Defender of Odann
| Defender of the Faith | |
|---|---|
| Cosantóir an Chreidimh | |
| Incumbent | |
 | |
| Adhamh III since Sation 2022 | |
| Details | |
| Style | His Odannic Majesty |
| First monarch | Adhamh I |
| Formation | 1559 |
| Residence | Teach Cloiche Sean, Dún Eógain, Ráth (principal) |
The title of Defender (Dael Cosantóir) is that used by the rulers of the Sacred Kingdom of Odann, and has been in continuous use since 1559, in which year it was bestowed by the Argan of Odann upon the then king Adhamh I. Fundamentally religious in nature – the full title is Defender of the Faith (Cosantóir an Chreidimh), with said faith being, specifically, Cairony in its Orthodox interpretation, although the title predates the Cairan Reformation – it has come to supersede the more usual title of king (rí) used previously in Odann and its Dael-speaking neighbours.
The relationship between the rulers of the Six Tables’ lands and the representatives of the Cairan faith in the country has been a significant factor in the development of what is now Odann for centuries, dating back at least as far as 1229 and the Convocation of Gárran na Ríthe (literally “Gárran of the Kings”). The meeting at Gárran, in the lower Sligeach valley, was largely organised by arganic officials as the Dael lands began to re-emerge from centuries of domination by the former Secote Empire; as petty kings (nadmen) began to jostle for position, territory and influence, a concerned argan – which had put its own internal disputes behind it not long past – sought to mediate between the contestants and, as far as possible, emplace itself in a position of behind-the-scenes influence across the country.
In this they were remarkably successful; while not necessarily comfortable for either side at times, the relationship between church and state – increasingly specifically, Odann, which emerged as pre-eminent within the Tables in the early 16th century – became one of largely mutual benefit over the next few centuries. Successive Odannach kings drew on arganic support in disputes against their more fractious and ambitious liegemen as the country increased in wealth and power, while the argan relied on royal patronage as it cemented its position as a quasi-monarchy in its own right. Being caught in the vice thus created caused some serious problems for even the strongest nobles, many of whom complained that they were being dominated by something close to the Ecclesiarchy of the Third Sabāmani Empire.
In the middle 16th century, the focus of Odann’s expansionist instincts became the Séaraiseacht along the Arcedian littoral (mostly in present-day Nation 59 and Nation 60), with king Adhamh I personally leading a campaign of slaughter across the region which earned him the kenning of Marfóir or “Killer”. However, Adhamh was able to cast this brutality as a form of proactive defence to such an extent that the argan threw its support visibly behind him; he was formally invested with the title of Defender by Holy Mother Réalta an Ghairdín in 1559.
While Adhamh would use the title alongside that of king, it essentially superseded the older term with the accession of Adhamh’s son Liam VI in 1578. Liam, whose outstanding piety earned him the name an Creidmhigh, “the Faithful”, regarded the responsibilities implicitly placed upon him by the title as a charge by Aedif itself, and responded accordingly; while his successors have rarely been men of such overwhelmingly strong faith, virtually to a man in the years since – and certainly from the middle 18th century as the Reform Wars raged over Messenia – they have chosen to project themselves to the wider world as champions of Orthodox Cairony before their role as monarchs of their country. Some Defenders – the late Ultan II among them – have done their best to conflate the two roles in the public mind, even where the depths of their personal faith may have made such a claim questionable.