Frank Herbert’s Dune explores mankind’s distant future and the evolution of its political,
commercial and social institutions throughout the ages.
Within the captivating narrative of the Dune saga, a vast Interstellar Empire stands liberated
from self-imposed enslavement to machines and artificial intelligence.
It is now propelled by the pursuit of expanding human potential and capabilities.
Following the devastating machine crusade, the governing forces of the Imperium deemed
it essential to establish a series of laws through the Great Convention treaty, with
the primary objective of preserving humanity and shielding the populace from the perils
of any future conflicts that could bring about mass destruction.
In this video I’d like to discuss the rules governing technology and warfare, and how
they shaped the battles between the great houses of the Imperium.
Spoiler warning if you are unfamiliar with Frank Herbert’s Dune.
From the ashes of the machine crusade a Feudal Empire was established in an attempt to bring
order to chaos.
In a political tripod the power of the Imperial House Corrino is balanced against the other
Houses of the Landsraad and the Spacing Guild with its monopoly on safe interstellar transport.
Shortly after the destruction of the thinking machines these political and commercial bodies
brokered a historic treaty called the Great Convention.
The Convention's guiding philosophy is rooted in the sanctity of human life, believing the
human race to be precious and superior to all other forms of existence; its laws were
intended to protect the human race as a whole.
These standards profoundly transformed the nature of warfare with strict rules established
for wars and feuds, ensuring that human life would not be wantonly wasted.
The High Council of the Landsraad also possessed the authority to deliberate on the expulsion
of specific Houses if they were found to be in violation of the Great Convention.
Every article of the Great Convention begins with the term "The forms must be obeyed...".
The set of laws collectively agreed upon by the Imperium's major powers establishes rules
for warfare.
Though the Houses of the Landsraad were allowed to possess atomic weapons they were prohibited
from using them against human targets.
In the words of the Great Convention: Use of atomics against humans shall be cause for
planetary obliteration.
Fear and self-preservation served to keep the Houses from violating this injunction.
This law essentially discouraged massive loss of life, and instead promoted a form of warfare
that, while still lethal and brutal, was more strategic and controlled.
Further contributing to the more personal nature of warfare was the supreme command
of the Orange Catholic Bible Text enforced in the wake of the machine crusade,“Thou
shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind.”
Any and all advanced technology even remotely resembling human-like abilities was rendered
illegal, punishable by death.
The battlefield came to be greatly influenced by the political powers that regulated the
use of technology.
The invention of the Holtzman shield, a personal force field that deflects fast-moving projectiles,
marked a significant change in the methods of warfare.
This brought combat back to a more primitive form, favoring the use of various knives and
swords over conventional projectile weaponry, as only slow-moving objects can penetrate
a shield.
Before personal defense shields became common, Lasguns were the primary weapons of choice
for most armies.
However, these weapons fell out of favor due to a critical danger: when a lasgun interacted
with a shield, it could trigger an explosion comparable to a nuclear blast.
Therefore, any strategy involving this catastrophic outcome would be seen as a blatant breach
of the Convention's guidelines.
Consequently, armies returned to traditional hand-to-hand combat, with blades becoming
the prevalent weapon on the battlefield.
With the banishment of advanced computing technology and weapons of mass destruction
against humans coupled with widespread use of personal shields, duels and assassinations
became more common.
The emphasis on individual combat made war a deeply personal affair, with each house's
honor and reputation staked on the outcomes of these conflicts.
This system of combat transformed warfare from a contest of raw power to a game of strategic
maneuvering and political calculation.
This is where the War of Assassins comes into play.
This provision of warfare was a limited, more covert form of conflict, involving calculated
assassinations and subterfuge as opposed to all out war.
Formal declarations of intent were required upon utilizing this arrangement of the Great
Convention.
Strict regulations were imposed on the types of weaponry and methodologies as detailed
within the Assassin’s Handbook, a compilation of poisons that was later expanded to include
other deadly devices permitted under the statutes of the Convention.
A War of Assassins placed a premium on cunning, political manipulation and strategic targeted
force, and its rules were designed to prevent widespread collateral damage and loss of innocent
lives.
Like a game of chess, each house must outmaneuver its opponents to obtain victory.
A notorious example of the targeted destruction of a war of assassins occurred between the
Great Houses Moritani and Ginaz, a conflict notable for being the first time swordmaster
of the Ginaz Duncan Idaho bloodied his sword.This particular feud showcased how conflicts are
shaped not only by its direct combatants but also by the political machinations and alliances
that underpin this feudal society.
The swordmaster school of House Ginaz held a famous reputation in the Imperium for its
training program able to forge warriors rivaling the prowess and capabilities of the emperor’s
mighty sardaukar.
This likely factored into the decision of Emperor Shaddam the 4th to throw his support
behind House Moritani during this conflict.
Though House Atreides allied with the Ginaz, ultimately this Great House was defeated by
Moritani in this war of assassins.
The ancient tradition of kanly is another manifestation of the Convention's influence.
Kanly, a term derived from a Turkish word meaning sworn enemy or bloody, is a formal,
ritualized feud between two houses.
The rules of the Great Convention provided a structured framework for these bitter conflicts
between Houses to be resolved without innocent bystanders being harmed in the process.
The forms of the Convention demand a certain level of honor and fair play in kanly similar
in many ways to the ancient duels of Earth.
The most famous example of kanly is between House Harkonnen and House Atreides, whose
enmity for each other began when an Atreides had a Harkonnen banished for cowardice after
the Battle of Corrin.
Even after 10,000 years the bitter hatred between these two Houses lingered like a poison
in its descendants culminating in Baron Vladimir Harkonnen orchestrating a plot to destroy
House Atreides and end their bloodline once and for all.
In his treacherous course to stage a coup against the Atreides on Arrakis the Baron
maintained only a veneer of adherence to the Convention.
As the Harkonnen Atreides conflict unfolded it heralded the waning influence of the Great
Convention.
In the final stages of the feud, the young Duke Paul Atreides was challenged by Feyd
Rauth of House Harkonnen in a duel to the death invoking kanly.
After thousands of years of bitter animosity Paul triumphed, defeating Feyd and ushering
in a dramatic shift in power as he maneuvered his ascension to the Imperial throne.
Paul’s quest to retake Arrakis led him to skirt the lines of the great convention as
he used atomics to destroy the shield wall protecting the northern settlements.
After Paul’s victory on Arrakis, the various political and commercial elements who were
then stripped of their influence continued to display a disregard for the rules and ideals
of the Great convention.
This was made most evident as a group of conspirators saw to the detonation of a destructive stone
burner weapon in the crowded city of Arrakeen.
While the Great Convention and the rules of Kanly were initially established to preserve
life and safeguard humanity from the horrors of mass destruction, over time these once
lofty aspirations were gradually overshadowed as various factions of the Imperium began
to bend and manipulate the rules of the Great Convention to suit their own agendas.
This left humanity vulnerable and on a path of self destruction through unrestrained warfare.
But I’m curious to know what you think about the Imperium’s rules of war in Frank Herbert’s
Dune.
Is there a particular action or event where the laws of the great convention are broken
that stands out to you?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
I hope you enjoyed this video.
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news and lore.
Thank you all so much for your support and as always have a very nerdy day.