List of characters in the Deryni series
The following is a list of characters in the Deryni series of historical fantasy novels by Katherine Kurtz. The 10th century section includes characters from the Legends of Saint Camber and Heirs of Saint Camber trilogies, while the 12th century section lists those characters that appear in the Chronicles of the Deryni and Histories of King Kelson trilogies.10th century
- Appearances: Camber of Culdi, Saint Camber
Alister Cullen is the Vicar General of the Order of Saint Michael. Born in 858, the young Deryni trains for the life of a religious knight from childhood, eventually being ordained a priest in 877 and joining the Michaelines in 879. He is elected Vicar General of the order in 901, and he still holds the position at the time of his first appearance in Camber of Culdi. Cullen enjoys a close friendship with Grand Master Jebediah d'Alcara, and he serves as a mentor to Father Joram MacRorie. An outspoken critic of King Imre Furstán-Festil, Cullen eventually agrees to support a coup against the king when he is approached by Joram and his father, Earl Camber MacRorie of Culdi, and the Michaelines provide essential military support for the Haldane Restoration. In 905, between the events of Camber of Culdi and Saint Camber, Cullen is elected Bishop of Grecotha, but he delays his formal consecration to deal with the impending invasion of Princess Ariella Furstána-Festila. Cullen commands the Michaeline forces during the Battle of Iomaire, but he is killed in personal combat by Ariella, although he uses the last of his strength to slay the princess. After the battle, Cullen's body is discovered by Joram and Camber, and Camber uses his arcane powers to assume Cullen's memories and appearance. For the next thirteen years, Camber lives a secret life as the slain Cullen, eventually rising to the positions of Chancellor of Gwynedd and Archbishop Primate of All Gwynedd. Cullen is 46 years old at the time of his death in 905, but most of the world believes that he dies at the age of 59 in 918.Javan Haldane
Javan Jashan Urien Haldane is the fourteenth King of Gwynedd. He is the ninth member of the House of Haldane to serve as king, and the third consecutive Haldane king following the end of the Festillic Interregnum.Rhys Michael Haldane
Rhys Michael Alister Haldane is the fifteenth King of Gwynedd. He is the tenth member of the House of Haldane to serve as king, and the fourth consecutive Haldane king following the end of the Festillic Interregnum.Jebediah
- Appearances: Camber of Culdi, Saint Camber, Camber the Heretic, The Deryni Archives
Jebediah d'Alcara is born in 861, and he joins the Order of Saint Michael as a lay knight at the age of 17. The Deryni knight is elected Grand Master of the order in 902, and he enjoys a close friendship with the Vicar General, Father Alister Cullen. He participates in the Haldane Restoration of 904, and later serves as one of the senior military commanders at the Battle of Iomaire the following year. Later that year, King Cinhil Haldane appoints him Earl Marshal of Gwynedd and Field Commander of the Royal Armies, as well giving Jebediah a place on the Royal Council. In 906, he discovers that Camber MacRorie has been impersonating Alister Cullen for over a year, since the death of the Vicar General at the Battle of Iomaire, and the discovery results in a closer relationship with Camber and his family. He is a founding member of the Camberian Council in 909, and he continues in his various military roles until the death of King Cinhil in 917. After Cinhil's death, Jebediah is dismissed from his royal appointments, and he spends much of his time organizing the covert movement of the Michaeline order out of Gwynedd. He dies at the age of 56 in 918, slain while defending Camber/Alister from the Regents' forces.Queron Kinevan
- Appearances: Saint Camber, Camber the Heretic, The Harrowing of Gwynedd, King Javan's Year, The Bastard Prince
Queron Kinevan is a highly skilled Deryni Healer born in 872, and one of the primary protagonists of the Heirs of Saint Camber trilogy. He enters the Order of Saint Gabriel in 885 and is later ordained a priest in 892. In 906, he resigns from the and successfully campaigns to have Earl Camber MacRorie of Culdi canonized as a saint. Afterwards, he serves as Abbott of the Monastery at Dolban, the motherhouse of the newly founded Servants of Saint Camber. When Dolban is destroyed during the initial onslaught of anti-Deryni persecutions in late 917, Queron is forced into exile to escape the destruction. He is inducted into the Camberian Council in 918, and Camber's children later reveal the truth of their father's supposed death to Queron. The Healer assists Lady Evaine MacRorie Thuryn and Father Joram MacRorie in an arcane ritual to revive Camber, but Camber is not restored to life and Evaine dies during the ritual.
Queron spends much of the rest of his life in exile, secretly working with the rest of the Camberian Council to protect Deryni from the persecutions and protect the Haldane Kings of Gwynedd. In 921, he participates in the activation of King Javan Haldane's Haldane potential, performing the ritual with Joram and Tavis O'Neill. A year later, he is present when the lords of state murder Javan and destroy Revan's baptizer cult, but he once again manages to escape the violence. In 928, he secretly meets with King Rhys Michael Haldane in an attempt to heal the king's wound, but Queron is unable to save the life of the injured monarch. Several weeks later, Queron accompanies the new Regents when they confront and arrest the lords of state who killed both Javan and Rhys Michael. Queron's exact date of death is unknown, but his detailed autobiography, the Annales Queroni, is discovered by Dowager Queen Jehana in the secret library of Rhemuth Castle in 1128.- Appearances: Camber the Heretic, The Harrowing of Gwynedd, King Javan's Year, The Bastard Prince
Hubert John William Valerian MacInnis is born in 876, the younger brother of Baron Manfred MacInnis. Hubert is ordained a priest in 896, and he spends the next nine years in the service of Earl Murdoch of Carthane. He becomes an itinerant bishop in 909, and is elected Auxiliary Bishop of Rhemuth in 916, at which point he is appointed as a tutor to the sons of King Cinhil Haldane. Following Cinhil's death in 917, Hubert serves as one of the Regents for King Alroy.
Throughout his appearances in the series, Hubert is portrayed as an evil and conniving antagonist. When Alister Cullen is elected Archbishop of Valoret and Primate of All Gwynedd, Hubert and the other Regents launch a violent wave of anti-Deryni persecutions. Once Cullen and his supporters are killed or exiled, the remaining bishops are forced to vote again, and Hubert is elected Primate of All Gwynedd. Over the next eleven years, he is one of the most powerful men in the kingdom, using his vast ecclesiastical and secular powers to persecute Deryni and control the throne. He refuses to permit King Alroy Haldane to wield the power of the crown, and he attempts to pass over Prince Javan after Alroy's death. Hubert eventually conceives and executes a plot against Javan in 921, successfully murdering the king and placing Prince Rhys Michael Haldane upon the throne. For the next six years, Hubert and the other lords of state rule the realm, reducing Rhys Michael to a helpless puppet king. However, the king appoints several new Regents for his son before his death in 928, and the new Regents arrest Hubert and his cohorts for their various crimes. Hubert is deposed from office and imprisoned in a distant abbey, and he dies at the age of 53 the following year.Manfred MacInnis
- Appearances: Camber the Heretic, The Harrowing of Gwynedd, King Javan's Year, The Bastard Prince
Manfred Colquhoun Festil Tarquin MacInnis is the elder brother of Archbishop Hubert MacInnis and one of the primary antagonists of the Heirs of Saint Camber trilogy. Born in 875, Manfred regains his family estate when King Cinhil Haldane restores Manfred's hereditary title of Baron of Marlor. After Cinhil's death in 917, Manfred is appointed to the Royal Council of King Alroy, and is later created Earl of Culdi after the MacRorie family is attainted. The following year, Manfred replaces Duke Ewan I MacEwan of Claibourne as a Lord Regent and Earl Marshal of Gwynedd, but he resigns the latter office in 919. In 921, Manfred and his colleagues launch a coup against King Javan Haldane, and Manfred's own troops are among those who overwhelm and kill the young king. Six years later, Manfred accompanies the royal party of King Rhys Michael Haldane to Eastmarch. When the king is injured during the expedition, it is Manfred who insists on a course of treatment that ultimately results in Rhys Michael's death. After the king's funeral, during a confrontation with the newly appointed Regents, Manfred is slain by Earl Rhun von Horthy of Sheele, who is acting under a mental compulsion placed by Rhys Michael before his death. Manfred marries once, fathering two children, and he is 53 years old at the time of his death.Ansel MacRorie
- Appearances: Camber of Culdi, Saint Camber, Camber the Heretic, The Harrowing of Gwynedd, King Javan's Year, The Bastard Prince
Ansel Irial MacRorie is born in 900, the grandson of Earl Camber MacRorie of Culdi and the younger brother of Lord Davin MacRorie. Ansel and Davin are the sons of Camber's eldest son and heir, Lord Cathan MacRorie, whose murder in Camber of Culdi precipitates the Haldane Restoration. After Davin's death in 917, Ansel is attainted and outlawed by the Regents of King Alroy, forcing him to go into hiding to avoid arrest. He accompanies his aunt, Lady Evaine MacRorie Thuryn on her journey to safety later that year, and he is inducted into the Camberian Council early in 918. Ansel spends much of the following years working closely with Lord Jesse MacGregor, as the two exiled Deryni secretly work with the rest of the Council to protect Deryni and overthrow the human lords of state, often personally enacting the plans and decisions made by the Council as a whole. Although he is blamed for both the kidnapping of Prince Rhys Michael Haldane and the murder of King Javan Haldane, both plots were actually executed by the human lords of state. In 928, Ansel and Jesse covertly monitor the royal expedition into Eastmarch, but they are unable to provide any direct assistance to King Rhys Michael. However, after the king's death, Ansel and Jesse are instrumental in organizing the quick response of the newly appointed Regents. Ansel accompanies them to Rhemuth, and he is present when the lords of state are captured or killed. Ansel eventually dies at the age of 48 in 948, having married once and fathered three children.