Battle of Corrin
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The Battle of Corrin is an important battle in the fictional Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. It is briefly mentioned in his novels Dune and Chapterhouse Dune, and is later explored in detail in Dune: The Battle of Corrin, a prequel novel by other authors.
[edit] Dune
In Terminology of the Imperium, the glossary of the novel Dune, Frank Herbert provides the following definition:
CORRIN, BATTLE OF: the space battle from which the Imperial House Corrino took its name. The battle fought near Sigma Draconis in the year 88 B.G. settled the ascendancy of the ruling House from Salusa Secundus.
The entry for Baron Vladimir Harkonnen in Appendix IV: The Almanak en-Ashraf (Selected Excerpts of the Noble Houses) of Dune mentions House Harkonnen's notorious link to the battle, saying of him (in part):
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.
Lady Jessica, concubine of Duke Leto Atreides, further notes that the Harkonnen humiliation was initiated by an Atreides, inciting the millennia-long feud between the two Houses which is essential to the overarching plot of Dune:
"There'll be much bloodshed soon," she said. "The Harkonnens won't rest until they're dead or my Duke destroyed. The Baron cannot forget that Leto is a cousin of the royal blood — no matter what the distance — while the Harkonnen titles came out of the CHOAM pocketbook. But the poison in him, deep in his mind, is the knowledge that an Atreides had a Harkonnen banished for cowardice after the Battle of Corrin."
[edit] Chapterhouse Dune
In Chapterhouse Dune it is noted that the Battle of Corrin motivated the Bene Gesserit to contact the Jews and establish a mutual alliance:
The masking system ... did not succeed with us. We have our own well‐recorded Jewish heritage and a fund of Other Memory to tell us reasons for secrecy. We did not disturb the situation until I, Mother Superior during and after the battle of Corrin (Very old, indeed!), saw that our Sisterhood had need of a secret society, a group responsive to our requests for assistance.
[edit] Prequels
In Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson's prequel books, specifically in Dune: The Battle of Corrin, the Battle of Corrin is the climactic battle of the Butlerian Jihad; it ends in human victory and the destruction of the Omnius Evermind. The battle was led by the Supreme Bashar (formerly Primero) Vorian Atreides, and his subordinate Bashar Abulurd Harkonnen--the grandson of Xavier Harkonnen, who perished killing the traitorous Grand Patriarch Iblis Ginjo. Before the battle, the Omnius Evermind--with the input of the independent robot Erasmus--launches all the human slaves on Corrin into orbit on transport barges, rigged with explosives that will detonate if the human fleet crosses a demarcated line, killing approximately two million human slaves as well as a clone of Serena Butler. He called this the Bridge of Hrethgir.
Despite the threat, Supreme Bashar Atreides decided to continue the attack, believing that the League of Nobles would be unable to summon the political will to finish off the last Evermind on Corrin if they did not act immediately. When Abulurd Harkonnen objected, the latter was relieved of command. However, Abulurd Harkonnen believed in delaying the attack to save the two million human hostages so strongly that he sneaked out of his quarters and sabotaged the fire-control systems of the entire Vengeance Fleet. Despite this, the humans prevailed, while the hostages are not killed due to Erasmus canceling the plan in the last minute as Gilbertus Albans, his "son," had joined the hostages. The last Evermind is destroyed; however, Omnius Prime manages to transmit a copy of itself into space.
The rift between Houses Atreides and Harkonnen originates from this incident. Vorian Atreides was so angered by Abulurd's actions that he renounced their friendship and suggested during Abulurd's trial for treason that the charge be changed to that of cowardice, which resulted in Abulurd's exile to Lankiveil. When Abulurd, his wife and the rest of their village died of a fever, the Harkonnen sons were quick to blame the Atreides. Eventually, their myths grew into accepted fact, and this was the direct cause of their vendetta against the Atreides.
House Corrino takes their name from this battle: Faykan Butler, then Viceroy, took the opportunity to combine the powers of Grand Patriarch and Viceroy into one title, Emperor, and changed his name to Corrino in the process, thereby taking credit for the victory which rightfully belonged to Vorian Atreides.
