also the name for a constellation of stars and is taken as a name by the first novel's hero, Paul Atreides.-Dune glossary:...
" (Paul Atreides
Paul Atreides
Paul Atreides is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Paul is a prominent character in the first two novels in the series, Dune and Dune Messiah , and returns in Children of Dune . The character is brought back as two different gholas in the Brian Herbert/Kevin J...
) and the Fremen
Fremen
The Fremen are a group of people in the fictional Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. First appearing in the 1965 novel Dune, the Fremen inhabit the desert planet Arrakis and are based on the desert-dwelling Bedouin and Kalahari Bushmen. In Herbert's novels, Arrakis is the sole known source...
. Shaddam IV has five daughters, though only two play a part in the events of the Dune saga; the Bene Gesserit
Bene Gesserit
The Bene Gesserit are a key social, religious, and political force in Frank Herbert's science fiction Dune universe. The group is described as an exclusive sisterhood whose members train their bodies and minds through years of physical and mental conditioning to obtain superhuman powers and...
-trained Princess Irulan marries Paul in a political alliance designed to effect his ascension to the throne, and her sister Princess Wensicia later plots to place her son Farad'n
Farad'n Corrino
Farad'n Corrino is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. He appears in Herbert's 1976 novel Children of Dune, and his infancy is chronicled in the 2008 interquel Paul of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J...
on the throne.
The Imperial House Corrino's ancestral planet is Salusa Secundus
Salusa Secundus
Salusa Secundus is a fictional planet appearing in Frank Herbert's Dune universe. With harsh conditions rivaling those of the desert planet Arrakis, Salusa is used as the Imperial Prison Planet, and is one of two planets on which shigawire is grown .-Dune:In "Terminology of the Imperium," the...
, the original seat of imperial power since the Butlerian Jihad, but the Royal Court is at some point moved to the planet Kaitain
Kaitain (Dune)
Kaitain is a fictional planet in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert.In Herbert's 1965 novel Dune, it is mentioned briefly as the seat of power of Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV, the Royal Court being previously located on the planet Salusa Secundus.The Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy ...
before the events of Dune. The harsh conditions on Salusa Secundus allow the Corrinos to develop the universe's most-feared military unit, the warrior-fanatic Sardaukar
Sardaukar
The Sardaukar are a fictional fanatical army from Frank Herbert's Dune universe, primarily featured in the 1965 science fiction novel Dune, as well as Brian Herbert and Kevin J...
, the means by which House Corrino controls the Empire.
The Prelude to Dune
Prelude to Dune
Prelude to Dune is a prequel trilogy of novels written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, set in Frank Herbert's Dune universe....
prequel
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
trilogy
Trilogy
A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected, and that can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, or video games...
(1999–2001) by Brian Herbert
Brian Herbert
Brian Patrick Herbert is an American author who lives in Washington state. He is the elder son of science fiction author Frank Herbert....
and Kevin J. Anderson
Kevin J. Anderson
Kevin J. Anderson is an American science fiction author with over forty bestsellers. He has written spin-off novels for Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E., and The X-Files, and with Brian Herbert is the co-author of the Dune prequels...
establishes that Salusa Secundus had been devastated by atomics by a renegade House which is subsequently exterminated, their name erased from history. The planet is intentionally left as a barren wasteland.
Exile
Following their exile to Salusa Secundus by Paul at the end of Dune, the Corrinos gradually recover strength. In 1969's Dune MessiahDune Messiah
Dune Messiah is a science fiction novel by Frank Herbert, the second in a series of six novels. It was originally serialized in Galaxy magazine in 1969. The American and British editions have different prologues summarizing events in the previous novel...
, a bitter Irulan—frustrated by Paul's love for his concubine
Concubinage
Concubinage is the state of a woman or man in an ongoing, usually matrimonially oriented, relationship with somebody to whom they cannot be married, often because of a difference in social status or economic condition.-Concubinage:...
Chani
Chani
Chani is a fictional character featured in Frank Herbert's novels Dune and Dune Messiah . Known mainly as the Fremen wife and legal concubine of protagonist Paul "Muad'Dib" Atreides, Chani is the daughter of Imperial Planetologist Liet-Kynes and his Fremen wife Faroula, and later the mother of...
and his refusal to let her be the mother of his heirs—conspires against Paul with representatives of both the Bene Gesserit and Bene Tleilax
Bene Tleilax
The Bene Tleilax or Tleilaxu are an extremely xenophobic and isolationist society in Frank Herbert's science fiction Dune universe. Genetic manipulators who traffic in biological products such as artificial eyes, gholas, and "twisted" Mentats, the Tleilaxu are a major power in the Imperium...
. After the deaths of both Paul and Chani, a remorseful Irulan defects from the Bene Gesserit and dedicates herself to raising their infant children, twins Leto
Leto Atreides II
Leto Atreides II is a fictional character from the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Born at the end of Dune Messiah , Leto is a central character in Children of Dune and is the title character of God Emperor of Dune . The character is brought back as a ghola in the Brian Herbert/Kevin J...
and Ghanima. Years later during the events of Children of Dune
Children of Dune
Children of Dune is a 1976 science fiction novel by Frank Herbert, third in a series of six novels set in his Dune universe. Initially selling over 75,000 copies, it became the first hardcover best-seller ever in the science fiction field...
(1976), Wensicia sets in motion a plan to assassinate the twins and place her son Farad'n, the grandson of Shaddam IV and the last hope for a new Corrino Emperor, on the throne. The plot ultimately fails, and Paul's heirs Leto and Ghanima rise to power at the death of the Regent, Paul's sister Alia
Alia Atreides
Alia Atreides is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Introduced in the first novel of the series, 1965's Dune, the character was originally killed in Herbert's first version of the manuscript. At the suggestion of Analog magazine editor John Campbell, Herbert kept...
. Leto is rendered sterile by the process of becoming a human-sandworm
Sandworm (Dune)
The sandworm is a fictional form of desert-dwelling creature from the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. They first appear in the 1965 novel Dune, considered to be among the classics in the science fiction genre, and are iconic of the Dune series.In the series, the sandworms called Shai-Hulud...
hybrid, so to continue the line he reaches an agreement with the Farad'n: Leto will marry Ghanima in a political arrangement, but Farad'n (who will never rule or marry Ghanima) will father all future heirs apparent to the throne.
Following Leto II's death after 3,500 years of rule at the end of God Emperor of Dune
God Emperor of Dune
God Emperor of Dune is a science fiction novel by Frank Herbert published in 1981, the fourth in the Dune series. It was ranked as the #11 hardcover fiction best seller of 1981 by Publishers Weekly.-Plot introduction:...
(1981), Siona Atreides, a descendant of Farad'n and Ghanima and the culmination of Leto's own breeding program, assumes stewardship
Stewardship
Stewardship is an ethic that embodies responsible planning and management of resources. The concept of stewardship has been applied in diverse realms, including with respect to environment, economics, health, property, information, and religion, and is linked to the concept of sustainability...
of his empire with Duncan Idaho
Duncan Idaho
Duncan Idaho is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Introduced in the first novel of the series, 1965's Dune, the character became a breakout character as the readers liked him and was revived by Herbert in 1969's Dune Messiah...
. However, the Empire of a Million Worlds ultimately collapses in The Scattering, as billions flee chaos and famine to seek new opportunities in unknown space. Some 1,500 years later in the events of Heretics of Dune
Heretics of Dune
Heretics of Dune is a 1984 science fiction novel by Frank Herbert, fifth in a series of six novels. It was ranked as the #13 hardcover fiction best seller of 1984 by The New York Times.-Plot introduction:...
(1984), Duncan and Siona's powerful bloodline permeates the universe and lives on in such luminaries as Miles Teg
Miles Teg
Miles Teg is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert.-Description:In Heretics of Dune , Miles Teg — the former Supreme Bashar of the Bene Gesserit — is noted to be 296 standard years old and to have a striking resemblance to his ancestor, Leto Atreides I...
and Darwi Odrade.
Legends of Dune
According to the Legends of DuneLegends of Dune
Legends of Dune is a prequel trilogy of novels written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, set in Frank Herbert's Dune universe.* Dune: The Butlerian Jihad * Dune: The Machine Crusade * Dune: The Battle of Corrin...
prequel trilogy (2002–2004) by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, Imperial House Corrino is founded by Viceroy Faykan Butler, the grandson of Xavier Harkonnen
Xavier Harkonnen
Xavier Harkonnen is a character in the fictional Dune universe. Xavier's role existed in the Legends of Dune series, in the books Dune: The Butlerian Jihad and Dune: The Machine Crusade. He was also referenced in Dune: The Battle of Corrin....
and grandnephew of Serena Butler
Serena Butler
Serena Butler is a character in Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson's Legends of Dune series, a trilogy of novels set during the Butlerian Jihad, the war against thinking machines only vaguely referred to in Frank Herbert's original Dune series....
. Faykan had married Jessica Boro-Ginjo, a descendant of both the first Grand Patriarch Iblis Ginjo and also of the last Emperors of the Old Empire
Old Empire (Dune)
The Old Empire is a fictional galactic empire in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. The term has been applied to two distinct eras in the fictional history of the Dune series.-The Padishah Empire:...
. In a speech given immediately after the Battle of Corrin, the final battle of the Butlerian Jihad, Faykan takes much of the credit for the victory (though the battle was mainly organized and carried out by Supreme Bashar Vorian Atreides
Vorian Atreides
Vorian Atreides is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. The ancestor of Paul Atreides, Vorian is a key character in the Legends of Dune trilogy created by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.-Family history:...
) and announces that he intends to change his name to Corrino in recognition of this historic event. He then combines the positions of Viceroy and Grand Patriarch into one office, declaring himself Emperor of Humanity.
Prelude to Dune
The Brian Herbert/Kevin J. Anderson Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy (1999–2001) chronicles the years immediately prior to the events of Dune. The novels explore the last years of the reign of Shaddam's father, Elrood Corrino IX (who is murdered by Count Hasimir Fenring
Hasimir Fenring
Count Hasimir Fenring is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. He is featured in the science fiction novel Dune by Frank Herbert, and is also a key character in the Prelude to Dune trilogy by Brian Herbert and Kevin J...
at Shaddam's request), and Shaddam's subsequent rise to power. It is also established that Shaddam has been complicit in the murder of his own elder brother, the Crown Prince Fafnir, and had secretly administered contraceptives to his own mother, Habla, so she couldn't conceive another son to rival him. The series also shows the origins of Shaddam's rivalry with Duke Leto Atreides I
Leto Atreides I
Duke Leto Atreides I is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. He features in the novel Dune by Frank Herbert and in the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson....
, and introduces Lady Anirul, the Bene Gesserit mother of Shaddam's daughters.
Prelude to Dune establishes the existence of Tyros Reffa, the illegitimate, secret son of Elrood and Lady Shando Vernius and the half-brother of Shaddam. Introduced in Dune: House Corrino
Dune: House Corrino
Dune: House Corrino is a 2001 science fiction novel by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, set in the fictional Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. It is the third book in the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy, which takes place before the events of Frank Herbert's celebrated 1965 novel Dune...
(2001), Tyros is the adopted heir of House Taligari from the planet Zanovar; believing Tyros to be a threat to his throne, Shaddam attempts to murder Tyros by having several major cities on Zanovar destroyed — killing 14 million people. Tyros, who had never cared about the throne, seeks revenge by way of his own assassination plot against Shaddam. The attempt fails, and Tyros is later executed. Before his death, genetic samples are secretly obtained by Ix
Ix (Dune)
Ix is a fictional planet featured in the Dune series of science fiction novels written by Frank Herbert, and derivative works. In Dune it is noted that Ix is classed with the planet Richese as "supreme in machine culture," and that Ixian solido projectors "are commonly considered the best." In...
ian ambassador-in-exile Cammar Pilru that both prove Tyros' parentage and allow for the possibility of an heir for Tyros' other half-brother, Rhombur Vernius of Ix.
Corrino family tree
The following family tree assembles information from Frank Herbert's original novels as well as the prequel series Legends of Dune and Prelude to Dune.Computer game storylines
Dune 2000
Dune 2000 is a real-time strategy video game, released by Westwood Studios in 1998 for Microsoft Windows, and later ported to the PlayStation. It is a partial remake of Dune II, which is also based on Frank Herbert's Dune universe. The story of the game is similar to Dune II, and is continued in...
and its sequel Emperor: Battle for Dune
Emperor: Battle for Dune
Emperor: Battle for Dune is a Dune video game, released by Westwood Studios on June 12, 2001. It is based in Frank Herbert's science fiction Dune universe....
, Westwood Studios
Westwood Studios
Westwood Studios was a computer and video game developer, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was founded by Brett Sperry and Louis Castle in as Westwood Associates, and renamed to Westwood Studios when it merged with Virgin Interactive in...
included live-action cutscenes that employed the same costuming style as David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
's 1984 movie Dune
Dune (film)
Dune is a 1984 science fiction film written and directed by David Lynch, based on the 1965 Frank Herbert novel of the same name. The film stars Kyle MacLachlan as Paul Atreides, and includes an ensemble of well-known American and European actors in supporting roles. It was filmed at the Churubusco...
. These scenes told a non-canon
Canon (fiction)
In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
alternate storyline involving Arrakis, the spice melange and the Great Houses while introducing a new Great House, House Ordos
House Ordos
House Ordos is a mercantile House in the Dune universe as presented in the Westwood Studios Dune video games produced from 1992 to 2001. The House is listed in the non-canon Dune Encyclopedia by Willis E...
, to the Dune universe.
In Westwood's computer game storyline, a Corrino emperor named Frederick Corrino IV incites three Great Houses (House Atreides
House Atreides
House Atreides is a fictional noble family from the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. One of the Great Houses of the feudal interstellar empire known as the Imperium, its members play a role in every novel in the series. It is suggested within the series that the root of the Atreides line...
, House Harkonnen
House Harkonnen
House Harkonnen is a powerful noble family in Frank Herbert's fictional Dune universe. The Harkonnens are featured prominently in the original 1965 novel Dune, and are also a major presence in both the Prelude to Dune and Legends of Dune prequel trilogies by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson...
and House Ordos
House Ordos
House Ordos is a mercantile House in the Dune universe as presented in the Westwood Studios Dune video games produced from 1992 to 2001. The House is listed in the non-canon Dune Encyclopedia by Willis E...
) to wage a feudalistic war on the planet Arrakis
Arrakis
Arrakis — informally known as Dune and later called Rakis — is a fictional desert planet featured in the Dune series of novels by Frank Herbert. Herbert's first novel in the series, 1965's Dune, is popularly considered one of the greatest science fiction novels of all time, and it is...
. When Emperor Frederick is later poisoned at the conclusion of the game by his own Bene Gesserit concubine, the reign of House Corrino ends. At the beginning of Emperor: Battle for Dune, the Spacing Guild
Spacing Guild
The Spacing Guild is an organization in Frank Herbert's science fiction Dune universe. With its monopoly on interstellar travel and banking, the Guild is a balance of power against the Padishah Emperor and the assembled noble Houses of the Landsraad...
pronounces the start of a War of Assassins between the three aforesaid Great Houses for control of the Golden Lion Throne. Meanwhile, the Sardaukar seek a new powerful House to serve. House Ordos procures a ghola of the deceased Frederick Corrino from the Bene Tleilax, securing the loyalty of the Sardaukar and intending the false Frederick to act as House Ordos' puppet on the Imperial throne.
See also
- House AtreidesHouse AtreidesHouse Atreides is a fictional noble family from the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. One of the Great Houses of the feudal interstellar empire known as the Imperium, its members play a role in every novel in the series. It is suggested within the series that the root of the Atreides line...
- House HarkonnenHouse HarkonnenHouse Harkonnen is a powerful noble family in Frank Herbert's fictional Dune universe. The Harkonnens are featured prominently in the original 1965 novel Dune, and are also a major presence in both the Prelude to Dune and Legends of Dune prequel trilogies by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson...