Malcolm of Gwynedd

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In the fictional universe of the Deryni novels of Katherine Kurtz, Malcolm Haldane was the twenty-third King of Gwynedd, reigning from 1025 to 1074. He was the eighteenth member of the House of Haldane to sit upon the throne of Gwynedd, and the twelfth consecutive Haldane king since the end of the Festillic Interregnum.

Malcolm Congal Aidan Julian Haldane was born on September 5, 1008, the third surviving son of King Urien Haldane of Gwynedd and his wife, Queen Jaroni. He was created Duke of Rhemuth by his father upon attaining his legal majority in 1022, and was intended for a life in the Church. However, he was called into military service during the Festillic invasion of 1025 and never returned to the ecclesiastical life. In June of 1025, following the disastrous victory at the Battle of Killingford that claimed the life of his father, he assisted the new king, his elder brother Cinhil II, in the desperate effort to save as many of the wounded soldiers as possible. When Cinhil collapsed and died a week later, Malcolm succeeded his brother as King of Gwynedd, being crowned on the battlefield by the Bishop of Grecotha, his uncle Prince Jashan. Upon returning to Valoret with the survivors of the war, Malcolm was officially crowned by Archbishop Vespian of Valoret on September 7, the feast day of his sainted ancestor, King Bearand Haldane.

Though Gwynedd had emerged victorious from the Festillic invasion, the price of that victory had been extremely high, especially the cost of life in the final battle at Killingford. The army had been decimated, much of the peerage had been slain, many towns and villages were in ruins, the Principality of Meara was in a state of open rebellion, and, despite its defeat at Killingford, the Kingdom of Torenth presented an ongoing threat to Gwynedd. This was the reality of the situation that faced the sixteen-year-old king when he took the throne; a king who was never expected to wear the crown of his ancestors. Recognizing that his own lack of experience could be disastrous during such an uneasy time, Malcolm appointed his uncle Prince Jashan as High Chancellor of Gwynedd before he was officially crowned in Valoret.

Malcolm moved quickly to repair the damage of the Festillic invasion. Before his coronation, he married the eldest daughter of Sovereign Prince Jolyon II of Meara, attempting to defuse the Mearan rebellion by producing a joint heir to both lands. He urged the widows of Killingford to remarry as quickly as possible to secure their titles to their estates, amended the land laws to allow female heirs to inherit and manage the estates of their slain male relatives, and offered lands and titles to the noble sons of the Cote d'Aurore who agreed to settle in Gwynedd. Unable to immediately replenish the size of the army, he reorganized his remaining forces into smaller but more efficient forces to better protect the realm.

Unfortunately, the crisis in Meara continued to grow worse. Many of the Mearan nobles refused to accept Malcolm's wife, Princess Roisian, as the legal ruler of Meara, claiming that she abdicated her right to the throne. In her place, they created her younger sister Annalind as Sovereign Princess of Meara. After years of unsuccessful attempts to press his wife's rightful claim to the Mearan throne, Malcolm was eventually forced to invade Meara in 1027. By the end of June, Malcolm had defeated the Mearan army and Princess Annalind was forced to flee to The Connait with her mother. Malcolm permanently exiled them from Meara upon pain of death and appointed a Royal Governor of Meara to oversee the principality.

Gwynedd remained relatively peaceful for the next two decades, gradually recovering from the effects of the war. However, Princess Annalind returned to Meara in 1044, and she was once again proclaimed Sovereign Princess of Meara by her supporters. Malcolm made another military campaign into Meara to suppress the rebellion, arriving at the Mearan border in July of 1045. In little over a month, Malcolm captured Princess Annalind, her husband, and several of her captains, all of whom were executed for their treason.

After ascending to the throne during an easy time when the entire kingdom stood on the brink of social and economic disaster, Malcolm successfully guided the realm back to position of strength and influence within the Eleven Kingdoms. He rebuilt Gwynedd's economic base, oversaw the restoration of the peerage, and reformed the royal army into a more modern and effective fighting force. His campaigns into Meara were both victorious, and Torenth never made any significant movements against the Gwynedd border during Malcolm's reign. By the time of his death, Malcolm had sat on the throne for almost forty-nine years, the second-longest reign of any King of Gwynedd. King Malcolm Haldane died of natural causes on March 3, 1074, at the age of 65. He was succeeded by his eldest son and heir, Prince Donal Blaine Haldane.

[edit] Family

• Married Princess Roisian of Meara on August 9, 1025. (Died January 3, 1055)
  • Princess Amalie (died age 17)
  • Princess Tiphanie (later entered a convent under the name Sister Zita)
  • Prince Donal Blaine (later King of Gwynedd)
  • Princess Anaïs (later married Prince Florestan d'Uzès)
  • Prince Malcolm II (died age 1 day)
  • Princess Marfurca (died age 1)

• Married Lady Cecilia Calder of Sheele on May 13, 1055.
  • Prince Richard (later Duke of Carthmoor and Earl of Culdi)
  • Princess Tamelda (later entered a convent under the name Sister Symphorosa)
  • Prince Domnic (twin) (died shortly after birth)
  • Prince Kessoc (twin) (died shortly after birth)
  • Prince Julian (twin) (died age 5)
  • Princess Genèse (twin) (later renounced her titles in 1079)
  • Princess Hérone (died age 6)

• Extramarital affair with Glorvina Clonliff. (The children were later legitimized but without dynastic rights.)
  • Jerome (later Baron of Drimeen)
  • Brona (later married Lord Gorry Annamoe)
  • Congal (later Baron of Bawnmore)
  • Moreen (later created Baroness of Doonreen in her own right)

[edit] Sources

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

Preceded by: Cinhil II Haldane

King of Gwynedd 1025 - 1074

Succeeded by: Donal Blaine Haldane