The Dune Houses Of Atreides And Harkonnen: How Did Their Rivalry Begin?
Frank Herbert’s seminal sci-fi novel Dune built a rich galaxy that was subsequently expanded in sequel novels, but the original book mostly focused on two houses — House Atreides and House Harkonnen. The long-standing feud between the two came to a head and sparked the events of the entire series, and Paul Atreides’ quest for revenge on House Harkonnen for the murder of his father will be a major part of the Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two.
But before that film comes out, let’s catch up on what led to this ferocious feud in the first place.
The History of Dune
In the world of Dune, the galaxy is governed by a High Council and an emperor with noble families, known as the Great Houses, being given planets to rule. The Harkonnens and Atreides are amongst these great houses, and their feud can be traced back to the Battle of Corrin, which took place over 10,000 years before the events of the original novel.
The Battle of Corrin was the deciding battle in the Butlerian Jihad, which saw the remaining free humans in the universe rising up to destroy the “thinking machines” led by a sentient computer known as Omnius.
The Harkonnens and Atreides are amongst Dune’s great houses, and their feud can be traced back to the Battle of Corrin, which took place over 10,000 years before the events of the original novel.
One of the most significant results of the Butlerian Jihad was the banning of computers and robots in the universe of Dune, but it was also the beginning of the feud between House Atreides and House Harkonnen. During the Butlerian Jihad, Vorian Atreides was Supreme Bashar of the Army of Humanity, and Abulurd Butler served under him.
Vorian Atreides was also close friends with Abulard’s grandfather, Xavier Harkonnen. Xavier Harkonnen was a highly respected military officer and destroyed Omnius’ outpost on Earth, but his name was sullied shortly after.
In the Dune prequel novels, Xavier Harkonnen learned that Grand Patriarch Iblis Ginjo was farming humans for organs and was responsible for some of the alleged attacks on human colonies by the Machines. Xavier took it upon himself to kill Ginjo by flying his ship into the planet’s sun, killing himself and Ginjo in the process. However, the House Harkonnen name was tarnished, and Ginjo was labeled as a martyr as the population was unaware of his nefarious actions.
Vorian Atreides knew the truth but realized trying to convince everyone the opposite was true would be futile and divide humanity, so House Harkonnen’s ancestors would adopt the name Butler until Vorian Atreides revealed the truth of Xavier’s death to his grandson, Abulurd.
However, right before the Machines were destroyed for good in the Battle of Corrin, a disagreement between Vorian and Abulurd would lead to the over 10,000-year feud we’re introduced to in Dune. The Battle of Corrin saw the forces of humanity cornering Omnius to a final outpost on the planet Corrin.
The Planet Corrin
To prevent humans from advancing on Corrin and taking out Omnius, the robot Erasmus put up a human shield in orbit of two million human slaves in cargo pods rigged to explode if the human fleet advanced. Vorian Atreides deemed the sacrifice necessary for victory, causing Abulurd to protest and disobey direct orders by disabling the fleets’ weapons.
Abulurd’s children, who would take the name Harkonnen grew up believing their nobility was stolen and returned to the empire after their father died of a fever.
External factors cause the human shield to not explode regardless, but Abulurd’s decision to disable the weaponry made the battle much bloodier than it needed to be, and the ultimate end of the Butlerian Jihad would have long-term consequences for the Dune universe.
Following the Battle of Corrin, Vorian discharged Abulurd, exiled him to the planet Lankeveil, and branded him a coward. Abulurd’s children, who would take the name Harkonnen grew up believing their nobility was stolen and returned to the empire after their father died of a fever.
The new House Harkonnen claimed Vorian brought the fever that killed their father, which was accepted as truth, and the feud that we see in Dune between these two noble houses had begun.
If you’ve seen Dune: Part One, you know where the feud between the houses is now. House Corrin, the current head of the Empire, colluded with House Harkonnen to kill Duke Leto Atreides and destroy House Atreides once and for all. We’ll get to see Timothee Chalamet and the rest of the cast continue this story when the film hits theaters in November.
