Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen: the na-Baron who died on Paul's blade
the na-Baron of House Harkonnen
Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen was the na-Baron and heir of Vladimir Harkonnen. Charismatic, cunning, and vicious, he was groomed to inherit House Harkonnen and to win the Imperial throne, but was killed in a duel with Paul Atreides shortly after the Battle of Arrakeen.
Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, born Feyd-Rautha Rabban, was the na-Baron of House Harkonnen. The cunning and charismatic nephew and heir of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, he briefly held dominion over Arrakis and assumed the barony before being killed in a duel with Paul Atreides shortly after the Battle of Arrakeen. (Dune)
Who was Feyd-Rautha's father?#
Abulurd, the Baron's youngest demi-brother, who renounced the Harkonnen name and his rights to the title when he was given the subdistrict governorship of Rabban-Lankiveil. That is why Feyd was born Feyd-Rautha Rabban. His elder brother was Glossu "Beast" Rabban, and both were legally Abulurd's sons and nephews of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, who had no son of his own and gave Feyd the Harkonnen name when he chose him for his household. (Dune)
Early life#
Born to Abulurd, who governed Rabban-Lankiveil on Lankiveil, Feyd-Rautha Rabban was taken into the household of his uncle, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, since the Baron had no son of his own. Feyd came to be favoured over his elder brother, Glossu Rabban. The Baron named Feyd his heir, the na-Baron, and Feyd took the Harkonnen name, while his older brother kept the name Rabban. Feyd grew up charismatic, sadistic, and vicious, with an unending lust for blood and power. (Dune)
Feyd's role in the Bene Gesserit breeding program was to marry a daughter of House Atreides in the hope of ending the feud between the two Houses and producing the prophesied Kwisatz Haderach. When the Atreides concubine Lady Jessica bore a son, Paul, rather than a daughter, the union became impossible and an irreconcilable tension formed between Feyd and Paul, the scions of bitterly opposed Houses. (Dune)
Coming of age#
On his seventeenth birthday celebration, Feyd fought in the Giedi Prime gladiator arena against the last enslaved members of House Atreides, attended by the Baron, several of the extended Harkonnen family, and Count Hasimir Fenring with his wife, Lady Margot Fenring. Feyd killed the slaves, including one who had not been drugged. That same night, to preserve the Harkonnen bloodline and the millennia of genetic engineering invested in it, Margot Fenring was sent by the Bene Gesserit to seduce Feyd through hypnotic suggestion and conceive his child. She succeeded, and the two conceived a daughter. (Dune)
Role in House Harkonnen#
The Baron's larger ambition was the Imperial throne itself, held by a Harkonnen, and Feyd was the Harkonnen he meant to put there in place of Emperor Shaddam IV. To build Feyd's standing, the Baron intended to install him as ruler of Arrakis after a period of tyrannical misrule by his brother Rabban, so that Feyd would appear the saviour of the populace and a worthy heir to the Imperial throne. (Dune)
Feyd's impatience to inherit the Baron's title allowed him to be manipulated by Thufir Hawat, the Atreides Mentat captured by the Baron. Both the Baron and Feyd were nearly assassinated as a result of Hawat's machinations. Though angered, the Baron was also proud, taking the attempt as proof that Feyd was the true leader the Harkonnens needed. As punishment, the Baron sent Feyd down to the slave quarters to kill the women there with his own hand. (Dune)
In appearance, Feyd had thick muscles, heavy shoulders, and small feet, and like other Harkonnens his lips were full and seemed to pout. (Dune)
Death#
Following the Baron's death at the close of the Desert War, the barony of House Harkonnen briefly passed to Feyd-Rautha. Held prisoner with the Emperor and Princess Irulan, Feyd challenged Paul Atreides to a duel and met his end on Paul's blade, ending the line of Harkonnen rule. (Dune)
Frequently asked questions
- Who was Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen?
- Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, born Feyd-Rautha Rabban, was the na-Baron and heir of House Harkonnen. He was the cunning and charismatic nephew of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, who adopted him as his legal ward.
- Why did Baron Vladimir Harkonnen choose Feyd-Rautha as his heir?
- The Baron took Feyd-Rautha in at a young age because he had no male heirs of his own. Feyd came to be favoured over his elder brother Glossu Rabban, and the Baron entitled him as heir and changed his surname to Harkonnen.
- What was Feyd-Rautha's role in the Bene Gesserit breeding program?
- Feyd's role was to marry a daughter of House Atreides in the hope of ending the feud between the two Houses and producing the prophesied Kwisatz Haderach. When Lady Jessica bore a son, Paul, rather than a daughter, the union became impossible.
- What happened on Feyd-Rautha's seventeenth birthday?
- Feyd fought in the Giedi Prime gladiator arena against the last enslaved members of House Atreides, killing the slaves including one who had not been drugged. That same night, Margot Fenring was sent by the Bene Gesserit to seduce him and conceive his child, and the two conceived a daughter.
- How did Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen die?
- Following the Baron's death at the close of the Desert War, the barony briefly passed to Feyd-Rautha. Held prisoner with the Emperor and Princess Irulan, he challenged Paul Atreides to a duel and met his end on Paul's blade, ending the line of Harkonnen rule.
Gallery
Images via Dune Wiki
Sources
- BookDune, Frank Herbert, 1965
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