Javan of Gwynedd

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This article is about Katherine Kurtz's fictional character. For the Biblical character, see Javan.

In the fictional universe of the Deryni novels of Katherine Kurtz, Javan Haldane was the fourteenth King of Gwynedd, reigning from 921 to 922. He was the ninth member of the House of Haldane to sit upon the throne of Gwynedd, and the third consecutive Haldane king since the end of the Festillic Interregnum.

Javan Jashan Urien Haldane was born on May 25, 905, the third son of King Cinhil I Haldane of Gwynedd and his wife, Queen Megan de Cameron, and the younger twin of Prince Alroy. Javan's Haldane potential was set by his father immediately prior to his father's death in 917, intended to be activated only if Javan should ever ascend to throne. However, Javan began to exhibit several Deryni talents and abilities during his brother's reign. Javan's fledgling Deryni powers may have been unintentionally nurtured and developed prematurely due to his constant close contact with the Healer Tavis O'Neill, who had attended the prince from an early age to help him deal with a clubbed right foot. Javan eventually learned to compensate for his clubbed foot, and was widely acknowledged as a fearsome rider and archer who was equally talented in the academic arts. Due to his close association with several Deryni, Javan was horrified by the anti-Deryni backlash that erupted throughout the kingdom after his father's death. However, he quickly realized that he was too young and politically powerless to stop it. He was vehemently opposed to the actions and policies of King Alroy's Regents, but was forced to publicly support them to preserve his own safety. He openly distanced himself from all Deryni, though he secretly maintained contact with several key Deryni advisors and allies. In 918, he voluntarily entered a seminary near Rhemuth, hoping to remove himself from the attention of the Regents and bide his time until he was in a better position to challenge the Regents and the power they wielded. He remained at the seminary for almost three years.

Javan succeeded his brother upon the throne of Gwynedd after King Alroy's death in 921, and was officially crowned King of Gwynedd on July 31, 921. After re-establishing contact with his Deryni allies, Javan's full Haldane potential was activated shortly before his coronation. Unlike his elder twin, Javan rose to the throne already in his majority. However, the former Regents had spent years consolidating their power, and they remained dangerous foes who were unwilling to surrender any of that power, even to their rightful king. The new king successfully codified and indexed the laws of the land, and also revised the issuing of land warrants in the kingdom, but his additional efforts to reform the government failed, and he was ultimately unable to limit the power of his lords of state. Recognizing the danger that Javan presented to them, the former Regents eventually took steps to remove the king. In 922, less than a year after his coronation, Javan and his guards were ambushed near the city of Valoret. Though dressed as renegade Michaeline knights, the attackers were actually forces loyal to the lords of state. The king fought valiantly, but the scope of the betrayal was ultimately too much for him to overcome. King Javan Haldane died on May 11, 922, at the age of 16. He was succeeded by his younger brother, Prince Rhys Michael Haldane. Javan never married.

[edit] Sources

• Katherine Kurtz and Robert Reginald, Codex Derynianus, ISBN 0-89370-011-8

Preceded by: Alroy Haldane

King of Gwynedd 921 - 922

Succeeded by: Rhys Michael Haldane