Camber of Culdi (novel)
Cover illustration by Ted Coconia for the first edition of Camber of Culdi
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| Author | Katherine Kurtz |
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| Cover artist | Ted Coconia |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Legends of Camber of Culdi |
| Genre | Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | Ballantine Books |
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Publication date
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12 June 1976 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback & Hardcover) |
| Pages | xx, 314 pp (first edition, paperback) |
| ISBN | (first edition, paperback) |
| OCLC | 2091486 |
| 813/.5/4 | |
| LC Class | PS3561.U69 C36 1979 |
| Preceded by | High Deryni (by publication date) |
| Followed by | Saint Camber |
Camber of Culdi is fantasy novel by American-born author Katherine Kurtz. It was first published by Ballantine Books on June 12, 1976. It was the fourth novel in Kurtz' Deryni novels to be published, and the first book in her second Deryni trilogy, The Legends of Camber of Culdi. The Legends trilogy serves as prequels to The Chronicles of the Deryni series that Kurtz wrote from 1970 to 1973, and it details the events that occurred two centuries before the Chronicles trilogy. Therefore, although it was the fourth Deryni novel to be published, Camber of Culdi is the earliest novel to occur within the series' internal literary chronology.
The novel is set in the land of Gwynedd, one of the fictional Eleven Kingdoms. Gwynedd itself is a medieval kingdom similar to the British Isles of the 10th century, with a powerful Holy Church (based on the Roman Catholic Church), and a feudal government ruled by a hereditary monarchy. The population of Gwynedd includes both humans and Deryni, a race of people with inherent psychic and magical abilities. The novel takes place eight decades after a foreign Deryni prince invaded Gwynedd and overthrew the human king. Though still a minority of the population, Deryni control the throne, the Church, and almost all positions of power throughout the realm, and many lead privileged lives at the expense of the human majority. However, a wave of human resentment in starting to surge throughout the kingdom, and a powerful Deryni lord embarks on a quest to restore the ancient line of Haldane kings.
The novel spans the time period between September 903 and December 904, beginning shortly after the murder of a Deryni lord named Rannulf. Unable to locate Rannulf's murderer, King Imre Furstán-Festil issues a decree ordering the deaths of fifty human peasants unless the murderer is identified. The peasants are tenants of Earl Camber MacRorie of Culdi, a respected Deryni master who formerly served Imre's father.
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