Cinhil I of Gwynedd

In the fictional universe of the Deryni novels of Katherine Kurtz, Cinhil I Haldane was the twelfth King of Gwynedd, reigning from 904 to 917. He was the seventh member of the House of Haldane to sit upon the throne of Gwynedd, and the first Haldane king following the end of the Festillic Interregnum. He is revered for overthrowing the last Festillic king and restoring the House of Haldane to its rightful place as the sovereigns of Gwynedd.

Cinhil Donal Ifor Haldane was born on April 27, 860, the only son and heir of Prince Alroy Haldane and his wife, Nellwyn de Menville. Cinhil's grandfather, Prince Aidan Haldane, was the only survivor of the Festillic coup of 822, making Aidan and his descendents the rightful Haldane heirs to the throne of Gwynedd. Cinhil was raised ignorant of his royal heritage, working with his father in his grandfather's wool trading business under the name Nicholas Draper. His parents were killed in the Great Plague of 878, and he took up a religious life the following year, becoming a priest and monk of the Ordo Verbi Dei under the name Brother Benedict.

Cinhil's grandfather revealed his true identity upon his deathbed in 903, informing his physician, the Healer Rhys Thuryn, of Cinhil's existence. In November of that year, Cinhil was tracked down at St. Foillan's Abbey by Rhys and Earl Camber MacRorie of Culdi, who was becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the reign of the current Festillic monarch, King Imre. One Month later, following the [...] of Camber's son Cathan, Camber decided to attempt a coup, overthrowing Imre and returning the Haldanes to the throne. On December 4, Rhys returned to the abbey with another of Camber's sons, Father Joram MacRorie, and kidnapped the unwitting prince, intending to place him on the throne.

Cinhil spent the next year at a secret haven near the city of Dhassa, where Camber and his family continued to plan their coup with the support of the Michaeline order. Cinhil initially refused to help the rebels, unwilling to abandon his religious life for a crown and repeatedly denying his true identity. Eventually, he reluctantly submitted to their plan after Archbishop Anscom, Archbishop of Valoret and Primate of All Gwynedd, dispensed Cinhil's priestly vows. Cinhil married Camber's ward, Lady Megan de Cameron, and gradually began to accept his role as the future King of Gwynedd, though he never truly forgave himself for abandoning his religious vocation.

Cinhil also became the unwilling subject of one of Camber's more radical IDeaS. Camber became convinced that it was possible to bestow magical powers (similar to those of a Deryni) on to a human subject. Believing that Cinhil would eventually need such powers to overthrow Imre, Camber led Rhys, Joram, and his daughter Evaine in an arcane ritual designed to grant these powers to Cinhil. (The ability of the Haldane line to bear such powers would later become known as the "Haldane potential.") Afterwards, Cinhil showed no signs that the ritual had been successful for several months. However, the strength of his magical powers was tragically revealed when, in a blinding rage, he used them to locate and kill the man who murdered his newborn son, Prince Aidan.

On December 2, 904, Cinhil, Camber, and their Michaeline supporters infiltrated the royal palace at Valoret. The Haldane forces quickly secured the castle, and Cinhil personally defeated King Imre in arcane combat, prompting the proud king to commit [...] rather than be captured. Despite the escape of Imre's sister, Princess Ariella, the coup was successful, and Cinhil was crowned King of Gwynedd.

Ariella attempted to return to Gwynedd the following year to retake the throne, leading an army provided by her Torenthi relatives. However, the fledgling Gwyneddan army soundly defeated the invading forces in a battle that claimed the lives of both Ariella and Camber. Many of the human nobles who had been displaced or exiled in the Festillic coup of 822 were restored to their previous positions, and a new peerage of both humans and Deryni was established. Cinhil oversaw many reforms during his reign, intent on rebuilding the kingdom and healing the damage caused by Imre's reign. The structure of the government was reorganized under the authority of the Chancellor, Bishop Alister Cullen, and a standing army was formed under the Earl Marshal, Lord Jebediah d'Alcara. Cinhil also greatly increased the size of Gwynedd when the lands of Eastmarch and Kheldour were formed into the Duchy of Claibourne in 906.

Cinhil tried mightily to be a good king, and he was largely successful. However, he was never able to completely abandon his religious life, and he secretly celebrated Mass with a hidden set of priestly vestments. Additionally, he never completely forgave Camber for forcing him to take the throne, and his resentment toward the earl continued after his death until his canonization. Despite his attempts to create a safe and secure kingdom, Cinhil refused to acknowledge the warning signs of an impending anti-Deryni backlash during the latter years of his reign. Though Cinhil was personally able to maintain racial peace during his reign, the wave of anti-Deryni sentiment that erupted immediately after his death had been brewing for years, and the consequences of the king's failure to recognize this growing threat were severe.

Though Cinhil very rarely used the magical powers that had been bestowed upon, he recognized their value and usefulness to a king. He eventually decided to set the potential for similar powers in each of his sons, to be activated only upon their ascent to the throne. Assisted by Joram, Rhys, Evaine, and Alister, the king used his own abilities to grant similar powers to his three surviving sons. Unfortunately, weakened by age and illness, the king did not survive for long after completing the ritual. King Cinhil I Haldane died on February 2, 917, at the age 56. He was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, Prince Alroy Haldane.

Family

  • Married Lady Megan de Cameron on December 24, 903.
    • Prince Aidan (died age 1 month)
    • Prince Alroy (twin) (later King of Gwynedd)
    • Prince Javan (twin) (later King of Gwynedd)
    • Prince Rhys Michael (later Duke of Carthmoor and King of Gwynedd)
    • Prince Alister (died age 3 months)

Sources

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