Gallowglass and the Promise That Shaped His Life
Did Gallowglass truly love Diana or was his devotion shaped by Philippe’s command?
Few characters in the All Souls trilogy inspire as much affection from readers as Gallowglass. When he appears in the story, he brings a kind of warmth and steadiness that contrasts with the darker tensions surrounding Matthew and Diana. He’s loyal, fearless, and often unexpectedly funny — the sort of character who feels immediately trustworthy.
Yet beneath that humor lies a much quieter tragedy.
Long before Diana Bishop knows who he is, Gallowglass has already spent centuries watching over her. The reason traces back to Philippe de Clermont. Many years before the events of the trilogy, Philippe gave Gallowglass a command: when the time came, he was to protect Diana.
And Gallowglass obeyed.
Across centuries, wars, and changing countries, he remained close enough to protect her while keeping his distance from the life she didn’t yet understand. By the time Diana finally meets him, he’s already known her story for far longer than she has.
Over time, that watchfulness grows into something deeper. Gallowglass comes to love Diana. It’s a quiet love — never acted upon and rarely spoken — but it’s unmistakably present beneath his loyalty.
And that’s where the question becomes complicated.
How much of that love is truly his own?
Philippe’s command gave Gallowglass a purpose. It tied his life to Diana’s centuries before she was even born. Watching over her wasn’t simply a role he chose later; it was a promise made to the patriarch of the de Clermont family long ago.
Loyalty runs deep in that family. Matthew’s life is shaped by his loyalty to Philippe. Ysabeau’s strength comes from her fierce loyalty to her family and their history. Gallowglass carries that same devotion, but in his case it demands a different kind of sacrifice.
He’s devoted himself to protecting Diana without ever expecting anything in return.
What makes his story so moving is that Gallowglass never expresses resentment about this role. He doesn’t serve because he’s afraid of Philippe’s authority. He serves because he loved Philippe, and because loyalty has become part of who he is.
Still, the question lingers.
Did Gallowglass fall in love with Diana simply because he came to know her across centuries of watching and protecting her?
Or did Philippe’s command shape the course of his life so completely that the outcome was inevitable?
It’s one of the quiet tragedies of the trilogy that Gallowglass’s story unfolds mostly at the edges of the central narrative. He’s a protector, a friend, and a witness to a love story that could never be his own.
Yet there’s something profoundly honorable in that choice.
Because Gallowglass never stops protecting Diana — even when it means stepping aside.
Which leaves us with the question readers still debate.
Did Gallowglass truly love Diana or was his devotion shaped by Philippe’s command?
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Coming Sunday
Next we’ll return to Oxford and explore the quieter side of the city — the cafés, pubs, and streets where creatures and humans share the same spaces without ever realizing it.