Andraste

"And thus fell the eye of the Maker upon Andraste, she who would be raised up from outcast to become His bride. From her lips would fall the Chant of Light, at her command would the legions of righteousness fall upon the world."

--Unknown passage quoted in The Stolen Throne

Andraste was the prophetess whose teachings later served as the foundation for the formation of the Chantry. She was the spiritual wife of the Maker, the being whom the Chantry worships.

Background
Andraste rose to power shortly after the magisters entered the Golden City, starting the Blight. She fought against the Imperium, which had been significantly weakened by the First Blight. She conquered most of the south while fighting to destroy the magisters, whom she blamed for the Blight. The people she led in her campaign were the "barbaric" ancestors of the Fereldans.

To the Imperium, Andraste was an opportunist, a barbarian taking advantage of their weakness. The reason the Imperium did not fall entirely to her army was because of Maferath, Andraste's mortal husband. Feeling that the barbarians had overextended themselves (and, according to later belief, because of jealousy towards her being the Maker's wife as well), he made a deal with the magisters to keep the south in exchange for turning Andraste over to them. She was burned at the stake in Minrathous. Her death is known as the second sin, which caused the Maker to turn from humanity once again. Yet, because of her, the Imperium, for all intents and purposes, fell, and the Chantry was formed, focused around her teachings.

The Archon who ordered Andraste's execution was also the first converted to following the Chant of Light. According to the Chant, the Archon saw the error of his ways as soon as Andraste was burned. It was he that put the sword through her heart to put her out of her misery, which is why the sword is a symbol of mercy in Andrastian lore, and later repented her execution entirely.

He turned on his former ally Maferath and ushered the way for the Tevinter Imperium to eventually become an Andrastian nation, though the Chantry as an organization did not yet exist at this time.

Andraste had several sons but they are all believed to have died in the civil wars that tore the south apart after Maferath's death. There have been many claimants in the centuries since, saying they were descendants of survivors, but the Chantry has disavowed each of them. To date there are no known legitimate heirs to Andraste's blood.

One of the common symbols used by the Chantry is a depiction of the cross upon which Andraste was burned, wreathed by a flame.

Trivia

 * Andraste is also the name of a celtic war goddess.
 * Before the developers decided on the name of Andraste, she was named Augusta.