Editing Count Fenring

{{Short description|Fictional character created by Frank Herbert}}
{{Infobox character
| series      = [[Dune (franchise)|Dune]]
| creator     = [[Frank Herbert]]
| name        = Count Fenring
| image       = Count Fenring.jpg
| caption     = [[Miroslav Táborský]] in the [[Frank Herbert's Dune|''Dune'' miniseries]] (2000)
| occupation  = Assassin<br>Governor of [[Arrakis]]<br>Siridar-Absentia of [[Caladan]]
| spouse      = [[Margot Fenring]]
| children    = Marie Fenring
| relatives   = {{Plainlist|
* Lady Chaola Fenring (mother)
* Dalak, husband of [[Wensicia]]
}}
| affiliation = [[House Corrino]]
| portrayer   = [[Miroslav Táborský]]<br>([[Frank Herbert's Dune|2000 miniseries]])
| first       = ''[[Dune (novel)|Dune]]'' (1963–65)
| last        = ''[[The Heir of Caladan]]'' (2022)
}}
'''Count Hasimir Fenring''' is a fictional character in the [[Dune (franchise)|''Dune'' universe]] created by [[Frank Herbert]]. He is featured in the 1965 [[science fiction]] novel ''[[Dune (novel)|Dune]]'' by Frank Herbert, and is also a key character in the ''[[Prelude to Dune]]'' [[trilogy]] by [[Brian Herbert]] and [[Kevin J. Anderson]]. He later appears in the 2008 novel ''[[Paul of Dune]]'', and the ''[[Caladan Trilogy]]'' (2020–2022).

Fenring is the longtime friend and advisor to [[Padishah Emperor]] [[Shaddam IV]], and a formidable fighter. He serves as Shaddam's agent, emissary, or assassin as necessary. Fenring is married to [[Bene Gesserit]] [[Margot Fenring|Lady Margot]].

==Description==
In ''Dune'', Shaddam's daughter [[Princess Irulan]] writes via [[epigraph (literature)|epigraph]], "My father had only one real friend, I think. That was Count Hasimir Fenring...one of the deadliest fighters in the Imperium." She goes on to describe him as "a dapper and ugly little man".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tor.com/2017/02/14/rereading-frank-herberts-dune-dune-part-twelve/|title=Rereading Frank Herbert's ''Dune'': ''Dune'', Part Twelve|first=Emmet|last=Asher-Perrin|date=February 14, 2017|website=[[Tor.com]]|access-date=November 12, 2019}}</ref> [[Vladimir Harkonnen|Baron Vladimir Harkonnen]] calls Fenring "a killer with the manners of a rabbit...the most dangerous kind." The Baron's nephew [[Feyd-Rautha|Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen]] describes Fenring as "a small man, weak-looking. The face was weaselish with overlarge dark eyes. There was gray at the temples. And his movements—he moved a hand or turned his head one way, then he spoke another way. It was difficult to follow."<ref name="Dune">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |author-link=Frank Herbert |title=[[Dune (novel)|Dune]] |date=1965}}</ref>

As Shaddam's chief counsellor, Fenring is described as "the Emperor's errand boy" in the novel.<ref name="Dune"/> He appears to suffer from a [[tic|verbal tic]], but his unusual speech pattern is actually a "humming" code employed to privately communicate with his Bene Gesserit wife Margot.<ref name="Tor Dune 14">{{Cite web|url=https://www.tor.com/2017/02/28/rereading-frank-herberts-dune-dune-part-fourteen/|title=Rereading Frank Herbert's ''Dune'': ''Dune'', Part Fourteen|first=Emmet|last=Asher-Perrin|date=February 28, 2017|website=Tor.com|access-date=November 12, 2019}}</ref> Herbert writes that "Fenring seldom did anything he felt to be unnecessary, or used two words where one would do, or held himself to a single meaning in a single phrase."<ref name="Dune 329">{{cite book|last=Herbert|first=Frank|date=1965|title=Dune|page=329}}</ref> Baron Harkonnen refers to Fenring as "Ambassador to the Smugglers", indicating Shaddam IV's interest in [[melange (fictional drug)|spice]] smuggling operations on Arrakis.<ref name="Dune"/> Herbert also notes that Fenring had been trained by Margot in the Bene Gesserit method of acute observation.<ref>{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |title=Dune |date=1965 |quote=The Count focused on Paul, seeing with eyes his Lady Margot had trained in the Bene Gesserit way...}}</ref> [[Paul Atreides]] notes that "Fenring was one of the might-have-beens, an almost [[Kwisatz Haderach]], crippled by a flaw in the genetic pattern—a [[eunuch]], his talent concentrated into furtiveness and inner seclusion."<ref name="Dune"/>

==Storylines==

===''Dune''===
Prior to the events of ''Dune'', Fenring serves as the Imperial Agent on [[Arrakis]] during the [[House Harkonnen|Harkonnen]] regime, and then as Governor of Arrakis during the handover period between House Harkonnen and [[House Atreides]]. He is later the Siridar-Absentia of the Atreides homeworld of Caladan while the Atreides occupy Arrakis. In ''Dune'', the Harkonnens, secretly aided by the Emperor's fierce [[Sardaukar]] warriors, destroy the Atreides forces and reclaim control of Arrakis. Fenring and Margot visit the Harkonnen homeworld of [[Giedi Prime]], where the Count informs Baron Harkonnen that Shaddam is displeased with the way the invasion of Arrakis was handled, and frustrated by his failure to suppress the disruptive native [[Fremen]] population.<ref name="Tor Dune 14"/> Fenring is also there on the Emperor's behalf to assess the Harkonnen heir, Feyd, which irks the Baron.<ref name="Tor Dune 14"/> Margot is also observing Feyd for the Bene Gesserit, who count him as an important part of their [[Breeding program (Dune)|breeding program]].<ref name="Tor Dune 14"/> With the Count's knowledge and acceptance, Margot has been tasked with retrieving Feyd's genetic material through conception.<ref name="Tor Dune 14"/> Impressed with Feyd but lamenting his Harkonnen upbringing, Fenring notes, "I can see now why we must have that bloodline".<ref name="Tor Dune 14"/>

When Shaddam is forced into a corner by Paul Atreides, the Emperor and his [[Truthsayer]], the Bene Gesserit [[Reverend Mother (Dune)|Reverend Mother]] [[Gaius Helen Mohiam|Mohiam]], realize that Shaddam's only option is treachery. Fenring is summoned and ordered to kill Paul, but refuses, aware that Paul represents the success of the Bene Gesserit breeding program of which Fenring himself is a failure.<ref name="Dune"/>

In "Appendix IV: The Almanak en-Ashraf (Selected Excerpts of the Noble Houses)" in ''Dune'', Herbert writes that Fenring is a cousin and former childhood companion of Shaddam, and is rumored to have poisoned Shaddam's father, [[Elrood IX]].<ref name="Appendix IV">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |title=Dune |chapter=Appendix IV: The Almanak en-Ashraf (Selected Excerpts of the Noble Houses): Count Hasimir Fenring |date=1965}}</ref> Another epigraph by Irulan explains that "the measure of Count Fenring's friendship" with Shaddam is shown by both Fenring's efforts to conceal Shaddam's complicity in the Harkonnen invasion, and also his refusal of Shaddam's command to kill Paul.<ref name="Dune"/> After Paul ascends the Imperial throne, Fenring joins Shaddam in his forced retirement on the prison planet [[Salusa Secundus]], and Fenring dies in 10,225 A.G.<ref name="Appendix IV"/>

===''Prelude to Dune'' series===
The ''Prelude to Dune'' prequel trilogy by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson establishes that Fenring's mother is Chaola, a Bene Gesserit and lady-in-waiting to [[Habla Corrino|Habla]], the fourth wife of Shaddam's father Elrood IX, and served as [[wet nurse]] to both her son and Shaddam. Though Fenring is a failure in the Bene Gesserit breeding program to produce the Kwisatz Haderach, he is a supremely intelligent and perceptive killer. It is noted in ''[[Dune: House Atreides]]'', "Over the years, Fenring had murdered at least fifty men and a dozen women, some of whom had been his lovers, of either sex." One of these was Shaddam's older brother [[Fafnir Corrino|Fafnir]], killed to secure Shaddam's position as heir. In the novel, the Imperial [[concubinage|concubines]] call Fenring "the Ferret" because of "his narrow face and pointed chin."

In ''Dune: House Atreides'', Fenring assassinates Shaddam's father, Elrood IX, using a slow-acting poison administered on orders from Shaddam himself. Shaddam subsequently gives Fenring the title of Imperial Spice Minister and orders him to supervise Elrood's [[Project Amal]], an early attempt by the [[Bene Tleilax|Tleilaxu]] to create synthetic [[Melange (fictional drug)|melange]] in order to remove dependence upon the planet Arrakis, by that time the only source of melange in the Known Universe. Although Tleilaxu Master [[Ajidica|Hidar Fen Ajidica]] manages to create an artificial melange (called ''[[ajidamal]]'', or ''amal'') that seems to have the original's properties, it does not work properly. During the events of ''[[Dune: House Corrino]]'', Fenring uses two [[Spacing Guild]] [[heighliner]]s to secretly test the synthetic melange. Disastrously, the first heighliner emerges from [[Holtzman effect|foldspace]] at the wrong point, strikes the defensive shields of [[Wallach IX]] and plummets into the atmosphere to its destruction. The flawed spice also disrupts and confuses the thoughts, feelings and prescience of [[D'murr Pilru]], the [[Guild Navigator|Navigator]] of the second heighliner. Affected by the tainted melange, D'murr misguides his ship out of the Known Universe and collapses; with a fresh supply of real melange he is able to return the ship safely to Guild Headquarters before dying. All records and laboratories of Project Amal are destroyed by Fenring himself afterward when [[House Vernius]] retakes the planet [[Ix (Dune)|Ix]], and Shaddam later denies all knowledge of it. When Shaddam starts to act without Fenring's counsel due to jealousy, he begins making grievous mishaps, in particular  using [[Atomics (Dune)|atomic weapons]] and a biological plague, and threatening to destroy Arrakis. Eventually and with some reluctance, Shaddam again begins following Fenring's advice.

===''Sandworms of Dune''===
In ''[[Hunters of Dune]]'' (2006), the first of Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson's two-part finale to the original ''Dune'' series, an ancient knife is discovered on the Atreides homeworld of Caladan that is covered in traces of Paul Atreides' blood. This genetic material is used by the [[Face Dancer]] [[Khrone]] to create a [[ghola]] of Paul, named [[Paolo (Dune)|Paolo]], as part of the [[Thinking machines (Dune)|thinking machine]] plot to dominate humanity.

In ''[[Sandworms of Dune]]'' (2007), the dagger is used by Paolo in his duel-to-the-death with the Bene Gesserit's own Paul Atreides ghola. It is noted that, among the knife's many notable uses, "Hasimir Fenring stabbed Emperor [[Muad'Dib]] with it and nearly killed him"<ref name="Sandworms">Herbert, Brian; Anderson, Kevin J. (August 2007). ''[[Sandworms of Dune]]''. [[Tor Books]], pg. 374. {{ISBN|0-7653-1293-X}}.</ref>  sometime between the events of the novels ''Dune'' and ''[[Dune Messiah]]'' (1969).

===''Paul of Dune''===
Hasimir and Margot are raising Feyd and Margot's daughter — whom they have named [[Marie Fenring|Marie]] — as their own in the Brian Herbert/Kevin J. Anderson novel ''[[Paul of Dune]]'' (2008).<ref name="Paul of Dune 55">{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Brian |author2=Kevin J. Anderson |title=[[Paul of Dune]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7653-1294-5 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/paulofdune00herb/page/55 55] |publisher=Macmillan }}</ref> Between the events of ''Dune'' and ''Dune Messiah'' (1969), the Fenrings train their young child as both an assassin and a Bene Gesserit, but reject the interference of the Sisterhood itself in favor of their own plans for Marie to seize the Imperial throne from Paul Atreides.<ref name="Paul of Dune 172">{{cite book |last=Herbert/Anderson |title=Paul of Dune |pages=172–174 }}</ref> Marie is accepted into Paul's court as a playmate for his young sister [[Alia Atreides|Alia]];<ref name="Paul of Dune 447">{{cite book |last=Herbert/Anderson |title=Paul of Dune |pages=447–448, 453–457, 464–465}}</ref> at a banquet with her visiting parents, six-year-old Marie and the Fenrings execute their well-planned assassination attempt on Paul.<ref name="Paul of Dune 488">{{cite book |last=Herbert/Anderson |title=Paul of Dune |pages=488–510}}</ref> Alia manages to kill Marie, but Margot's revelation of her daughter's paternity surprises Paul enough to allow Hasimir to stab him near-mortally.<ref name="Paul of Dune 488"/> Paul's [[concubinage|concubine]] [[Chani (character)|Chani]] uses the poisonous [[Water of Life (Dune)|Water of Life]] to help save him, and he lives; rather than kill the Fenrings, he banishes them to Salusa Secundus into permanent exile with Shaddam, whom they now loathe.<ref name="Paul of Dune 488"/>

==In adaptations==
Both Fenring and his wife Margot are omitted from [[David Lynch]]'s 1984 film ''[[Dune (1984 film)|Dune]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bove |first=Kate |date=August 28, 2023 |title=Who Is Tim Blake Nelson Playing in ''Dune 2''? |url=https://screenrant.com/who-is-tim-blake-nelson-in-dune-2/ |access-date=March 1, 2024 |website=[[Screen Rant]]}}</ref>

Fenring plays a minor part in the 2000 [[miniseries]] ''[[Frank Herbert's Dune]]'', where he is portrayed by [[Miroslav Táborský]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gizmodo.com/a-guide-to-dune-s-gargantuan-cast-of-characters-1842923126|title=A Guide to ''Dune''{{'s}} Gargantuan Cast of Characters|first=Beth|last=Elderkin|website=[[Gizmodo]]|date=April 23, 2020|access-date=November 10, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.duneinfo.com/miniseries/cast|title=Cast - Mini-Series - ''Dune'' - Behind The Scenes|website=DuneInfo.com|access-date=November 14, 2019}}</ref> His function here is more of an advisor to the Emperor. Additionally, some of Margot's actions are attributed to Princess Irulan (essentially the Fenrings' visit to Giedi Prime) as part of [[Film director|director]] [[John Harrison (filmmaker)|John Harrison]]'s expansion of Irulan's role in the adaptation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.space.com/sciencefiction/tv/dune_cox_001130.html |title=''Dune''{{'s}} Princess Irulan Speaks |access-date=August 21, 2015 |last=Paterson |first=Robert |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010820115432/http://www.space.com/sciencefiction/tv/dune_cox_001130.html |archive-date=August 20, 2001  |date=November 30, 2000 |website=Space.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cinescape.com/0/editorial.asp?aff_id=0&this_cat=Television&action=page&type_id=&cat_id=&obj_id=26343 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080316172142/http://www.mania.com/dune-remaking-classic-novel_article_26343.html |archive-date=March 16, 2008 |title=''Dune'': Remaking the Classic Novel |access-date=November 9, 2008 |last=Fritz |first=Steve |date=December 4, 2000 |via=Cinescape.com|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2000/tv/reviews/frank-herbert-s-dune-1200465134/|title=''Frank Herbert's Dune''|first1=Carmel|last1=Dagan|website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=November 29, 2000|access-date=February 20, 2019}}</ref>

Fenring is also omitted from [[Denis Villeneuve]]’s 2024 film ''[[Dune: Part Two]]'', although his wife Margot does appear.

The character of Fenring was also to appear in the film adaptation of ''Dune'' planned by [[Alejandro Jodorowsky]] in the 1970s.<ref name="Metal Hurlant">{{cite web |url=http://www.duneinfo.com/unseen/jodorowsky.asp |title=''Dune: Le Film Que Voue Ne Verrez Jamais'' (''Dune'': The Film You Will Never See) |first=Alejandro |last=Jodorowsky |work=[[Métal Hurlant]] |issue=107 |year=1985 |via=DuneInfo.com |access-date=February 8, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429101454/http://www.duneinfo.com/unseen/jodorowsky.asp |archive-date=April 29, 2011 }}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

{{Dune franchise}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fenring, Hasimir}}
[[Category:Dune (franchise) characters|Fenring]]
[[Category:Fictional advisors]]
[[Category:Fictional assassins]]
[[Category:Fictional counts and countesses]]
[[Category:Fictional exiles]]
[[Category:Fictional governors]]
[[Category:Fictional spies]]
[[Category:Literary characters introduced in 1963]]<!--Serial-->
[[Category:Literary characters introduced in 1965]]<!--Novel-->
[[Category:Male characters in literature]]