The following comes from the paperbak with ISBN 9780340839935.

The book starts with
To begin your study of the life of Muad'Dib, then, take care that you
first place him in his time: born in the 57th year of the Padishah
Emperor, Shaddam IV. [...] Do not be deceived by the fact that he was
born on Caladan and lived his first fifteen years there.

Appendix IV says that Shaddam IV was born on 10,134 and became emperor on
10,156. The same appendix gives the life of Leto from 10,140 to 10,191. If
"born in the 57th year" is relative to the birth of Shaddam IV then it means
that Paul was born on 10,191 ; if it means relative to when Shaddam IV became
emperor then Paul was born on 10,213. Either way it doesn't work since Paul
was at least 15 when his father died. Is there a way to reconcile all this or
is there an error , perhaps just in my copy ?

On Tuesday, March 21, 2023 at 6:22:07 AM UTC-4, Spiros Bousbouras wrote:
> The following comes from the paperbak with ISBN 9780340839935.
>
> The book starts with
> To begin your study of the life of Muad'Dib, then, take care that you
> first place him in his time: born in the 57th year of the Padishah
> Emperor, Shaddam IV. [...] Do not be deceived by the fact that he was
> born on Caladan and lived his first fifteen years there.
>
> Appendix IV says that Shaddam IV was born on 10,134 and became emperor on
> 10,156. The same appendix gives the life of Leto from 10,140 to 10,191. If
> "born in the 57th year" is relative to the birth of Shaddam IV then it means
> that Paul was born on 10,191 ; if it means relative to when Shaddam IV became
> emperor then Paul was born on 10,213. Either way it doesn't work since Paul
> was at least 15 when his father died. Is there a way to reconcile all this or
> is there an error , perhaps just in my copy ?

Can't claim any Dune-lore, but "57th year of the Padishah Emperor"
would usually refer to the 57th year of his reign, not the year he turns
57 years old.

Does that help?

pt

On Tuesday, March 21, 2023 at 9:22:07 PM UTC+11, Spiros Bousbouras wrote:
> The following comes from the paperbak with ISBN 9780340839935.
>
> The book starts with
> To begin your study of the life of Muad'Dib, then, take care that you
> first place him in his time: born in the 57th year of the Padishah
> Emperor, Shaddam IV. [...] Do not be deceived by the fact that he was
> born on Caladan and lived his first fifteen years there.
>
> Appendix IV says that Shaddam IV was born on 10,134 and became emperor on
> 10,156. The same appendix gives the life of Leto from 10,140 to 10,191. If
> "born in the 57th year" is relative to the birth of Shaddam IV then it means
> that Paul was born on 10,191 ; if it means relative to when Shaddam IV became
> emperor then Paul was born on 10,213. Either way it doesn't work since Paul
> was at least 15 when his father died. Is there a way to reconcile all this or
> is there an error , perhaps just in my copy ?

The quote above means that Muad'Dib was born [came into existence] in the year 10,191, when the Emperor was 57 years old. The boy Paul, who became Muad'Dib, was born 15 years before that. That's what the "Do not be deceived" sentence alludes to.

HTH.

-Moriarty

On Tue, 21 Mar 2023 14:02:30 -0700 (PDT)
Moriarty <blues95@ivillage.com> wrote:
> On Tuesday, March 21, 2023 at 9:22:07 PM UTC+11, Spiros Bousbouras wrote:
> > The following comes from the paperbak with ISBN 9780340839935.
> >
> > The book starts with
> > To begin your study of the life of Muad'Dib, then, take care that you
> > first place him in his time: born in the 57th year of the Padishah
> > Emperor, Shaddam IV. [...] Do not be deceived by the fact that he was
> > born on Caladan and lived his first fifteen years there.
> >
> > Appendix IV says that Shaddam IV was born on 10,134 and became emperor on
> > 10,156. The same appendix gives the life of Leto from 10,140 to 10,191. If
> > "born in the 57th year" is relative to the birth of Shaddam IV then it means
> > that Paul was born on 10,191 ; if it means relative to when Shaddam IV became
> > emperor then Paul was born on 10,213. Either way it doesn't work since Paul
> > was at least 15 when his father died. Is there a way to reconcile all this or
> > is there an error , perhaps just in my copy ?
>
> The quote above means that Muad'Dib was born [came into existence] in the year
> 10,191, when the Emperor was 57 years old. The boy Paul, who became Muad'Dib,
> was born 15 years before that. That's what the "Do not be deceived" sentence
> alludes to.

I take it then that "born on Caladan" means biological birth rather than came
into existence. If yes then I would say that Herbert is being unnecessarily
"clever" with this passage.