Cassan

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In the fictional universe of the Deryni novels of Katherine Kurtz, Cassan is a duchy that forms the northwestern extent of the Kingdom of Gwynedd. Cassan was once a part of the former Principality of Meara, but it became a Gwyneddan duchy shortly after the Haldane Restoration.


Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Contents

[edit] Geography

Most of Cassan is located on a peninsula that is surrounded by water in three directions. The Atalantic Ocean lies to the west and north, while the Gulf of Kheldour to the east lies between Cassan and the Duchy of Claibourne. The lands of Meara are situated directly to the south, and the southeastern border of the duchy touches the Earldoms of Transha, Culdi, Carthane, and several lesser baronies and estates. The climate is often damp and moist, and the terrain of the land is rippled with steep hills and mountains.

[edit] History

The Duchy of Cassan once occupied the northern region of the Principality of Meara, until a Mearan civil war led to a separation of the two lands. Following the death of Prince Janus of Meara in 762, the Mearan throne was claimed by Janus' younger brother, Prince Armon, despite the fact that Janus was survived by a legitimate son and heir, Prince Alphonse. To protect Alphonse from his uncle, Dowager Princess Ostrythe fled with her to the Cassani city of Ballymar, where she quickly declared her young son to be the rightful Prince of Meara. However, she lacked the military strength to depose Armon from the throne, and Armon lacked the strength to capture Ballymar. After a seven-year stalemate that was only occasionally broken by a few scattered battles, both parties agreed to a treaty that recognized Cassan as an independent principality. Armon remained Prince of Meara, and Alphonse became the first Prince of Cassan in 770.

Cassan remained a sovereign principality for a century and a half, a period of time encompassing both the Festillic coup in 822 and the Haldane Restoration in 904. In 916, Prince Ambert Quinnell of Cassan, lacking a surviving male heir, signed a treaty that would cede his lands to the Kingdom of Gwynedd upon his death. Following Ambert's death, Cassan was formally annexed by Gwynedd, and Ambert's grandson, Tambert Fitz-Arthur Quinnell, was created the first Duke of Cassan by King Javan Haldane on July 30, 921. Tambert's male line became extinct in 1025, and the title went into abeyance until it passed through the female line to the House of McLain in 1034. The McLains held the title until 1125, when Duncan McLain, the Auxiliary Bishop of Rhemuth, abdicated his right to Cassan in favor of his son, Dhugal MacArdry McLain.


[edit] Princes of Cassan

  • HOUSE OF QUINNELL
    • (762 – 789): Alphonse Quinnell
    • (789 – 795): Audic Quinnell
    • (795 – 823): Jensic Quinnell
    • (823 – 846): Amalric Quinnell
    • (846 – 866): Jerome Quinnell
    • (866 – 868): Jolyon Quinnell
    • (868 – 891): Antiochus Quinnell
    • (891 – 909): Audebert Quinnell
    • (909 – 921): Ambert Quinnell


[edit] Dukes of Cassan

  • HOUSE OF FITZ-ARTHUR QUINNELL
    • (921 – 948): Tambert I Fitz-Arthur Quinnell
    • (948 – 994): Tammaron Fitz-Arthur Quinnell
    • (994 – 1016): Fane Fitz-Arthur Quinnell
    • (1016 – 1025): Tambert II Fitz-Arthur Quinnell
  • TITLE IN ABEYANCE
  • HOUSE OF McLAIN
    • (1034 – 1099): Andrew McLain
    • (1099 – 1121): Jared McLain
    • (1121 – 1125): Duncan Howard McLain


[edit] Sources

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