In "The Priesting of Arilan" during Jorian's burning at the stake, Denis hears the cheering of the crowd at Arx Fidei abbey until someone with a "boyish" voice yells out in Latin "Thou art a priest forever". On the day after Duncan and Dhugal reveal to everyone that they are Deryni, Denis dresses down Duncan for not warning him and Thomas Cardiel about revealing he is Deryni beforehand. Alaric enters the sacristy during this time and hears Jorian's name. Alaric was at Jorian's execution when he was a tween. It is my opinion that the "boyish" voice that yelled out was Alaric.
Yes, I think that is definitely the case.
I think that was clearly implied when Alaric has his brief flashback and reflects on his memory of Jorian's execution and being taken to witness it as the King's "pet Deryni". He would be the only one who 'would' dare to do that, after all, as his own act of defiance. Given his reaction to the unknown voice at the time, and his somewhat prickly relationship with Alaric in later books, I've sometimes wondered if Denis Arilan ever found out that it was Alaric?
I was not present on the occasion--I think it was at some convention in past years, but I did hear Katherine confirmed it was Morgan from a fan who was there to hear her say it.
Melissa
If Denis did find out it was Alaric, I have wondered if their relationship would improve. Shouting that remark at Jorian's execution was Alaric's way of supporting Jorian and silencing the crowd. What a way to protest an unjust act (in my opinion). Alaric was lucky no one at the execution discovered that he disrupted the event. The church authorities might have burned him right after Jorian.
I am sure that a number of people at the execution knew who shouted it - all the people standing round him at the time! Morgan was escorted to the event as a "lesson" from certain Church authorities, so those people near him would have known. He would not have been executed - he was under King Brion's protection, and if the Church authorities hadn't been able to get him for simply 'being' Deryni before then, they would certainly not have dared to move against him for shouting out that particular truth. As the story itself notes:-
"Sacerdos in aeternum ... a priest forever. Even the Church dared not dispute the truth of that statement. Ecclesiastical writ might have suspended Jorian from his priestly function, but the holy imprint set upon the soul of a priest at ordination was no more capable of being erased than the anointing of a king. ... What God had conferred through the sacraments of His Church, no mere mortal could reverse, be the recipient Deryni or not."
The crowd reaction confirmed that it was the one thing Morgan could legitimately have shouted in safety.
ETA: And yes, I too have wondered whether Arilan will ever find out that it was Alaric, and whether that would alter his perceptions slightly. Though I suspect Denis and Alaric will always challenge each other in some way!
From my memory of "Priesting of Arilan" story, Denis remembers that no one seems to know who yelled out. If someone knew who did, Denis never heard first or second hand about the identity of the yeller. It would seem that no one found out. It's possible that Alaric witnessed the execution in an area with few people where he could yell out with a little privacy. Hopefully Alaric got away with it without being found out. Maybe the next "Childe Morgan" book will cover this incident. May this book be released soon!!
Well, Denis would not have been standing anywhere near Morgan, as he was with the other priests and students, and presumably would have had little chance to ask around afterwards. So the fact that he didn't find out who shouted out doesn't mean that no-one else knew, or that Morgan's immediate escorts / guards were suddenly totally deaf and oblivious. Frankly, I suspect that even his escorts were sympathetic to his words, given the horror of what was done.
And Arilan wouldn't have dared to show too much interest in any of the events surrounding Jorian's execution, just to make sure attention didn't turn to himself.
Witnessing Jorian's execution probably brought back memories to Alaric about the incident in Hallowdale when he was a young boy. Although he was shielded from seeing the burned bodies of the Deryni family, the smell of the charred bodies was something that he smelled because he whimpered as his family approached the village. And listening to Denis telling Duncan about Jorian years later brought the memory of both horrible events back to Alaric.
Alaric might've slipped away from his escort (or parts of it, depending on who was with him at the time) and shouted.
Alternatively, Alaric might have seen Duncan there briefly, the boys parted to take their places, and it was Duncan who shouted. Alaric might've known who did it and refused to say, only saying (truthfully in this case) that it wasn't him when challenged. Frankly, I could see hm doing that, putting one over on the clerics; this is a guy who at four years old knew the different between bad and just naughty. And Duncan would've had a particularly bad birthday that year.
I think KK confirmed in Chat on 22 May 2011 that it wasn't Alaric who'd shouted out - she'd originally thought to have him do it, but realised that any such action on his part could easily have produced a major new incident with the Church. Brion has sent royal guards along to escort him and ensure his general safety (Alaric was not quite 13), but they may not have been able to protect him had he shouted out anything like that. See Chat transcript.
I also highly doubt Duncan would have been present: when Jorian was executed in September 1104, Duncan was only 12 years old, so he would have been home in Cassan or Kierney as a page to his father, not yet even at university in Grecotha. And of course, the Church authorities had no idea he was Deryni.
If this incident is included in the next book, maybe we will finally find out who did yell out. I hope--would like some closure for this event.
Maybe there was just another secret Deryni sympathiser in the crowd, and we will never know who did it. Maybe some ordinary person simply didn't like the idea of burning anyone at the stake, especially burning a priest. Whoever it was, certainly nobody was willing to give them away!
Since the de Courcys were an influential Deryni family, our mysterious shouter may have been from the (dramatic pause) Camberian Council.
Judging by the Camberian Council's obvious paranoia about publicity, I bet they all kept their collective mouths well shut. The CC we see in the post-Camber books prefers to scheme, manipulate and act behind the scenes, as Morgan points out rather acidly (and accurately!) in KKB. Shouting out in public is Just Not Their Style :D
However, their silence was fully justified in this case, as there was every likelihood of the person being discovered and arrested by Church soldiers, and then questioned by the bishops, most probably with benefit of merasha. And that would have revealed the CC member as being Deryni, thereby condemning them and their own families. NOT a pleasant prospect.
Or it could have been an ordinary, sympathetic human witness to Jorian's execution. Someone so ordinary that they could yell out "Thou art a priest forever" and no one would ever be the wiser. The entire crowd was shocked into silence and just stood there watching Jorian's body burn. That alone could have kept anyone from finding out who did it.
Quote from: Alkari on June 13, 2011, 12:01:38 AM
I also highly doubt Duncan would have been present: when Jorian was executed in September 1104, Duncan was only 12 years old, so he would have been home in Cassan or Kierney as a page to his father, not yet even at university in Grecotha. And of course, the Church authorities had no idea he was Deryni.
Hmm. I seem to recall reading somewhere that Jorian was executed on Candlemas (2 February) which was also Duncan's birthday (his 14th, I thought). On that basis, and with his ill-starred marriage to Maryse the following year (during which time he said himself had been planning to be a priest for some time), I considered he might've been there. Also, exposure of a Deryni priest seemed to be a remarkable event, so it would draw people, as well as prompt clerical authorities to insist people attend and witness the execution (which was the reason for Morgan's attendance). Call it a balance of probabilities that Duncan also might've been present.
Codex 2 says that Jorian was executed on 11 November 1104 (Martinmass). Denis Arilan was ordained on Candlemass (2 February 1105).
There would have been no reason for the Duke of Cassan or his family to be at Jorian's execution, and I would think Jared and Duncan's Deryni mother Vera would have taken great care to make sure that they and their son did not have to be anywhere near it. Morgan was a different matter: he was Brion's squire and was there as an example, as 'the King's pet Deryni' because his Deryni identity was known.
Duncan may have been thinking of the priesthood as young as 12, but his handfasting to Maryse didn't take place until two years later, in March 1107, when Duncan had just turned 15. Dhugal was born in January 1108, making him just over a year younger than Kelson, who was born on 14 November 1106.
Thank you for the correction. I haven't got my own copy of the Codex.
Quote from: BalanceTheEnergies on June 16, 2011, 03:39:01 PM
I haven't got my own copy of the Codex.
I weakened a while ago and got a copy when I saw it on sale and it just 'looked' at me from the shelf! Version 3 is planned, once KK finishes the third volume of the
Childe Morgan trilogy, so that will be really good.