Jehana

[DerynifanK]

I have questions about Jehana, actually a lot of them but will try to control myself.

Why did Jehana's parents never tell her anything about her Deryni heritage, and why did they send her to be educated by Deryni hating nuns?

How much influence did Jehana's hatred and fear of magic and Deryni influence Brion in his failure to learn about and develop his Haldane powers?

If she had not been so magic averse but had encouraged him, might he have had the power and knowledge to defeat Charissa's attack and survive to rule longer? That's one I have thought about a lot.

[Laurna]

Jehana is that over-barring, over-protective mother who thinks that she is in the right, and once she believes something it would take a mach-truck to change her mind.
Something must have happened to influence Jehana in her very young life to turn her against magic. Some nurse or clerical tutor had drilled her of its evil at a young age. It must have been so traumatic that her parents chose not try to argue against it. Maybe her parents thought that marrying her to a human King of Gwynedd would be in their daughter's best interest. They knew they could not marry her to a Deryni, everyone knew that Torenth royalty were Deryni so they were not potential mates. Jehana would be great as a human queen of Gwynedd because she was determined to fight an enemy who had magic. What Jehana's father apparently did not know was that magic was part of the Haldane legacy. Very very few would know that. When Jehana came to court the only adversary she found was Alaric, because he was the only know Deryni, so it was easy for her to pit herself against a young boy and get her way. It is sad that Brion did not put is foot down and set her straight about magic from the very beginning. But then he did not yet have any magic for himself at the time of his marriage. and he was blinded by her beauty.

[DerynifanK]

But I still wonder why Brion never developed his Deryni/Haldane powers.  Was it because Jehana was so vehemently opposed to magic or was he wary of it himself? And if so, why was he wary of it?  I have always felt that if he had known more and been more adept in the use of his powers, he might have survived Charissa's attack and lived to rule longer.

[Bynw]

But I still wonder why Brion never developed his Deryni/Haldane powers.  Was it because Jehana was so vehemently opposed to magic or was he wary of it himself? And if so, why was he wary of it?  I have always felt that if he had known more and been more adept in the use of his powers, he might have survived Charissa's attack and lived to rule longer.

It's quite possible. He saw how badly she treated Morgan and just never developed his own abilities after Morgan got him through the power ritual and awakened his own Haldane Potential. He did set in motion to have Kelson's potential set and have Morgan be the one that would awake his powers too. That was about all he ever did. And probably to keep the peace at home.

Maybe someone could write an alternative history where Brion did put his foot down.

[revanne]

But I still wonder why Brion never developed his Deryni/Haldane powers.  Was it because Jehana was so vehemently opposed to magic or was he wary of it himself? And if so, why was he wary of it?  I have always felt that if he had known more and been more adept in the use of his powers, he might have survived Charissa's attack and lived to rule longer.

I think Jehana's influence is true to a point - apart from anything else he needed to reconcile with her in order for an heir to be conceived.


He is also in a very dangerous place vis-a-vis the church which at this point is led by those who are ferociously anti - Deryni. There was enough trouble when Kelson was "outed" as a magic user at his coronation and that was with Arilan and Cardiel in powerful positions. Even then it was touch and go and really only the conversion of Warin swung things in Kelson's favour.


The execution of Jorian stood as a public warning to Deryni. I think it at least possible that if Brion had attempted to use his powers in any real way he could have had an "accident" leaving a much more pliable Jehana to act as regent. Remember one of her first acts after Brion's death was to try and have Morgan arraigned for treason.


Brion was walking a knife edge and he knew it. Would it have made a difference if he had known he had a Deryni Bishop in Denis Arilan? Another interesting question.

[Laurna]

Brion was walking a knife edge and he knew it. Would it have made a difference if he had known he had a Deryni Bishop in Denis Arilan? Another interesting question.

Oh! So if let us say, the Camberian Council HAD been the ones in charge of bringing Brion to his potential, and they had done it at the time of his crowning, then the reign of Brion would have been a very different reign. He would have had magic when he courted Jehana and she would have discovered it early, before she agreed to marry him. Either she would NOT have married him or she could have learned to accept magic for what it was- his right of kingship. Then he would have been more comfortable in his position especially knowing Arilan was on his side. Though he and Arilan might have had more difficulty with the church, seeing as how much trouble Alyce and then Jorian had. and If Arilan had been found out, it would have been horrific.   So he still might have had a short reign but it wouldn't have been Clarissa who caused it to be short. Alternate Universes abound.

[Shiral]

Regarding Jehana and what made her the way she was, I think it was more the case that she was always taught by her parents, and no doubt by any clergy at court, that Deryni were evil. They were the ones who sent her to the convent, as well. The lesson definitely took with Jehana and more deeply than was good for either her emotional growth or her reason. I think it was in TKJ that she is described as "the still child-like Jehana that she had sinned." So in terms of her faith, she's basically a frightened little girl trying to please a very stern, capricious God, fearing punishment for wrong-doing at any moment. Devout yes...but not a particularly healthy or fulfilling sort of spiritual life. (She and Cinhil....what a pair they make!)

At one Con I attended, Katherine mentioned that Jehana's mother either found out or suspected her own Deryni heritage and committed suicide in despair.  I don't remember how old Jehana was at that time, but it had to have been terrible for her and for her sisters and brother for several reasons. The medieval church took a very hard line on suicide.  On top of her grief for her mother, she also had to hear numerous variations on the message "Your mother sinned unforgivably and is even now being punished in Hell!" So now Jehana is grief-stricken AND terrified.  Either before that or soon after that, she enters puberty, which is a notoriously difficult phase of growing up. It's also the natural time when Deryni powers start manifesting themselves. So grieving and frightened Jehana is suspecting she's also Deryni and  is now contending with powers she doesn't want, tries to deny their existence in herself, and no doubt is desperately trying to conceal from anyone and everyone else. And at every Mass and office she attends, she keeps hearing all the same religious messages she grew up with. AND she had two very dour nuns in her entourage. Are we surprised she's neurotic on the topic?

I suspect falling in love with Brion and marrying him was probably the happiest time Jehana had had in years. He brought  out the best in her, and maybe she forgot to be frightened, for a while. Until the day Brion tells her, all excited, about being able to defeat the Marluk with Morgan's help. Which absolutely blows the roof off of Jehana's fragile happiness and peace of mind.

I do wonder how Kelson truly copes with Jehana's second marriage to Barrett de Laney. He had a front row seat for every anti-Deryni fit she ever threw throughout his boyhood. He knows what his father coped with, and no doubt had to cope with quite a lot himself with a mother whose religious zeal made her less than emotionally wise.  I do not doubt that Kelson and Jehana love one another. I just think he was probably far more at ease in his father's company and Morgan's. But when he comes back from Beldour in KKB he finds Jehana peacefully studying with Barrett and Father Nivard in his library annexe, which means she's discovered the concealed entrance, and lord knows what else. For a time, he's too busy getting everyone married, including himself to really digest it, but there must have been a part of him that thought "My mother wants to marry  Barrett de Laney, a member of the Camberian Council....Wait, WHAT!???"

[Laurna]

Shiral, Thank you. That is wonderful background information that I would not have guessed at, but now that you have put it out there, starts to bring the whole puzzle into place.

If Jehana's own mother had been this unstable over her discovered heritage, than I can see where the young princess would have dealt very poorly with the trauma of it all. Jehana's father was of Deryni descent too,  but given how medieval kings usually married for political reasons, he might not have spent much intellectual time with his wife. He likely never knew the turmoil she faced.  He may not have seen that same turmoil in his own daughter, either. Only knowing that he should marry her to a human king. And when the king of Gwynedd comes seeking a bride, Jehana's father would say nothing to break such an alliance.

This also sheds a light on Kelson's relationship with his mother. I can well see young Kelson bearing witness to such tiraids. and his love for his father and for Morgan proving to him that his mother was wrong, but he was in no place to do anything about it, until the day he turned 14, that is.
Good info Shiral.

[DerynifanK]

Thank you for that information Shiral. I had no idea that Jehana had gone through such trauma growing up, especially that her mother committed suicide.  No wonder she was hysterical on the subject of Deryni. I am glad that she finally resolved the question of being Deryni although I'm sorry it never happened while Brion was living. I think she finds happiness married to Barrett. I do wonder how Kelson's half sister fitted in and what kind of relationship they had. With Barrett and Jehana as parents she had to be a powerful Deryni.
It is interesting that the Eastern Church in Torenth did not have Deryni hating clergy as the Gwynedd church did. They seemed to function in the Torenthi ruling  hieirarchy without all the conflict. I wonder where the rabid hatred of Deryni in the Gwynedd church originated and what started it. Was it a question of power? Still lots of questions.

[DoctorM]

"It is interesting that the Eastern Church in Torenth did not have Deryni hating clergy as the Gwynedd church did. They seemed to function in the Torenthi ruling  hieirarchy without all the conflict. I wonder where the rabid hatred of Deryni in the Gwynedd church originated and what started it. Was it a question of power? Still lots of questions."

The thing that comes to my mind is the way the Russian Church was run in mid and late tsarist times-- Church property and higher personnel choices (but not doctrine) were administered by the secular bureaucracy. Priests and monks who took attitudes different from the state were denied promotion and posts; higher clergy were expected to make sure local priests prayed for the tsar. Maybe the Torenthi Church is run like that. 

[DesertRose]

.
It is interesting that the Eastern Church in Torenth did not have Deryni hating clergy as the Gwynedd church did. They seemed to function in the Torenthi ruling  hieirarchy without all the conflict. I wonder where the rabid hatred of Deryni in the Gwynedd church originated and what started it. Was it a question of power? Still lots of questions.

In Camber's time, the Gwyneddan church didn't hate Deryni at all; there were several Deryni-specific religious orders (Varnarites, Michaelines, and the Gabrilites, who were not only all Deryni but all Healers).  The Gwyneddan church's Deryni hatred was largely the fault of the Regency after King Cinhil's death.

(Certainly there were some within the church who hated Deryni even before that, but the institutional hatred was the Regents' fault.)

[Nezz]

I wonder where the rabid hatred of Deryni in the Gwynedd church originated and what started it.

I'd always assumed it was the excessive cruelty of King Imre that started the anti-Deryni sentiment, but looking further, it kind of looks like it was the murder of Saint Willim in 795 when it really began. The order that took his name, the Willimites, are believed to have killed Lord Lord Rannult, which is what brought Imre to hang the 49 captives, which really whipped up anti-deryni sentiment. Of course, once the humans are back in charge, you get groups of pro-deryni and anti-deryni terrorists backing-and-forthing, but once you have the head of the church joining the regents and wanting more power (as you mentioned), and he enacts the anti-deryni laws (Ramos) to get his enemies out of the way, and there's no strong king to stop the regents, the poor deryni had no chance.

[revanne]

Thanks Shiral, that explains a lot. Poor Jehana. I've always felt that she was emotionally disfunctional and seemed totally unable to grasp the impact she was having on other people (as in disappearing for three years and leaving Meraude to fulfill her role). Grief for her mother, and the terror of hell inculcated in her would do that. I think Barratt is at the end of a long process where she begins to see that the lies she has been fed just don't measure up to what she is seeing and hearing around her.
Alkari's fanfic "Forgiveness" gives an interesting insight into the impact Richenda might have had on Jehana.
I have always felt for Cinhil who had his priesthood snatched from him to fulfil someone else's agenda. I don't think he was treated very well by Camber et al, yes their motives were good but I think it was their high-handed treatment of him, especially in the early days, that ultimately backfired and led to some of Cinhil's attitudes and actions. Of course he was an idiot, and he was the victim of the regents' scheming but I think there was some justice in his resentment and suspicion of his and others' powers. I have wondered what Joram really felt about everything and whether he saw what happened as divine retribution. I find him a fascinating character.

[DerynifanK]

I agree that the regents were the source of the hatred for Deryni that grew in Gwynedd. It's an old political stratagem that has been used over and over. Give the people a focus for their unhappiness with the state of things, a group they can blame that is not numerous or strong enough to oppose them and they will not see where the blame really lies, especially if it is partially on themselves. For example, Hitler and the Jews.  The regents were power hungry and ruled with an iron hand. Cinhil's heirs never really had a chance. And Hubert MacInnes was evil. I read somewhere that when he died he went straight to hell, not even passing through purgatory. Actually I just looked and the Codex says that.