315
edits
Changes
m
no edit summary
The twenty '''Space Marine Legions''', also known as the '''Legiones Astartes''', were created by the [[Emperor of Mankind|Emperor]] to take part in the [[Great Crusade]] in what was later known as the First [[Founding]]. All the [[Space Marines]] of a legion Legion ("battle-brothers" amongst themselves) were modified with help of the DNA samples of a single [[Primarch]]. As a Primarch was found, he would receive the [[Legion Master|command]] of his respective Legion. His homeworld would also become the new homeworld of the Legion itself.
==Number of Legionaries==
The most numerous Legion of all was the [[Ultramarines]]. The [[Thousand Sons]] of [[Magnus]] were of a small number as many of them had developed mutations or uncontrollable levels of psychic powers. [[Fulgrim]]'s samples had been largely lost, and this left the Legion of the [[Emperor's Children]] also with a very small number. Both of these Legions would increase their numbers to acceptable standards only after their Primarchs were found.
===Notes===
The legion Legion size issue is contentious, with several types of numbers mentioned in separate sources meant to reflect a general or nominally-sized legion. As well as numbers directly given in sources themselves, several [[authors]] have commented on the issue.
Pressed with questions about pre-Heresy organisation - although declaring there is not any real information about it - [[Andy Chambers]] answered that "Space Marines started out in Legions of approximately 10,000 strong (or more, depending on the specific legion), which were broken down into Chapter-sized Great Companies rather like the [[Space Wolves]] (who are renowned for not adopting the [[Codex Astartes]] alterations made by [[Roboute Guilliman|Guilliman]] post-heresy and who thus follow pre-heresy organisation more closely"<sup>5</sup>.
==Original names==
One should not forget that the Legions were for a very long time under the direct command of the Emperor and that originally all recruits were from [[Terra]]. The '''Terran Marines''' would always remember these times and the Legions had Terran traditions. Later, as the Primarchs were found, the new recruits would have very strong loyalties towards them, and several legions were renamed by their Primarchs.
The Emperor saw no problems with this development; the loyalty of the Primarchs to him was believed to be unshakableunshakeable. This reasoning would be proven to be sadly mistaken as half of the known Legions revolted during the [[Horus Heresy]].
{|align=center border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0"
|align=center|[[Thousand Sons]]
|align=center|----
|align=center|[[Magnus the Red]]
|align=center|[[Prospero]]
|align=center|Traitor
|align=center|[[Raven Guard]]
|align=center|----
|align=center|[[Corvus Corax]]
|align=center|[[Deliverance]]
|align=center|Loyal
|}
===Notes===
There are some works of [[Imperium|Imperial]] literature dealing about the Legions and the [[Second Founding]]; the known ones are:
*The ''[[Mythos Angelica Mortis]]'', which deals mainly with the [[Astartes Praeses]], but also provides information about the Dark Angels and its Successor Chapters. It reports that these Chapters refer to themselves as the "Unforgiven".
*The ''Apocrypha of Skaros'' and the ''Apocrypha of Davio'', the first one tells us that there were 23 Successor Chapters of the Ultramarines, but fails to name them, the second source is able to provide eight names of them.
