Overview
The Belmont Clan is a family whose bloodline has passed down the burden of hunting vampires and other evil creatures throughout the centuries. Their main goal is to thwart their archnemesis, Dracula, each time he returns.
History
The Belmont Clan's origins and history vary depending on each Castlevania continuity.
In the Original Continuity
The earliest known Belmont was Leon Belmont, a former noble who had sought to rescue Sara Trantoul, his betrothed, from the clutches of Walter Bernhard, a vampire that kept his castle shrouded in eternal night. However, he was too late, as Walter had passed his curse on to Sara as part of his own game. With Sara infected, Leon was compelled to strike her down with an alchemical whip given to him by an ally, Rinaldo Gandolfi. Doing so unlocked the whip's full potential to deal mortal injury to vampires, thus becoming the Vampire Killer that would be passed through the generations of the Belmont family.
The trickery would not end with Sara's death. As Leon defeated Walter and was about to finish him off, his friend Mathias Cronqvist, who though supposedly bedridden had managed to inform Leon of Sara's kidnapping, appeared and used the powers of the Crimson Stone to steal the defeated vampire's energy. Angered at God for the death of his own love, Mathias had crafted a plan to not only steal Walter's power, but also entice Leon to his cause by setting up Sara's kidnapping and then convincing him to rescue her. Leon, however, disagreed entirely with Mathias, and rejected the offer of partnership. Mathias then turned on Leon and ordered his new ally Death to kill him. Leon succeeded in fending off Death, and in the end vowed that the Belmont clan would hunt the night.
Many years later, Mathias reemerged as the monstrous vampire Dracula, and Leon's descendant Trevor was the first of many Belmonts to take up the Vampire Killer, enter Castlevania, and defeat him. As other Belmonts followed, Dracula made various attempts at bringing an end to the clan, all of which were foiled. In the 1800s, the Belmont clan vanished into history, forcing others to take up the fight against Dracula and his followers, including the Morris family; blood relatives of the Belmonts.
The Belmont clan would eventually make a return, and Julius Belmont, along with his allies, finally brought Dracula's life to an end in 1999.
In Castlevania Legends
Prior to the development of Lament of Innocence, the Game Boy game Castlevania Legends told a different tale regarding the foundation of the Belmont clan's long-standing feud with Dracula. In this game, Sonia Belmont was the first Belmont to fight and defeat him. In addition, it was heavily implied that she was romantically involved with Alucard, who would have fathered Trevor Belmont with her. However, the events of this game were retconned in favor of Lament of Innocence and are no longer considered part of the official Castlevania timeline.
In Lords of Shadow
In the Lords of Shadow continuity, the founder of the Belmont Clan was Gabriel Belmont, an orphan adopted and raised by the Brotherhood of Light, taking the surname of Belmont as an adult for his love of mountains and the high places of the world ("belle" meaning "beautiful" and "mont" meaning "mountain", in French).
At the end of his journey, Gabriel becomes a powerful vampire and throws away his old name, now calling himself Dracul, the prince of darkness. Over the years he repeatedly faces opposition from his own descendants, the Belmont Clan, who seek to destroy their disgraced ancestor, now the vampire lord Dracula.
Every member of the Belmont Clan in the Lords of Shadow games, aside from Marie, are voiced by Scottish actors and are portrayed with Scottish accents.
Members
Original Continuity
- Leon Belmont (1072 - ?): The earliest known Belmont and the first wielder of the Vampire Killer. He was a personal friend of Mathias Cronqvist and witnessed his transformation into the vampire Dracula firsthand.
- Trevor C. Belmont (c. 1456 - ?): The first Belmont to defeat Dracula, erasing the clan's fearful reputation among the common people. He was victorious with the aid of Grant DaNasty, Sypha Belnades (whom he later married), and Alucard, Dracula's righteous son.
- Christopher Belmont (16th century - ?)
- Soleiyu Belmont (1576 - ?): Christopher's son.
- Simon Belmont (c. 1669 - ?): One of the most famous Belmonts, who was known to have defeated Dracula twice.
- Juste Belmont (1730 - ?): A Belmont born with strong natural magic power, inherited from Sypha Belnades.
- Richter Belmont (1773 - ?): The second Belmont to ally with Alucard. A prophecy would decree him to be the last Belmont to wield the Vampire Killer before the final battle against Dracula in 1999.
- Julius Belmont (1980 - ): Defeated Dracula permanently in 1999 with the aid of the Belnades clan and Alucard.
Castlevania Legends
- Sonia Belmont (1433 - ?): The first Belmont to defeat Dracula, wielding the Vampire Killer. She was romantically involved with Dracula's son Alucard and bore a son by him named Trevor.
- Trevor Belmont (15th century - ?): Sonia and Alucard's son.
Lords of Shadow
- Gabriel Belmont (11th century - ): Founder of the Belmont Clan, raised as an orphan by the Brotherhood of Light. Later became the vampire Dracula and the sworn enemy of his own descendants.
- Marie Belmont (11th century - 1047): Gabriel's wife and Trevor's mother. Died at the hands of her own husband, under the mind-control of Zobek.
- Trevor Belmont (1046 - 1072): Gabriel and Marie's son, raised by the Brotherhood of Light and trained to face his evil father, who he later dies in combat against. Rose from the dead as the vampire Alucard in 1103.
- Sypha Belmont (née Belnades) (11th century - 1073): Trevor's wife and Simon's mother. Died at the hands of Dracula's werewolves after Trevor's death, though her spirit is able to aid her son thirty years later.
- Simon Belmont (1067 - ?): Trevor and Sypha's son, raised by mountain barbarians after the death of his parents. Wielded the whip Beast Hunter, later replaced it with Trevor's Combat Cross. Fought alongside Alucard against Dracula in 1103.
- Victor Belmont (? - 2047): Leader of the Brotherhood of Light in the 21st century, direct descendant of Simon. Claimed to be the last Belmont. Wielded a replica of the Combat Cross used by Gabriel. Sacrificed his life to reveal the hiding place of Nergal Meslamstea, one of the Acolytes of Satan.
