Katherine Kurtz published Deryni Rising in 1970, then spent the next 44 years writing the two and a half centuries of history behind it. The Deryni saga now runs to 16 novels, 15 shorter works, a poem, and four companion volumes, and almost none of it came out in the order the events take place. This guide lays out the internal chronology, from a Deryni king’s court in 888 to King Kelson’s wedding in 1128, for readers who want to follow Gwynedd’s history the way its characters lived it.
Where New Readers Should Start
Newcomers should still likley start with Deryni Rising. Kurtz wrote the Camber books for readers who had already finished the original trilogy, and she built much of their dramatic elements on that knowledge. In the Kelson-era books, Saint Camber is a banned cult figure, a Deryni saint whose name the Church has scrubbed from the calendar, and a hooded apparition tied to him turns up at key moments for Alaric Morgan. A reader who meets Camber MacRorie first as a living nobleman in Camber of Culdi loses that mystery.
The chronological path gives something back in exchange. Readers watch the persecution of the Deryni take shape from its first cause to its last consequence. Camber helps overthrow the Deryni Festillic dynasty and pulls Cinhil Haldane out of a monastery to take the throne. Cinhil’s anguish over abandoning his priestly vows runs through all three Camber novels, and the Church councils that follow, culminating in the Statutes of Ramos, bar Deryni from the priesthood and set the legal machinery of persecution in motion. By the time Kelson takes the throne in 1120, a reader following this order knows exactly how Gwynedd arrived at its hatred of Deryni and why Kelson’s Church still enforces it.
Kurtz steeped the whole series in liturgy, sacraments, and ecclesiastical politics. Priesthood, penance, and canonization drive the plots. Reading chronologically makes the Church the constant through-line across 240 years of kings.
The Reading Order
Before Camber
“Lay of Lord Llewellyn” (poem, undated; the bard Llewellyn died around 850). First published inside Camber of Culdi, 1976.
“Catalyst” (888). Collected in The Deryni Archives, 1986; first published in Moonsinger’s Friends, 1985.
The Legends of Camber of Culdi (903 to 918)
Camber of Culdi (903 to 904), 1976
Saint Camber (905 to 907), 1978
“Healer’s Song” (914), in The Deryni Archives
“The Examen” (undated, likely a few years before “First Session”), in Deryni Magic: A Grimoire, 1991
Camber the Heretic (917 to 918), 1981
“First Session” (set during Camber the Heretic), in Deryni Magic
Tip: “First Session” takes place inside the events of Camber the Heretic. Read it after finishing the novel.
The Heirs of Saint Camber (918 to 928)
The Harrowing of Gwynedd (918), 1989
King Javan’s Year (921 to 922), 1992
The Bastard Prince (928), 1994
The Long Quiet (977 to 1052)
“Vocation” (977), in The Deryni Archives
“The Green Tower” (1052), in Deryni Tales, 2002
A century and a half passes here with only two short stories to cover it. Readers jump from the aftermath of the regency straight into the late eleventh century.
The Childe Morgan Trilogy and the Reign of Brion (1082 to 1106)
In the King’s Service (1082 to 1091), 2003
“Venture in Vain” (1089), limited edition chapbook only, 2001
Childe Morgan (1093 to 1096), 2006
The King’s Deryni (1099 to 1106), 2014
“Bethane” (1100), in The Deryni Archives
“The Priesting of Arilan” (1104 to 1105), in The Deryni Archives
“Swords Against the Marluk” (1105), in Flashing Swords! 4, 1977 but reworked into the novel
“Legacy” (1105), in The Deryni Archives
Tip: All four short stories fall inside the span of The King’s Deryni. Finishing the novel first and then reading the four stories in order keeps the novel’s plot intact. “Swords Against the Marluk” was Kurtz’s first published Deryni short fiction and has been reprinted several times, most recently in Paula Guran’s Swords Against Darkness (2017). “Venture in Vain” never appeared outside its 2001 chapbook, so completists will need to hunt the collector market.
Before the Crown Passes (1115 to 1118)
“The Knighting of Derry” (1115), in The Deryni Archives
“Trial” (1118), in The Deryni Archives
The Chronicles of the Deryni (1120 to 1121)
“The Dream That Became Deryni” (undated), in The Deryni Archives
“Lords of Sorandor” (undated novelette, the early version of Deryni Rising), in The Deryni Archives
Deryni Rising (1120), 1970
Deryni Checkmate (1121), 1972
High Deryni (1121), 1973
“The Dream That Became Deryni” and “Lords of Sorandor” record how the series began on Kurtz’s side of the page. Readers can take them as a preface to Deryni Rising or save them for after the trilogy to compare the draft against the finished novel.
The Histories of King Kelson (1123 to 1128)
The Bishop’s Heir (1123 to 1124), 1984
The King’s Justice (1124), 1985
The Quest for Saint Camber (1125), 1986
King Kelson’s Bride (1128), 2000
Collections and Companions
Most of the short fiction lives in two books. The Deryni Archives (1986) collects stories set from 888 to 1120, and Deryni Tales (2002) is the anthology holding “The Green Tower.” Deryni Magic: A Grimoire (1991) explains the mechanics of Deryni powers and carries “The Examen” and “First Session.” The two volumes of Codex Derynianus (1998 and 2005) work as encyclopedias for the setting and suit readers who want a reference open beside the novels.
A reader following this order will also move back and forth across Kurtz’s career. The first novel in the chronology dates from 1976, the last book written (The King’s Deryni, 2014) lands two-thirds of the way through the timeline, and the 1970 debut does not appear until near the end.
Happy reading!
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