Duncan McLain (Gwynedd)

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In the fictional universe of the Deryni novels of Katherine Kurtz, Duncan McLain is a priest of the Holy Church of Gwynedd, one of the first Deryni to be ordained in over two centuries. Additionally, he is the maternal cousin of Duke Alaric Morgan of Corwyn, and one of the closest advisors and friends of King Kelson Haldane.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Duncan Howard McLain was born on February 2, 1092, the second son of Duke Jared McLain of Cassan, but the first by his second wife, Lady Vera McLain. He received the privileged education of a noble's son while growing up, but soon began to study for a career in the priesthood. He briefly set aside his studies in 1107, when he fell in love with Lady Maryse MacArdry of Transha. The two were secretly married in an unusual ceremony on March 25, and then parted the next day. When Duncan was informed in January of 1108 that Maryse had died, he returned to his priestly studies. Unbeknownst to him, Maryse had died giving birth to Duncan's son, Dhugal.

Duncan was ordained a priest on April 10, 1113, and later came to Rhemuth as the secretary and assistant of Father Denis Arilan in 1116. He was appointed as one of the tutors of Crown Prince Kelson Haldane one month later, and he quickly formed a close rapport with the young prince. He became Kelson's personal chaplain and confessor in December of 1117, and was promoted to Monsignor on January 6, 1118. After the death of King Brion Haldane in 1120, Duncan helped his cousin, Duke Alaric Morgan of Corwyn, activate Kelson's Haldane potential, which enabled Kelson to defeat Duchess Charissa of Tolán, the Festillic Pretender, in a Dual Arcane during his coronation on November 15. Duncan also discovered that he, like his cousin Morgan, possessed the ability to Heal, a Deryni talent lost for almost two hundred years.

Duncan and Morgan, along with Kelson, were the focal points of the ecclesiastical rebellion of Archbishop Edmund II Loris in 1121. Both cousins were briefly excommunicated, and Duncan was forced to rescue Morgan from being burned at the stake, but the rebellion was soon put down, setting the stage for a reformation of the Gwynedd Church. Duncan's elder half-brother, Earl Kevin McLain, died in a tragic accident in March of 1121, and Duncan's father, Duke Jared McLain, was killed fighting the invasion of King Wencit of Torenth in July. As a result, when the Gwyneddan army faced the invaders shortly thereafter, Duncan had inherited the titles of Duke of Cassan and Earl of Kierney.

For much of his priestly career, Duncan was forced to conceal his Deryni heritage by laws that forbade Deryni from joining the priesthood. Although his true identity was known (or suspected) by many people at court and in the Church, he carefully avoided any overt public displays of his powers that might give conservative bishops a reason to oppose changing the existing laws. His patience and perseverance were successful, and he was consecrated Auxiliary Bishop of Rhemuth on December 16, 1123. On January 6, 1124, immediately prior to King Kelson's ill-fated wedding with Princess Sidana of Meara, Duncan discovered that Earl Dhugal MacArdry was his trueborn son.

Duncan assisted Kelson in setting the Haldane potential in Prince Nigel Haldane in 1124, then, as Duke of Cassan, he commanded the northern Gwyneddan army during the Mearan campaign of the same year. After several non-decisive engagements with the Mearan rebels, his army was defeated on the Dorna Plain on July 2, and Duncan was captured by former-Archbishop Edmund Loris. Loris tortured Duncan grievously, but his plan to burn Duncan at the stake failed when King Kelson and the southern Gwyneddan army arrived the following day and defeated the Mearans. Duncan was named Viceroy of Meara on July 12, following the surrender of the Mearan Pretender.

In March of 1125, Duncan successfully convinced an ecclesiastical tribunal that his marriage with Maryse MacArdry was legal, thus securing Dhugal's place as Duncan's legitimate heir. At Dhugal's knighting ceremony, Duncan publicly revealed his Deryni heritage for the first time, an act that prompted much debate within the Synod of Bishops. Shortly thereafter, both Kelson and Dhugal were believed killed in a tragic accident. After assisting in a ceremony designed to activate the Haldane potential of Prince Regent Conall Haldane, Duncan and Morgan began an intensive search for the missing pair, refusing to believe that they were truly dead. They discovered Kelson and Dhugal on April 12, and restored Kelson to the throne several days later. On May 21, Duncan ceded his secular titles to his son, bestowing the titles of Duke of Cassan and Earl of Kierney upon Dhugal. In 1128, Duncan was appointed rector of the first Deryni college in Gwynedd since the time of the Haldane Restoration.

As one of the first Deryni to be ordained a priest in two centuries, Bishop Duncan McLain has often stood at the center of the Deryni debate in Gwynedd. His roles as a priest and a bishop have forced the Church to re-evaluate the morality of long-standing anti-Deryni laws. During such debates, Duncan has served as an exemplary role model for future Deryni priests, as well as for other Deryni throughout Gwynedd. He is a pious and unassuming priest with a clear religious vocation, and his unswerving loyalty to the throne is beyond reproach. The close relationship that Duncan formed with Kelson during the king's childhood remains intact, and Kelson still relies on the bishop's wise and temperate advice in both secular and religious issues.

[edit] Titles

  • (1113 - 1130+): Priest of the Holy Church of Gwynedd
  • (1121 - 1125): Duke of Cassan
  • (1121 - 1125): Earl of Kierney
  • (1123 - 1130+): Auxiliary Bishop of Rhemuth
  • (1124 - 1128): Viceroy of Meara
  • (1128 - 1130+): Rector of the University of Saint Camber
  • (1128 - 1130+): Provost of the Basilica of Saint Camber

[edit] Family

  • Married Lady Maryse MacArdry on March 25, 1107.
    • Lord Dhugal MacArdry (later Duke of Cassan, Earl of Kierney, and Earl of Transha)

[edit] Sources

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