Jasher of Gwynedd
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In the fictional universe of the Deryni novels of Katherine Kurtz, Jasher Haldane was the nineteenth King of Gwynedd, reigning from 983 to 985. He was the fourteenth member of the House of Haldane to sit upon the throne of Gwynedd, and the eighth consecutive Haldane king following since the end of the Festillic Interregnum.
Jasher Owain Cinhil Haldane was born on October 2, 951, the second surviving son of King Uthyr Haldane of Gwynedd and his wife, Queen Grania MacInnis. Though intended for the Church from an early age, Jasher declined Holy Orders and became a lay knight in the Order of Saint Willibrod in 970. He became Earl of Culdi following his mother's death in 982, and succeeded his elder brother, King Nygel, upon the throne less than a year later. Following King Nygel's death while battling the invasion of the Festillic Pretender Imre II in 983, Jasher implemented an organized withdrawal of the Gwyneddan forces, giving his army time to regroup and reform in better strategic positions. The Festillic army was defeated at the Battle of Shanbogh in October, but fierce winter conditions prevented either army from further conducting further activity. Jasher was officially crowned King of Gwynedd on December 1, 983.
By the spring of the 984, Jasher had reorganized his army to meet the enemy. The war continued throughout the summer, marked by the arrival of a Torenthi army under the personal command of King Malachy II of Torenth. The combined Festillic-Torenthi army arrived at the city of Grecotha on August 2 and prepared for an attack the next day. During the night, however, Jasher redeployed his defenses and was able to strike the enemy from behind when morning arrived. The invaders were decimated by the Gwyneddan assault, and the Torenthi casualties included King Malachy, his son Prince Nimur, and the son of the Pretender, Mark-Imre. Another of King Malachy's son, Prince Carolus II, died of the wounds he sustained the following week. However, the Pretender himself survived the battle, and Imre II retreated to his stronghold of Rengarth as the remains of the Torenthi army fled back to Torenth.
When the spring of 985 arrived, Jasher moved his army forth to destroy the last remnants of the Festillic invasion. The Gwyneddan army arrived at Rengarth in late May, and they quickly forced the enemy to retreat behind the city walls. A siege commenced, followed by an unsuccessful attack on the city on June 29. Three days later, Jasher personally led a second attack on the walls of Rengarth. Although the king was killed in the battle, the Gwyneddan forces were victorious and the city was captured. Imre II, seeing that his cause was lost, threw himself from the walls of the city and fell to his death. King Jasher Haldane died on July 2, 985, at the age of 33. He was succeeded by his younger brother, Prince Cluim Haldane.
Jasher never married, but a man came forward the year after the king's death and claimed to be his natural son. Calling himself Arthur Jasher Haldane, the man insisted that he was the son of King Jasher and a woman named Ennis Drim. Though Ennis confirmed the man's story, he was unable to produce any evidence of his parents' marriage or his own legitimate birth. His petition to claim a portion of King Jasher's material estate was eventually denied by both the High Council and King Cluim.
[edit] Sources
- Katherine Kurtz and Robert Reginald, Codex Derynianus, ISBN 0-89370-011-8
| Preceded by Nygel Haldane |
King of Gwynedd 983 - 985 |
Succeeded by Cluim Haldane |
