NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Honor Harrington

Honor Stephanie Harrington is a fictional character, the eponymous heroine of a series of science fiction books set in the "Honorverse", written by David Weber and published by Baen Books. Image File history File links Honor_Among_Enemies. ... A fictional character is any person who appears in a work of fiction. ... An eponym is the name of a person, whether real or fictitious, which has (or is thought to have) given rise to the name of a particular place, tribe, discovery or other item. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... It has been suggested that Barbara Bancroft be merged into this article or section. ... Honor Harrington from Honor Among Ememies cover, by David Mattingly. ... Baen Books logo Baen Books is an American publishing company established in 1983 by SF publishing industry long-timer Jim Baen (1943-2006). ...

An officer in the Royal Manticoran Navy (RMN), the space navy of the Star Kingdom of Manticore, Harrington bears a striking professional resemblance to both the real life Admiral Lord Nelson, Captain Thomas Cochrane, and the fictional (composite) character Horatio Hornblower. Like Nelson, she loses an eye and an arm in combat; her initials are the same as Hornblower's, and like all three officers, she has a genius for tactical command throughout the series and becomes a living legend by using those skills in several major engagements—battles for which the press dubs her The Salamander for always seeming to be "where the fire is hottest". By the tenth main-line novel (Ashes of Victory) Honor has emerged as a strategist of note as well, and has been promoted to the rank of Admiral in both the Manticoran and Grayson space navies. The Royal Manticoran Navy (abbreviated RMN) is a fictional space navy in the Honorverse, a long-running series of novels and stories written by David Weber and published by Baen Books. ... The Star Kingdom of Manticore is commonly known as Manticore and is abbreviated as SKM; it is a fictional human star-nation in the Honorverse, which is the background setting for a series of books and stories written by David Weber and others, and published by Baen Books. ... Lord Nelson Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, KB (29 September 1758 â€“ 21 October 1805) was an English admiral famous for his participation in the Napoleonic Wars, most notably in the Battle of Trafalgar, where he lost his life. ... Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald (14 December 1775–October 31, 1860) was a politician and naval adventurer. ... Horatio Hornblower is a fictional officer in the British Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, originally the protagonist of a series of novels by C. S. Forester, and later the subject of films and television programs. ... Military tactics (Greek: TaktikÄ“, the art of organizing an army) is the collective name for methods of engaging and defeating an enemy in battle. ... Suborders Cryptobranchoidea Salamandroidea Sirenoidea Salamander is the common name applied to approximately 500 amphibians with slender bodies, short legs, and long tails. ... Ashes of Victory is the ninth Honor Harrington novel by David Weber. ... Military strategem in the Battle of Waterloo. ... The planet Grayson is a fictional human star-nation in the Honorverse, the setting for a series of books written by David Weber and published by Baen Books. ...

Other parallels with real history include the political situation. During much of Harrington's career, her native Star Kingdom of Manticore is at war with the neighboring People's Republic of Haven (PRH), a conflict that bears more than a passing resemblance to the Napoleonic Wars between the British Empire and France. Last but not least, Weber references the author of Hornblower within the series on at least one occasion, a minor instance of "breaking the fourth wall", as an homage. The Star Kingdom of Manticore is commonly known as Manticore and is abbreviated as SKM; it is a fictional human star-nation in the Honorverse, which is the background setting for a series of books and stories written by David Weber and others, and published by Baen Books. ... The Republic of Haven is a fictional star nation in the Honorverse. ... Combatants Allies: Austria[1] Ottoman Empire Portugal Prussia[1] Russia[2] Spain[3] Sweden United Kingdom[4] French Empire Denmark-Norway Holland Kingdom of Italy Kingdom of Naples Duchy of Warsaw Confederation of the Rhine: Bavaria Saxony Commanders Mikhail Kutuzov, Michael Andreas Barclay Count Wittgenstein Count Bennigsen Duke of Wellington... The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps. ... The cover of the 1974 paperback edition of one of Foresters non-fiction titles: Hunting The Bismarck Cecil Scott Forester was the pen name of Cecil Louis Troughton Smith (August 27, 1899 - April 2, 1966), an English novelist who rose to fame with tales of adventure with military themes. ... The fourth wall is the imaginary invisible wall at the front of the stage in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play. ... For a description of the medieval homage ceremony see commendation ceremony Homage is generally used in modern English to mean any public show of respect to someone to whom you feel indebted. ...

Early life

Honor was born on October 1, 3961 AD, at Craggy Hollow (the Harrington family home), County Duvalier, in the Duchy of Shadow Vale on the planet Sphinx, one of the three inhabited worlds of the Manticore system. She is the daughter of neurosurgeon Alfred Harrington and physician/geneticist Allison Benton-Ramirez y Chou Harrington. Socially, by virtue of her father's ancestry, she was born a yeoman—a descendent of the second wave of settlement of the Star Kingdom of Manticore, not a member of the nobility (who for the most part can claim descent from the first colonists) nor a zero balancer. Additionally, her paternal ancestors were "genies", people genetically engineered (specifically with the Meyerdahl Beta modification) to survive on high gravity planets such as Sphinx. She was raised in the Third Stellar Missionary Communion (Reformed), but is not significantly religious. October 1 is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Sphinx is fictional planet in the Honorverse, a series of books by David Weber. ... The Manticore system is a fictional star system from the Honorverse, a series of books written by David Weber and published by Baen Books. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... // Nobility is a traditional hereditary status (see hereditary titles) that exists today in many countries (mainly present or former monarchies). ... An iconic image of genetic engineering; this autoluminograph from 1986 of a glowing transgenic tobacco plant bearing the luciferase gene of the firefly, illustrating the possibilities of genetic engineering. ...

Honor is one of the few people adopted by a Sphinxian treecat, an intelligent indigenous species. This occurred when she was a child, a rarity among treecat adoptions. She has dubbed her 'cat Nimitz (after a Terran wet-navy Admiral). After conducting considerable research on them, she eventually became one of the foremost experts on treecats. Nimitz, with Honor Harrington, by David Mattingly. ... Nimitz can refer to: Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz USN, (1885–1966) or various things named in honor of Adm. ... Chester William Nimitz (February 24, 1885 â€“ February 20, 1966) was the Commander in Chief of Pacific Forces for the United States and Allied forces during World War II. He was the United States leading authority on submarines, as well as Chief of the Navys Bureau of Navigation in 1939. ...

Career

Harrington attended the Royal Manticoran Saganami Naval Academy on Manticore's Saganami Island, and became an officer in the Royal Manticoran Navy. She is one of the RMN's best tacticians, and while she can make effective tactical evaluations, often quickly, and intuitively, her formal mathematical skills are erratic and unreliable, despite high aptitude scores, though her navigational skills are excellent. The gap between her anticipated and actual mathematical performance was a source of much irritation, and more than a few problems while at the Academy. At Saganami Island, her roommate was Michelle Henke, cousin of Queen Elizabeth III of Manticore. Having been shy and lacking in self-confidence, Harrington learned much from "Mike" Henke during those years. The Royal Manticoran Naval Academy is a fictional naval academy in the Honorverse. ... Saganami Island is the Star Kingdom of Manticores naval academy much like the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis ... The Royal Manticoran Navy (abbreviated RMN) is a fictional space navy in the Honorverse, a long-running series of novels and stories written by David Weber and published by Baen Books. ... Rear Admiral Lady Michelle Henke, Countess Gold Peak is a fictional character in the Honorverse. ... Queen Elizabeth III is a fictional character, the reigning monarch of the Star Kingdom of Manticore in the Honor Harrington series of space opera books by David Weber. ...

Harrington considered trying out for the Academy pistol team (having learned a good bit from her Uncle Jacques), but chose instead the unarmed combat team. She has since earned an eighth-degree black belt in the martial art of coup de vitesse. While at the Academy, she set a sailplane record (for combined altitude, time spent aloft, and acrobatics) which (as of the latest book) still stands. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Coup de vitesse is a fictional martial art that is practiced by Honor Harrington in the Honorverse, a series of books by David Weber. ... Gliders are un-powered heavier-than-air aircraft. ...

During her time at the Academy, Harrington unwittingly became the target of a perverse, boorish midshipman, Lord Pavel Young, heir to the Earldom of North Hollow. When Young attempted to rape her in the showers, she defended herself, sending him to the hospital. Academy administrators suspected that Young had tried to assault her, but her own misplaced sense of shame kept her from disclosing the facts. Young thus escaped with a reprimand rather than dismissal from the Academy; in the following decades, he did his best to sabotage her RMN career. Despite his efforts, and those of his friends, Harrington's career progressed well, if erratically. Because of her outstanding abilities, which was recognized early on by one of her instructors, Captain (later Admiral) Raoul Courvoisier, the Young clan's enmity was not enough to derail her career. This article lacks information on the subject matters importance. ...

Her midshipwoman cruise aboard HMS War Maiden under Captain Bachefisch gave some evidence of her ability as a combat tactician during an engagement with a local Silesian rebel warship. With the rest of the chain of command either killed, disabled, or out of communication, Harrington was forced to assume command. She finished off the opposing ship and was promoted, ahead of her class, to ensign. The Silesian Confederacy is a fictional star nation that appears in David Webers Honor Harrington series of novels. ... Ensign is a junior rank of commissioned officer in the militaries of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. ...

While a Commander, Harrington graduated high in her class from the RMN's tough Advanced Tactical Course, and immediately assumed command of the light cruiser HMS Fearless. Her exploits while posted at Basilisk Station brought her widespread fame and placed her firmly on the fast track to senior rank. During subsequent assignments, she proved to have something akin to the Nelson touch, earning the devotion of her officers and enlisted personnel, as well as the high regard of both Manticore's allies (especially the citizens of the planet Grayson, whom she saved from conquest by Masada and Haven more than once), and her military opponents. However, despite her best efforts, she also made new political enemies and suffered more than one personal loss at their hands. This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... Masada is a fictional star nation featured in David Webers Honorverse. ...

In the course of her career, Honor Harrington becomes a Duchess of the Star Kingdom of Manticore, a Grayson Steadholder, and an Admiral in both the Grayson Space Navy and the Royal Manticoran Navy. She has also earned several medals for bravery, including the Parliamentary Medal of Valor after she saved both Queen Eliabeth III and Protector Benjamin Mayhew IX (the heads of state of Manticore and Grayson respectively) from a surprise attack by Masadan fanatics assisted by Haven's State Security. She had earlier refused the medal for masterminding the escape of hundreds of thousands of prisoners (the largest escape in history) from the secret Havenite prison planet Hades. She has also received the Monarch's Thanks on several occasions, for example lifesaving during an avalanche on Gryphon and her handling of an accident on HMS Manticore. She is the only living holder of the Star of Grayson, awarded to her twice. The term duke is a title of nobility which refers to the sovereign male ruler of a Continental European duchy, to a nobleman of the highest grade of the British peerage, or to the highest rank of nobility in various other European countries, including Spain and France (in Italy, principe... The Star Kingdom of Manticore is commonly known as Manticore and is abbreviated as SKM; it is a fictional human star-nation in the Honorverse, which is the background setting for a series of books and stories written by David Weber and others, and published by Baen Books. ... The planet Grayson is a fictional human star-nation in the Honorverse, the setting for a series of books written by David Weber and published by Baen Books. ... A stadtholder (Dutch: stadhouder meaning representative, a literal translation of the French lieutenant or the Latin locum tenans) was the person who ruled an area in the name of the land owner, in the Netherlands (which includes present-day Belgium) from the 15th to the 18th century. ... The Grayson Space Navy are the space forces for the planet Grayson, a space nation in the Honor Harrington universe created by the science fiction author David Weber. ...

Honor Harrington's rank and titles as of the end of the events in At All Costs include Admiral of the Fleet and Captain HMS Unconquered Lady Dame Honor Stephanie Alexander-Harrington, Steadholder Harrington, Duchess Harrington, Countess White Haven. Her claim to "Countess White Haven" is unclear but arguable, but in any event is not held in her own right. Legally, Steadholder Harrington, Duchess Harrington, and the Admirals Harrington are different entities inhabiting the same body. With the acquiescence of the Manticoran Foreign Office and the backing of the Queen, Steadholder Harrington's Grayson Armsmen (personal bodyguards) are permitted to accompany her on RMN vessels. At All Costs is David Webers eleventh Honor Harrington novel. ...

Honor Harrington is widely regarded as a military genius by the public and has been given the nickname "The Salamander" by newsies for always being in the "heat of the action", but always emerging (relatively) unscathed. Suborders Cryptobranchoidea Salamandroidea Sirenoidea Salamander is the common name applied to approximately 500 amphibians with slender bodies, short legs, and long tails. ...

The People's Republic of Haven once tried Harrington in absentia on trumped-up charges of murder (resulting from a Havenite attempt to seize Medusa in the Basilisk system), convicting her and sentencing her to death. Neither she, nor anyone else outside of Haven, took this seriously for many years. But when she was captured while escorting a convoy, the conviction was revived. The sadistic PRH Public Information (i.e., propaganda) Secretary, Cordelia Ransom, personally transported her to the PRH's secret prison planet aboard her private battlecruiser, PRHN Tepes. Honor was rescued by her fellow captive crewmates, and Tepes (along with the Secretary) was blown up to mask their escape. The Peoples Republic of Haven is a fictional star nation in the Honorverse. ... An Australian anti-conscription propaganda poster from World War One Propaganda is a specific type of message presentation directly aimed at influencing the opinions or behavior of people, rather than impartially providing information. ... Cordelia Ransom is a fictional character in David WeberÂ´s Honorverse series of novels. ...

To avoid embarrassment and assuming Harrington was dead, Ransom's subordinates released a fake video recording of her "execution". As a result, simultaneous state funerals were staged for her on both Manticore, and Grayson. Her empty coffin was buried next to the similarly empty graves of naval heroes Ellen D'Orville and Edward Saganami in King Michael's Cathedral in Landing City on Manticore. The Grayson Space Navy named a starship class after her. Despite her protests upon her return, the Graysons found various inventive reasons to avoid renaming it—much to her embarrassment. A very large statue of her was also erected outside Grayson's Parliament building at its public entrance. It too proved to be beyond her power to change. Edward Saganami is a historical fictional character in the Honorverse. ...

At the opening of At All Costs, Honor was appointed commanding officer of the cruiser HMS Unconquered, the RMN's equivalent of HMS Victory or USS Constitution—a ship kept in commission for its historical significance. It had the distinction of being the only ship to have been commanded by both Manticoran naval legends, Edward Saganami and Ellen d'Orville. Appointment to the crew is a largely ceremonial honor bestowed by the Manticoran monarch. HMS Victory is a 104-gun ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built between 1759 and 1765. ... USS Constitution, known as Old Ironsides, is a wooden-hulled, three-masted frigate of the United States Navy. ...

This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... The Honor of the Queen is David Webers second Honor Harrington novel. ... The Short Victorious War is the third Honor Harrington novel by David Weber. ... Flag in Exile is the fifth Honor Harrington novel by David Weber. ... Honor Among Enemies is the sixth Honor Harrington novel by David Weber. ... In Enemy Hands is a military science fiction novel, the seventh in the Honor Harrington series by David Weber. ... The Elysian Space Navy is a doubly fictional space navy that exists momentarily in the events described in the eighth book of David Webers Honor Harrington series, Echoes of Honor. ... Echoes of Honor is the eighth Honor Harrington novel by David Weber. ... Ashes of Victory is the ninth Honor Harrington novel by David Weber. ... Ashes of Victory is the ninth Honor Harrington novel by David Weber. ... At All Costs is David Webers eleventh Honor Harrington novel. ... War of Honor is David Webers tenth Honor Harrington novel. ... At All Costs is David Webers eleventh Honor Harrington novel. ... At All Costs is David Webers eleventh Honor Harrington novel. ... At All Costs is David Webers eleventh Honor Harrington novel. ...

Character trademarks

She owns and practices with a replica Colt M1911 .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol, a weapon considered to be an anachronistic "hand cannon" by her contemporaries, who prefer pulsers, which fire small-calibre darts at extremely high velocity using a gravitic propulsion system. She acquired a taste for obsolete handarms from her uncle, Jacques Chou, who is an active member of the Society for Creative Anachronism. His training made her a pistol expert (useful on Sphinx outside its protected areas, given its native predators). The M1911 is a single-action, semiautomatic handgun chambered for the . ... The . ... A semi-automatic firearm is a gun that requires only a trigger pull for each round that is fired, unlike a single-action revolver, a pump-action firearm, a bolt-action firearm, or a lever-action firearm, which require the shooter to manually chamber each successive round. ... A Browning 9 millimeter Hi-Power Ordnance pistol of the French Navy, 19th century, using a Percussion cap mechanism Derringers were small and easily hidden. ... This article or section needs a complete rewrite for the reasons listed on the talk page. ...

She also wears an eyepatch from time to time, due to the loss of her left eye while defending Protector Benjamin Mayhew from an assassination attempt. Normally she uses a prosthetic eye, though on occasion it has been disabled (as when she was captured and transported to Hades). Additionally, some of the nerves on the left side of her face were damaged during the same incident, and were replaced with natural-looking circuitry.

She lost her left arm during the escape from Tepes and had it replaced by a cybernetic arm which, among other interesting features, contains a hidden pulser pistol inside the index finger, a weapon which has saved her life on at least one occasion.

Honor practices a fictional martial art known as coup de vitesse. As of War of Honor, Honor has earned an eighth level black belt. There is only one higher rank. Her proficiency has saved her and others several times. Many works of fiction such as movies and books have characters that practise martial arts. ... Coup de vitesse is a fictional martial art that is practiced by Honor Harrington in the Honorverse, a series of books by David Weber. ... War of Honor is David Webers tenth Honor Harrington novel. ...

Honor became proficient with the katana, which by a quirk of history is used ceremonially by Steadholders (and is the center of a martial art) on Grayson. Diagram showing the parts of a katana Katana (åˆ€) is the word for sword in the Japanese language. ...

Honor Harrington in other media

An Honor Harrington movie was announced by Echo Valley Entertainment.^[1] However, later information suggested that it would actually be a television series, to be written and produced by Peter Sands. ^[2]

An Honor Harrington wargame, Saganami Island Tactical Simulator (SITS), was released at Gencon in 2005 by Ad Astra Games. ^[3] Gen Con is the largest and most prominent gaming convention in North America. ...

Notes

2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... April 28 is the 118th day of the year (119th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 247 days remaining. ... The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about actors, films, television shows, television stars, video games and production crew personnel. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... April 28 is the 118th day of the year (119th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 247 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... June 22 is the 173rd day of the year (174th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 192 days remaining. ...

External links

Categories: Honorverse characters | Space opera | Military science fiction | Fictional admirals | Fictional telepaths Baen Books logo Baen Books is an American publishing company established in 1983 by SF publishing industry long-timer Jim Baen (1943-2006). ... David Mattingly (born June 29, 1956) David Burroughs Mattingly was born in Fort Collins, Colorado in 1956, the son of John W. Mattingly, the inventor of the Water Pik. David began drawing and painting as a small child, influenced by comic books, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and a wide array of...

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