The Great Convention

Here's everything from all the books - the Core Canon, the Dune Encyclopedia and the Expanded Universe.

“The forms must be obeyed...”

For ten thousand years, these five words kept the galaxy from tearing itself apart.

Well, those five, and the others that were in the Great Convention. But those five were special because, apparently, that’s how every rule started in that galactic version of the Constitution that governed the relations between the Great Houses of the Landsraad.

And while it’s mentioned in nearly every Dune book, I doubt many people know more about it than its prohibition against atomics.

Thankfully, there’s a good amount of additional details - even if it’s scattered throughout the original six novels, the Dune Encyclopedia, and the Expanded Universe.

For this week’s edition, I aimed at a comprehensive summary while obeying the forms of keeping the three canons separate for the benefit of the many purists among you.

Herald of the Change is a title not present in the books, but it’s a perfect addition by Dune (2021) as it conveys the importance of formality in the Imperium.

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SPOILER WARNING: CONTENT FROM ALL DUNE BOOKS

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Origins and Purpose

According to the Terminology of the Imperium (the glossary at the back of the original Dune), the Great Convention was

the universal truce enforced under the power balance maintained by the Guild, the Great Houses, and the Imperium. Its chief rule prohibits the use of atomic weapons against human targets. Each rule of the Great Convention begins: “The forms must be obeyed….”
— Dune [1965]

This tripod of power - Guild, Houses, and Emperor - kept everyone in check since the Butlerian Jihad through a delicate balance, as explained by Paul:

"What do the Great Houses of the Landsraad fear most? They fear most what is happening here right now on Arrakis—the Sardaukar picking them off one by one. That's why there is a Landsraad. This is the glue of the Great Convention. Only in union do they match the Imperial forces."
— Dune [1965]

Basically, it was the Great Houses' insurance policy against getting Sardaukar'd into oblivion one at a time.

But it wasn't just about protection - it also laid out the rules for how Houses could fight each other without burning whole planets to the ground.

Among these regulated forms of violence were the practices of kanly (vendetta) and the War of Assassins.

The idea was simple: when nobility got stabby with each other, the damage would stay contained. No civilian massacres, no economic disruption, just targeted aristocratic murder.

So very civilized.

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🔒 In the full article:

• Explicit rules quoted directly from the texts

• How the Wars of Assassins, kanly, and the Convention are connected

• Lore summaries separated by canon

• The discrepancies between the canons

• The post-Atreides fate of the Great Convention

• The Guild’s role in enforcing political stability

• The economic motives behind the Convention's rules

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