Meara

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In the fictional universe of the Deryni novels of Katherine Kurtz, Meara is a region located at the western edge of the Eleven Kingdoms. Although it was a sovereign principality for over four centuries, it eventually became a vassal state of the Kingdom of Gwynedd. Despite its legal status, the descendants of the Sovereign Princes of Meara have occasionally led rebellions against Gwynedd, attempting to regain independence for the land.

Contents 1 Geography 2 History 3 Sovereign Princes/Princesses of Meara 4 Pretenders of Meara 5 Sources

[edit] Geography

The lands of Meara lie on the coast of the Atalantic Ocean, which forms the western border of the province. The Duchy of Cassan lies directly to the north, and Meara's eastern border touches the Earldom of Kierney, the Earldom of Culdi, and several lesser baronies and estates. It is bordered to the south by the lands of The Connait. Much of the Mearan terrain is rocky and hilly, barely capable of supporting subsistence farming and basic grazing for livestock. The land changes dramatically along the eastern edge of the province, where forests, rivers, and lakes decorate the Cloome Mountains and the Culdi Highlands. The city of Laas served as the capital of Meara during its tenure as a sovereign principality, but the capital was moved to the city of Ratharkin in the eleventh century.

[edit] History

The ancient Principality of Meara was founded by Mear mac Quinnell, who proclaimed himself Sovereign Prince of Laas in 651. (The name of the land was later changed to honor its first prince.) At the time, Meara stretched across the lands of Cassan, Kierney, and Transha, occupying most of the northwestern extent of the Eleven Kingdoms. After the death of Prince Janus in 762, the Amethyst Throne was claimed by his brother, Prince Armon, despite the fact that Janus had been survived by a young son and heir, Prince Alphonse. Alphonse and his mother fled to Cassan, where Alphonse was proclaimed the legitimate Prince of Meara. However, neither Armon nor Alphonse possessed sufficient military strength to defeat the other, and seven years of scattered battles and inconclusive warfare failed to settle the issue. Finally, in 770, both sides agreed to a treaty that allowed Armon to remain Prince of Meara. In exchange, the lands of Cassan were ceded to Alphonse as a separate and sovereign principality.

Much of the history of Meara revolves around the continuous struggle for power between the ruling Prince and the Mearan nobles. While the Prince held sway over the coastal lands of western Meara, the border lords of eastern Meara were notoriously independent, and they often ignored those decrees and writs with which they disagreed. Mearan law forbade the creation of a standing army, so the Prince often had no way to force his will upon the nobles and gain control of them. As a result, the constant battle for power between the Amethyst Throne and the peerage seriously hindered the governance of the land, preventing Meara from developing greater prominence and influence in the Eleven Kingdoms. The ability of the Mearan Princes to effectively impose their control over the land varied with the strength or weakness of each Prince, but the overall balance of power between the Princes and peerage remained unchanged for centuries.

By 1024, Meara was ruled by Prince Jolyon II, who lacked a male heir to succeed him. Fearing the growing power of neighboring Gwynedd, Jolyon allied himself with King Kyprian II of Torenth and Prince Imre III Furstán-Festil, the Festillic Pretender, in 1024. The following year, the three rulers launched a joint invasion of Gwynedd. However, the Mearan forces were quickly defeated by the Gwyneddan army, under the command of Prince Cinhil II Haldane, and Jolyon was killed in battle. His eldest daughter, Princess Roisian, was proclaimed Sovereign Princess of Meara and became only the second woman to sit upon the Amethyst Throne. Ironically, Roisian married Prince Malcolm Haldane in August of 1025, resulting in the joining of Meara and Gwynedd that Roisian's father had feared.

Although Roisian never abdicated her right to the throne of Meara, the Mearan Council of State claimed that she had abandoned the throne by leaving Meara without their permission. As a result, they proclaimed Roisian's younger twin sister, Princess Annalind, to be the rightful Princess of Meara. Malcolm and Roisian tried vainly to achieve a diplomatic resolution for several years, but Malcolm was eventually forced to invade Meara in 1027 to press his wife's legal right to the Mearan throne. Malcolm succeeded in defeating the Mearan rebels and driving his sister-in-law into exile. The following year, he moved the administrative capital from the city of Laas to the city of Ratharkin, which was closer to the Gwyneddan capital of Rhemuth. Annalind returned to Meara and launched another rebellion in 1045, but the failed revolt resulted in her capture and execution.

Following Roisian's death in 1055, the Sovereign Principality of Meara was officially annexed by the Kingdom of Gwynedd, becoming a semi-autonomous province ruled by a series of governors appointed by the Crown. The eldest son of Malcolm and Roisian, Donal Blaine Haldane, was the first hereditary ruler of both lands, and every subsequent Haldane king inherited the legitimate legal right to both thrones. Nonetheless, the descendants of Princess Annalind, known as the Mearan Pretenders, have launched multiple rebellions since her death. Supported by Mearan nobles and partisans who sought independence from Gwynedd, none of the rebellions succeeded in separating the two lands.

In 1123, another rebellion was launched by the Mearan Pretender Caitrin Quinnell, the senior descendant of Princess Annalind. Although she was supported by a collection of Mearan and Gwyneddan nobles, Caitrin's rebellion lasted less than a year. Her army was defeated by King Kelson Haldane in July of 1124, and Caitrin herself was forced to surrender shortly thereafter. With the rest of her family dead and Caitrin imprisoned in a convent, the line of Princess Annalind finally became extinct. The junior claim to the Mearan throne then passed to the House of Ramsay-Quinnell, a minor cadet branch of the Quinnell family.

However, the Ramsays expressed no interest in claiming the Mearan crown, and the senior member of the family, Sir Jolyon Ramsay-Quinnell, readily acknowledged the senior claim of the House of Haldane. Hoping to secure a permanent peace in Meara, and partially to reward the loyalty of the Ramsays, King Kelson arranged a series of marriages between the Haldanes and Ramsays in 1128. Prince Rory Haldane married Jolyon's daughter, Noelie Ramsay-Quinnell, and Princess Richelle Haldane married Jolyon's son and heir, Sir Brecon Ramsay-Quinnell. Additionally, Kelson divided Meara into two duchies, naming Jolyon Duke of Laas and Rory Duke of Ratharkin. The entire province of Meara was granted viceregal status, with Prince Rory serving as viceroy. The Mearan partisans were appeased by the semi-autonomous status of their land, which was now ruled jointly by the descendants of both Princess Roisian (the House of Haldane) and Princess Annalind (the House of Ramsay-Quinnell). By these diverse marriages and noble creations, the foundation was laid for a secure and lasting peace between Meara and Gwynedd.

[edit] Sovereign Princes/Princesses of Meara

• HOUSE OF QUINNELL
  • (651 – 688): Mear mac Quinnell
  • (688 – 716): Archambald Quinnell
  • (716 – 731): Jolyon I Quinnell
  • (731 – 755): Aldebert Quinnell
  • (755 – 762): Janus Quinnell
  • (762 – 806): Armon Quinnell
  • (806 – 822): Judhael I Quinnell
  • (822 – 845): Arturus Quinnell
  • (845 – 874): Justin Quinnell
  • (874 – 877): Alban Quinnell
  • (877 – 892): Jorianna Quinnell (ruled jointly with her husband)
  • (880 – 906): Jubal mac Adam Quinnell (ruled jointly with his wife)
  • (906 – 928): Austin Quinnell
  • (928 – 948): Jehan Quinnell
  • (948 – 965): Jordan mac Jonatan Quinnell
  • (965 – 972): Ithel mac Judah mac Austin Quinnell
  • (972 – 976): Joël Quinnell
  • (976 – 1001): Judhael II Quinnell
  • (1001 – 1025): Jolyon II Quinnell
  • (1025 – 1055): Roisian Moira Faucona Quinnell-Haldane

[edit] Pretenders of Meara

• HOUSE OF QUINNELL
  • (1025 – 1045): Annalind Quinnell
  • (1045 – 1109): Judhael (III) Quinnell
  • (1109 – 1124): Caitrin Caren Urracca Quinnell-MacArdry (deposed)

[edit] Sources

• Katherine Kurtz and Robert Reginald, Codex Derynianus, ISBN 0-89370-011-8
• Katherine Kurtz, King Kelson's Bride, ISBN 0-441-00732-5