The Dune Encyclopediais an expansion of theDuneuniverse, background and commentary in the form of a reference text compiled and edited by Dr.Willis E. McNellyin 1984. A total of 43 people contributed articles to the work.
The book was based on the first 4 books of the originalDunesaga byFrank Herbert, namelyDune,Dune Messiah,Children of Dune, andGod Emperor of Dune. At the time it was written,The Dune Encyclopediawas promoted as the "official"Dunechronology. Frank Herbert, who was a personal friend of Dr. McNelly, wrote the foreword for theEncyclopedia.
The Encyclopedia provides a timeline both based on the Dune chronology by Frank Herbert, original dates of original, never-before-revealed in-universe events, as well as real history, seen from the "Dune-ish" perspective of the Imperium; the history of Terra is seen as the history of an "Imperial Seat," started by Alexander the Great and carried over by Rome, Madrid, and London, until the "interprovincial war" of World War II, when it is transferred to Washington, D.C. for the next several centuries.
