Sanguinius, the winged Primarch of the Blood Angels, was the most beloved of the Emperor's sons: a warrior of impossible grace who saw his own death coming, walked towards it anyway, and died facing Horus on the Vengeful Spirit to buy his father one last chance.
Sanguinius at a glance
| Primarch of | the IX Legion |
| Legion | IX: Blood Angels |
| Homeworld | Baal Secundus, a radiation-scarred moon of Baal |
| Flagship | The Red Tear |
| Wargear | The Blade Encarmine, the Spear of Telesto, the Infernus pistol |
| Allegiance | Loyalist |
| Fate | Killed by Horus aboard the Vengeful Spirit during the Siege of Terra |
Who was Sanguinius?
Sanguinius was the Angel. Born with great white wings, golden hair and a face that made hardened soldiers weep, he looked like the living image of everything good about the Imperium. But beauty was only part of him. He was a peerless fighter, a gifted leader and a gentle soul who cared for his brothers and his warriors. He also had a terrible gift: he could glimpse the future, and he knew how his own life would end.
Baal Secundus: the angel of the wastes
The infant Primarch's capsule fell on Baal Secundus, a moon poisoned by ancient nuclear wars. Its few human tribes lived among mutants and radiation storms. A tribe called the Blood found the child, who grew in weeks into a boy with wings. Many saw him as a mutant and tried to kill him, but he survived, and as he grew he led the tribes of the Blood against the mutant hordes that preyed on them. By the time he was a young man, the moon's people thought of him as a saviour sent from the sky.
Found by the Emperor
When the Emperor arrived on Baal, Sanguinius knelt before him without needing to be told who he was. He was given command of the IX Legion, a Legion with a dark reputation. Its warriors were savage in battle and some carried a hunger for blood that frightened their allies. Under Sanguinius they changed. He gave them his own ideals of nobility and sacrifice, renamed them the Blood Angels, and recruited new warriors from the tribes of Baal. The Legion became famous for golden armour, beautiful art and terrifying close assaults from the sky.
Officers of the Blood Angels
Sanguinius surrounded himself with remarkable warriors. Raldoron was his First Captain and most trusted friend, a calm voice who would later lead the Chapter after his death. Azkaellon commanded the Sanguinary Guard, the winged bodyguard that still serves the Blood Angels today. Amit, a fierce and brutal captain, would later found the Flesh Tearers. These were men who would follow their Primarch anywhere.
The Great Crusade
The Blood Angels fought across the galaxy in the Great Crusade, often alongside the Sons of Horus. Sanguinius and Horus were the closest of brothers. Horus admired the Angel more than any other Primarch, and when the Emperor named Horus Warmaster at Ullanor, Sanguinius was among the first to support him. Many believed that if Horus had not been chosen, the title would have gone to Sanguinius.
The secret of the Blood Angels
Sanguinius carried a hidden flaw. Deep in the gene-seed of his Legion was a curse, the Red Thirst, a craving for blood that could overwhelm a warrior in battle. Sanguinius kept the flaw secret from almost everyone. Only a handful of his brothers knew it existed. The secret would later shape both the Heresy and the Blood Angels' long future.
Signus Prime: the trap
When the Heresy began, Horus did not try to turn Sanguinius at once. He sent the Blood Angels to the Signus Cluster, a trap set by the Chaos Gods. Daemons flooded the battlefield, led by the Bloodthirster Ka'Bandha, a greater daemon of Khorne. The daemons struck at the Legion's hidden curse, and many Blood Angels fell into a killing frenzy. Sanguinius fought Ka'Bandha and was thrown down, but he rose again, rallied his warriors and won the battle. The Legion survived, scarred, and learned that Horus had betrayed them.
Imperium Secundus
Cut off from Terra by the Ruinstorm, the Blood Angels found their way to Ultramar. There, Roboute Guilliman feared the Emperor was dead and created Imperium Secundus, a back-up empire. He asked Sanguinius to become its emperor. Sanguinius accepted with heavy reluctance, knowing it might look like treason. When news came that Terra still stood, he gladly gave up the title and led his Legion home to defend his father.
The defence of Terra
During the Siege of Terra, Sanguinius commanded the defence of the Eternity Wall spaceport and other key sectors of the Imperial Palace. He fought Ka'Bandha again on the walls and this time cast the daemon down, though he was badly wounded. He refused to rest. With the Palace about to fall, he volunteered to join the Emperor's assault when Horus lowered the shields of his flagship.
Death on the Vengeful Spirit
Sanguinius reached Horus first. The Warmaster offered him a place at his side one last time. Sanguinius refused, and the two greatest Primarchs fought. Already wounded, the Angel could not win. Horus killed him and threw his body at his father's feet. The Emperor then fought and destroyed Horus. Sanguinius's sacrifice mattered: in the vision he had seen, his refusal was the moment that gave the Emperor the will to strike down his lost son.
The Black Rage
The death of Sanguinius left a psychic wound on his sons. A second curse, the Black Rage, can seize a Blood Angel in battle: he relives his Primarch's final moments, believes he is Sanguinius facing Horus, and fights with no thought of survival. Those lost to it are gathered into the Death Company and sent into the heaviest fighting. It is the darkest legacy of the most beautiful Primarch.
Legacy: the Blood Angels today
The Blood Angels became a Chapter in the Second Founding, and many successor Chapters carry Sanguinius's blood, including the Flesh Tearers, Angels Encarmine, Blood Drinkers, Angels Vermillion, Knights of Blood and Lamenters. Today the Blood Angels are led by Commander Dante, the oldest living Space Marine, with the psychic Librarian Mephiston at his side. A golden angelic warrior called the Sanguinor appears to Blood Angels at their darkest moments, and some believe it is a fragment of their Primarch's spirit.
Sanguinius and his brothers
Sanguinius loved Horus deeply, and his brother's betrayal hurt him more than any wound. He was close to Rogal Dorn and fought beside him on Terra. He respected Guilliman and Lion El'Jonson, even when Imperium Secundus put them at odds. Almost every brother, loyal or traitor, spoke of him with respect.
Sanguinius FAQ
Who killed Sanguinius?
Horus, aboard the Vengeful Spirit, moments before the Emperor arrived.
Why does Sanguinius have wings?
He was born with them, a gift or mutation of his creation. The Blood Angels see them as a sign of his holy nature.
What is the Red Thirst?
A hunger for blood in the Blood Angels' gene-seed that can overwhelm them in battle.
What is the Black Rage?
A curse where a Blood Angel relives Sanguinius's death and fights in a suicidal frenzy.
Is Sanguinius coming back?
He is dead in current lore. The Sanguinor is often linked to his spirit, but the Blood Angels' Primarch has not returned.
Books to read
- Fear to Tread (James Swallow)
- The Lost and the Damned (Guy Haley)
- Sanguinius: The Great Angel (Chris Wraight)
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