The great Houses

[Darnoc]

Arturun is correct. House Indoril is the temple house which serves the Tribunal and all Ordinators are from House Indoril, I believe. House Dres is quite heavy into slave smuggling and slave trade and has plantages in the south of Morrowind.

 

But I also do agree that the three other houses can be attached to one member of the tribunal each. Where Dres does fit into this, I am not sure. Indoril is definetly servant of the whole Tribunal, but Dres just doesn't make sense in the whole picture.

 

And of course there's house Dagoth, but those are clearly the servants of Dagoth Ur. Dagoth Ur is almost like the Tribunal, being also imortal like them. He reminds me a lot of Melkor/Morgoth in Tolkien's Silmarillion.

[Eiade]

This site here (click me) is a huge page about all the need-to-know info on everything Morrowind. I will use a quote to show you what it says on the 5 houses.

 

House Dres

Of the five Dunmer Great Houses, House Dres is one of two houses without holdings or interest in Vvardenfell. Dres District is in the south of Morrowind, bordering the swamps and marshes of Black Marsh. House Dres is an agrarian agricultural society, and its large saltrice plantations rely completely on slave labor for their economic viability. Always firm Temple supporters, House Dres is hostile to Imperial law and culture, and in particular opposed to any attempts to limit the institution of slavery.

 

House Hlaalu

House Hlaalu is one of the three Dunmer Great Houses with holdings on Vvardenfell. House Hlaalu has always been loyal to the Emperor and the Empire. Hlaalu welcomes Imperial law and the Legions, and freedom of trade and religion. We still respect the old Dunmer ways, the ancestors, the Temple, and the noble houses. But times change, and the Empire changes with the times. House Hlaalu hopes to live in peace and harmony with the other races, and share in the growth and prosperity of the Empire.

 

House Indoril

House Indoril is one of the five Dunmer Great Houses, and one of the two houses without holdings or interest in Vvardenfell. The city of Almalexia is located in Indoril District, and the Indoril are orthodox and conservative supporters of the Temple and Temple authority. House Indoril is openly hostile to Imperial culture and religion, and preserves many traditional Dunmer customs and practices in defiance of Imperial law.

 

House Redoran

House Redoran is one of the three Dunmer Great Houses with holdings on Vvardenfell. The Redoran prize the virtues of duty, gravity, and piety. Duty is to one's own honor, and to one's family and clan. Gravity is the essential seriousness of life. Life is hard, and events must be judged, endured, and reflected upon with due care and earnestness. Piety is respect for the gods, and the virtues they represent. A light, careless life is not worth living.

 

House Telvanni

House Telvanni is one of the three Dunmer Great Houses with holdings on Vvardenfell. The Telvanni wizard-lords have traditionally isolated themselves, pursuing wisdom and mastery in solitude. But certain ambitious wizards-lords, their retainers, and clients have entered whole-heartily into the competition to control and exploit Vvardenfell's land and resources, building towers and bases all along the eastern coast. The Telvanni think that wisdom confers power, and power confers right.

 

As for CrazyGilbert's question, they aren't really 'split up.' It's just like today, where we have democrats and republicans (and others). The three houses don't hate each other or fight, they simply compete for political and economic power, and occasionally commit underhanded tricks (the Hlaalu mission to sabotage a Redoran egg mine).

[Thrasher]

House redoran

House hlaalu

House telvanni

House indoril

House chimer

House dagoth

 

These'd be the 6 houses of dunmer segrency and defining.

 

There are a few good books you can read while completing the main quest that cover all this material. Battle at red mountain, nerevare at red mountain. And many others with obvious titles like the true dunmer.

[Abramul]

There is no "House Chimer". And you forgot House Dres.

[lanfear9]

from what i understand the 3 great house's (telvanni, hlaalu, and redoran)came to be after the nerever defeated dwarves and their ally Dagoth Ur. Lord nerever being the hero of the dunmer( dark elves native to morrowind) the temple imprisoned Dagoth,with the three gods gone there seperate ways the temple started going to town. Chaosmaker was correct in the factions present on the island all clammered for power in how the island should be maintained, which left an opening for the empire to move in, and with that brought the other races, this then segragated the populace more into there hatred of each others beliefes (think southern america 1950's) and don't forget even though they aren't a house you still have the ashlanders who hate everyone but themselves and the nereverine reborn