"Duchess Briony"?

[wombat1138]

I've been re-reading the entire series and noticed that in this trilogy (I think in The Bishop's Heir?), during a discussion about why the Castle Coroth staff don't trust Richenda enough for Morgan to appoint her as chatelaine, it's mentioned that in the case of his death, then Richenda would get to be the regent of both Marley (for Brendan) and Corwyn (for "Duchess Briony"). But in the previous two generations, the Duchy was in abeyance because Alyce and Stevana couldn't hold it in their own right-- did Donal or Brion change the law to allow women to inherit the title?

Or for that matter, ISTR a discussion from the first trilogy that before Morgan was married, his death would've left the McLains as his next heirs, which would a.) skip Bronwyn and b.) suggest that Kelson changed the law after High Deryni-- or is that just the result of backwards-disremembering the discussion in TBH about Morgan as Duncan's possible heir to Cassan, but with a junior claim to the Quinnells?

[Elkhound]

Perhaps because Corwyn was at one time an independent country before becoming an autonomous dutchy of Gwynned, their succession laws are somewhat different.  Perhaps they had in practice been following the mainstream Gwynnedi custom, but after Briony was born, some clerk in the chancery did a little legal research and found an obscure but unrepealed statute that would apply.

[Evie]

Or for that matter, ISTR a discussion from the first trilogy that before Morgan was married, his death would've left the McLains as his next heirs, which would a.) skip Bronwyn and b.) suggest that Kelson changed the law after High Deryni-- or is that just the result of backwards-disremembering the discussion in TBH about Morgan as Duncan's possible heir to Cassan, but with a junior claim to the Quinnells?

I can't speak to the Duchess Briony question; however, I was just listening to the QSC audiobook chapter this morning in which it's stated that even if Duncan couldn't prove the legitimacy of his marriage and Dhugal's birth, his lands would have reverted to the Crown upon his death, and Kelson could have passed them on to Dhugal at that time.  Although I vaguely recall a conversation along the lines of what you just mentioned being somewhere in TBH as well.  Maybe that was just speculation on the Quinnells' part on how the Cassani succession would run?  I don't recall the context of that passage in TBH anymore.

[Alkari]

On the Duchess Briony question, I think any regency would have been along the same lines as we saw with Alyce Morgan.  Richenda would have held Corwyn for her daughter, with an expectation that Briony would be married at an early age to a suitable husband, hoping that she would quickly have a son to inherit.  Exactly as we saw with Alaric, who became duke at birth.

[wombat1138]

I might've found one answer, though it depends on the dubious canonicity of "Swords against the Marluk"-- at the very end of that story, Brion confirms Morgan as Duke of Corwyn "for thy life and for the surviving issue of thy body", which may override previous exclusions of direct heiresses to the title. Then again, there might be a more recent explanation that I've missed in the "Childe Morgan" books.