Barbarosa Rugner

Barbarosa Rugner {{{jpname}}}, {{{roname}}}
Gender	Male
Race	Human
Age	52 (S1)
From	Gregminster, Scarlet Moon Empire
Family	Claudia (wife) Geil Rugner (uncle) Kallnach Rugner (grandfather) Michelan Rugner (father)
Voice	Ginga Banjo (Assemble Gensosuikoden Radio! 108 Stars!)
Appears in	Suikoden

Barbarosa Rugner (バルバロッサ・ルーグナー, Barubarossa Rūgunā) is a main antagonist in Suikoden. The 17th, and final, Emperor of the Scarlet Moon Empire, Barbarosa Rugner's disinterest in the empire saw it fall in his reign.

Biography

Tir, I shall protect my Empire. With my own hands! —  Barbarosa Rugner

Successor of the Sovereign Rune, Barbarosa became the 17th Emperor of the Scarlet Moon Empire after victory in the War of Succession. Heralded as a patriotic hero, he become known as the Golden Emperor for his benevolent rule in his early reign. However, he lost interest in his empire when he met the Court Magician, Windy, who physically resembled his deceased wife, Claudia. Using Barbarosa's love to her advantage, Windy used her magic to manipulate the empire and soon the nation lost faith in its government and its Emperor. The Toran Liberation Army under Odessa Silverberg rose up in opposition to the corrupt empire, while Barbarosa deigned not to fight, leaving the Gate Rune War's battles largely in the hands of the Five Great Generals. Barbarosa even helped the Toran Liberation Army briefly, allowing Futch to escape Gregminster Palace with the black dragon orchid.

At the end of the war, as the Liberation Army marched into Gregminster Palace, Barbarosa made one last stand at defending his empire using the Rugner family treasure, the Sovereign Rune, to transform into a three-headed Golden Hydra. He was defeated, however, and leapt from the Floating Garden of Gregminster along with Windy. He has not been seen since, although his body was never found. Despite this, a memorial was built in his honour.

Trivia

• Barbarosa was, along with Windy, confirmed as dead following the events of Suikoden. Since then, however, Konami has decided to downgrade their status to 'Missing in Action', hence the lack of a date of death.
• Presumably named after Emperor Frederic Barbarossa, Operation Barbarossa (in German, Unternehmen Barbarossa) was also the code name for the invasion of USSR by the 3rd Reich, during WW2.
• "Barbarossa" also translates into Italian as "red beard", although the character himself doesn't even have a beard.
• Barbarosa commissioned the Golden Goddess statue that is seen in Gregminster in the likeness of his late wife, Claudia.

References

1. Gensosuikoden Encyclopaedia (ISBN 4-575-16297-3), page 218-219
2. Gensosuikoden Kiwami Encyclopedia, page 29