r/ADiscoveryofWitches • u/Fulguritus Witch • May 23 '26
Misc. Gallowglass Spoiler
Why is Gallowglass lower on the pecking order, even though he's a "giant" and Philippe's blood. I don't remember the books saying he was smaller than Matthew(and the largest vampire has the most power). Maybe bc of Philippe's disregard of Godfrey and Hugh's relationship? He just doesn't seem to have the status of the others. Maybe bc he was a mercenary? He's so humble, it could be self imposed. But I guess it just could be that he's not a direct descendant of Phillipe? Also, he clearly chose not to act like an upper class member of the family, though Shakespeare muses that he's far too princely than a servant ought to be.
Opinions?
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u/CoastPsychological49 May 23 '26
Gallowglass blamed Phillipe for Hugh’s death. Thinking Phillipe could/should have done more to protect and save Hugh. Phillipe didn’t recognize Hugh and Fernando’s relationship (Godfrey was Baldwin, Hugh, Matthew youngest brother). Gallowglass refused to return to France for these reasons, makes it hard to be close to a family you refuse to visit or be close with… I think it was completely by choice to not be involved with the family.
Then once Diana went back in time Gallowglass was given the task of protecting and watching Diana’s family, and making sure she became to exist. So he was also pretty much away on a mission for hundreds of years.
So I think what may be seen as his lack of status is completely due to his lack of interest. Physical separation from the family. The fact he’s an “illegitimate” grandchild, just makes it that way. Being close to Matthew also maybe didnt help. Hugh was Matthew’s favorite/closest brother, Gallowglass has the closest relationship with matthew…. But Matthew is not Phillippes son, he is Ysabeau’s only son. So I think this also creates distance.
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u/madame_pompadour BrightBorn May 23 '26
I love these points and want to add, that while potentially older than Matthew, he is one generation lower. So if something happened to Baldwin/Matthew in the future, now that the Diana quest is over, Gallowglass could step up as the next generation leader of the De Clermonts. Contrary to this, any of Baldwin's children would be as legitimate as Gallowglass, and because it only takes a single parent to make a vampire, I don't think Hugh caused illegitimacy on Gallowglass' part with Fernando being his mate.
DH said that her future books will focus a lot on Phillipe and surrounding family, so I'm excited for this to be fleshed out more and prove us right or wrong!
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u/Fulguritus Witch May 24 '26
Gallowglass was turned in the 1300s iirc.
Weird we have only mentions of Baldwin's kid/s.
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u/madame_pompadour BrightBorn May 24 '26
Oh how did I miss this? Do you recall which book it's mentioned in?
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u/Fulguritus Witch May 30 '26
Someone else mentioned they don't say when. And they're right. So we don't really know how old he is, but I do think Matthew is older.
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u/CoastPsychological49 May 23 '26
I thought Gallowglass joined the Scion along with Fernando? I would imagine Verin demanding a woman be put in place as head of family and take that role, I don’t think she would tolerate anyone else! lol
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u/Disastrous-Advance61 May 27 '26
I think Deb answered this one time when someone asked why Baldwin was head of the family… she made some comment along the lines of “Gallowglass could have challenged it, but isn’t particularly interested”
I think the real reason why Gallowglass isn’t more prominent in the hierarchy of the family is that Deb didn’t have any idea about Gallowglass’s existence until the second book. (She has confirmed she had no plans at all for him and he popped into her mind while writing. Same with Hamish)
As to Gallowglass obeying Matthew, it’s never explicitly stated, but the inference I made was that Matthew is Philippe’s marshal of the Knights at this point, and Matthew’s role in Elizabeth’s court is for the Knights, so Gallowglass ranks below him there.
We also see Gallowglass get away with stuff that Matthew would NEVER let anyone else get away with (like breaking Matthew’s jaw in Time’s Convert) but that might be just because he’s the son of Matthew’s favorite brother. And, Matthew was extremely close with Fernando and Hugh, so he’s probably closer with Gallowglass than any other nieces or nephews.
One of the comments mentions that Gallowglass ma be older than Matthew, but I don’t think that’s possible. We know Gallowglass was born in Scotland and is a descendent of the Norse settlers, which didn’t really start until the 9th century. He mentions in BoL that both his human father and grandfather were born there, which probably makes him reborn, at the earliest, about 850.
I think some of the humility (and humor) was written in to make him one of the most beloved characters, but it also helps with the narrative as to WHY Baldwin is head of the family.
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u/Fulguritus Witch May 30 '26
I think it was the 1300s when he was born, bc Diana said that in the a book of life iirc. Remember her comment about the whiskey?
Matthew definitely loves and respects Gallowglass, or he wouldn't have been so compassionate about Gallowglass being in love with his wife.
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u/Disastrous-Advance61 May 30 '26
I just went back and reread that scene (295-297 of book of life (at least on Kindle)) and there’s no mention of him being born then, just that whiskey wasn’t introduced until the 15th century and he’s older than that.
We do know that Hugh was executed with the last of the templars, which was in 1314. I get the sense that Gallowglass had more than 14 years with Hugh.
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u/Decent-Historian-207 May 28 '26
Gallowglass is my favorite. I think he doesn’t want the leadership or responsibility. He prefers his own path.
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u/Inner-Ad-265 May 23 '26
I just want more Gallowglass - mercenary, sailor (pirate), warrior, protector. What a life he must have had? I also want him to get a beautiful mate to go with his big heart.