Cornelius

Cornelius (コーネリウス, Kouneriusu) is a non-playable character from Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi. He was the late king of Altea, and the father of Marth and Elice and husband of Liza, Marth's mother. Cornelius tried to fight against the invading forces of Doluna with Anri's sword, Falchion, but was betrayed by his ally Jiol and killed in battle.

While he does not get a mention in the original Fire Emblem: Monsho no Nazo, Marth briefly reminisces with My Unit about his father and the others who died in the War of Darkness in the DS remake.

Death
It is never specified which individual killed Cornelius in the games. In the anime Cornelius is killed by Gharnef's Imhullu spell, so this may apply to the game continuity. This seems probable because Gharnef is in possession of the Falchion. However the opening of chapter 14 says King Jiol of Gra was the man who robbed Marth of his father, and Camus says to Marth that he played a part in his father's murder. It may not have even been important character who dealt the fatal blow to Cornelius.

Regardless it can be said that Cornelius died fighting Doluna and Grust, supported by Gharnef, and after being betrayed by Gra.

Fire Emblem OVA
In the Fire Emblem OVA, Cornelius' character is slightly expanded on. He is shown to be severely strict of Marth's training so he can live up to being Anri's descendant. He doesn't approve of Marth's tenderness in regards to this, and even hits him across the face for not taking the life of a deer during hunting. Cornelius's death at the hands of Gharnef is shown, with him sending Jagen away to protect Marth. This is a switch from the game where it was in fact, Cain who was sent to save Marth, with Jagen having already been at the castle. Cornelius's design during his encounter with Gharnef is reused in the opening for Shadow Dragon.

Manga
In the manga, Cornelius suffers the same fate as he did in the game. When Marth visits Port Warren, he is attacked by a child with black magic, and is sent into a dream he cannot be waken from. He dreams of Altea and encounters both his parents, who begin to preach that humanity is inherently evil and that they can only be saved by Medeus. Marth realizes this is not how he truly remembers his mother and father. He then retaliates by telling them not to corrupt his fondest memories. They disappear after it is revealed as an illusion designed by Gharnef. Marth escapes the nightmare with Merric and Gotoh's help.

Archetype
A recurring story archetype in the Fire Emblem series is the father of the main character, which was started by Cornelius. They are usually of royalty or hold a high rank. A very notable theme among them is that they all die (usually murdered by a main antagonist), with the exception of Eliwood, who is only suffering from illness at the start of Fire Emblem: Fūin no Tsurugi. In comparison to the fathers of later protagonists, Cornelius is not as developed and rarely even gets mentioned.


 * Rudolf (FE2)
 * Vylon (FE4 Gen 1)
 * Sigurd (FE4 Gen 2)
 * Cuan (FE5)
 * Eliwood (FE6)
 * Elbert (FE7)
 * Fado (FE8)
 * Greil (FE9/FE10)

Etymology
Cornelius is a masculine Roman name, possibly derived from Latin cornu "horn". The gens Cornelia was one of the most distinguished and important families of Ancient Rome, which may reflect Cornelius's royal status.