Who is King Roald, The Peacemaker from In the Hand of the Goddess and what is their importance?

King Roald, The Peacemaker, only sends his knights into battle with Tusaine as a last resort, and he brokers a peace negotiations with him at the first opportunity. Roald is known as a kind king and a kind father. He is shocked by his nephew's treason and admits he would not have allowed Alanna to become a knight if he had known she was a girl.