COMYN
1. ROBERT-
Robert de Comines probably came from Comines in Flanders
and entered the service of William the Conqueror. He was sent north as earl of Northumbria in
1068 after the deposition of Gospatric. He got as far as Durham with his 700 men where Bishop Ethelwin
warned him about an army mobilised against him. He ignored the advice and on 28
Jan. 1069 the rebel army attacked Durham
and killed many of his men and set fire to the bishop's house where he was
staying and Robert was killed in the fire. After this attack Ethelwin turned
against the Normans and gathered an army and
marched on York.
Issue-
· ?2I. _______-
Ref:
Anglo-Saxon England- Frank M. Stenton, Oxford University
Press, 1971
2I. _________ (ROBERT 1)-
Issue-
· 3I. WILLIAM- m. MAUD BASSETT
· II. Osbert- d. 1144
· III. Walter- mentioned in a charter from
Hexham Abbey in 1162.
3I. WILLIAM (ROBERT 1)-
m. MAUD BASSETT
William came from Fonthill Gifford, Wiltshire and was among the Norman
landowners who emigrated to Scotland
by invitation of King David I. He also held land in England as Earl of Huntingdon. This
Comyn family were direct descendants of Robert Comine, Earl of Northumbria.
William was Chancellor of Scotland.
Issue-
· 4I. RICHARD- m. HEXILDA TYNEDALE
(m.2. Mael Coluim, Earl of Atholl), d.c.1190
4I. RICHARD (ROBERT
1, WILLIAM 3)
m. HEXILDA, TYNEDALE, (m.2. Mael Coluim,
Earl of Atholl), d. of Uchtred, Lord of Tynedale and Bethoc ingen Domnaill
Bain, and grand daughter of Donald Bane
d.c.1190
Site of Northallerton Castle
Richard witnessed many charters from Malcolm IV and William the Lion. In
1144 Richard received Northallerton
Castle from his father
William. He was made Justiciary of Scotland by King William. Richard was
captured with King William in 1174 and was a hostage for him in the Treaty of
Falaise. With Hextilda's consent he gave land to the monks at Hexham, Kelso and
Holyrood. "Hextildis comitissa de Eththetela" donated property to
Rievall Abbey for the soul of "domini mei Richardi Cumin".(1)
Issue-
· I.
John- d. before 1152, bur. Kelso Abbey
· 5II. WILLIAM-
m.1. ?, 2. MARGARET, Countess of Buchan, d. 1233
· III. Odinel- Odo was a priest and a witness
to Richard's charters to religious houses in 1162 and 1166.
· IV. Simon- mentioned in the 1166 charter to
the Augustinians at Holyrood.
· V. Idonea- m. Adam FitzGilbert
· VI. Ada-
· VII. Christien- Richard's daughters were
witnesses to a donation made by Mael Coluim, Earl of Atholl and their mother
Hexitilda to the church of St. Cuthbert in Durham.
Ref:
(1) Monasticon- Dugdale- Rievall Abbey,
Yorkshire- Vol. XI, p. 284
Robert the Bruce's Rivals: They Comyns, 1213-1314- Alan Young,
East Linton, 1997- pp.15-9
"The Scottish Nation"- William Anderson, A. Fullarton & Co.,
Edinburgh, 1880
5II. WILLIAM (ROBERT 1, WILLIAM 3, RICHARD 4)
m.1.c.1193 SARAH FITZHUGH (d.c.1204), d. of Robert FitzHugh
2. MARGARET, Countess of BUCHAN, d. of Fergus,
Earl of Buchan
d. 1233, bur. Deer Abbey
In 1200 William, as King William the Lion's envoy, was sent to congratulate
King John on his succeeding to the throne of England. He was Sheriff of Forfar
from 1195 until 1211 and was Justiciary of Scotland from 1205 until 1233 as
well as Warden of Moray in 1211-2. He defeated the tribe under Buthred of the
family of Heth who had come from Ireland. He made his fortune in the
service of William the Lion fighting the insurgency of Gofraid mac Domnaill of
the Meic Uilleim in the north whom King William beheaded at Kincardine in 1213.
Upon finally destroying the Meic Uilleim in 1229 he was given the Lordship of
Badenoch. He was a witness to 88 charters by the king. By his marriage with
Margaret he became Earl of Buchan upon Fergus' death c.1214. William helped
oversee the construction of St. Mungo's Cathedral in Glasgow and after his death Margaret
continued his work there.
The Liber Pluscardensis records the death in 1233 of
"Willelmus Cumyn comes de Buchane" who founded ecclesiam de
Deer.(1)
Deer Abbey
Issue- first six children by Sarah, last seven by Margaret
· 6I. RICHARD-
b.c.1194, d.c.1245
· II. Jardine- Lord of Inverallochy
· III. Walter- m. Isabella, Countess of
Menteith (m.2. John Russell, Kt.)
· 14IV. JOHANNA- b.c.1198, m.c.1220 WILLIAM, Earl of ROSS (d.c.1274), d.c.1274
· V. John- m.c.1242 Matilda, Countess of Angus
(d. 1261), d. 1242
· VI. David- m. Isabel de Valoigne (d. 1253),
d. 1247
· VII. Idonea- m.1237 Gilbert de Haya of Erroll
(d. 1262)
· 7VIII. ALEXANDER-
m. ELIZABETH De QUINCY
· IX. William- b.c.1217
· X. Margaret- m. Sir John Keith, Marischal of Scotland (d.
1270)
· XI. Fergus-
· 8XII. ELIZABETH-
m. WILLIAM MAR (d. 1281), d. 1267
· XIII. Agnes- m.c.1262 Sir Philip de Meldrum,
Justiciar of Scotland
Ref:
(1) Liber Pluscardensis- Vol. I, Liber VII, CX,
p. 73
Robert the Bruce's Rivals: They Comyns, 1213-1314- Alan Young,
East Linton, 1997
The Scottish Nation- William Anderson, A. Fullarton & Co.,
Edinburgh, 1880
6I. RICHARD (ROBERT 1, WILLIAM 3,
RICHARD 4, WILLIAM 5)
Richard received all the estates of his brother Walter after his death
without any sons.
Issue-
· 9I. JOHN- m.1.
Eva, 2. Alice
?de Ross or de Lindsay, d.c.1274
Ref:
"The Scottish Nation"- William Anderson, A. Fullarton & Co.,
Edinburgh, 1880
9I. JOHN (ROBERT 1, WILLIAM 3, RICHARD
4, WILLIAM 5, RICHARD 6)
m.1. Eva
2. Alice ?de
Ross or de Lindsay
d.c.1274
The Comyn family were in effective power in Scotland
from 1249 to 1255, when Alexander III of Scotland was a minor; John was one
of those with court influence. The Comyns were ousted, by Alan Durward, but
returned to power in 1257-8.
John the "Red Comyn" was Justiciary of Galloway and joined the
other barons in demanding security from Henry III before they would allow the
Queen of Scotland to go to London.
He fought for Henry III of England at the Battle of Lewes (1265), with John
Baliol the elder and Robert Bruce the elder; he was captured.(1)
In 1267 he was given license to crenellate Tarset Castle in Tynedale (by
present-day Lanehead, near Hexham), by Henry III.(2) Tarset had
previously been held by Walter Comyn.
Site of Tarset Castle
He started castle construction at Blair
Castle with a tower built in 1269
which is now incorporated into the current structure and known as the Cummings Tower. The place was soon taken back by
David, Earl of Atholl.
Blair Castle
The Cummings Tower
Issue-
· I. William-
m. Heiress of Mentieth, d.s.p.
· 10II. JOHN- m. MARJORY
BALIOL, living in 1299
· III. _______ - m. Alexander of Argyll
· IV. _______- m. Sir William Galbraith, Lord
of Kyncaith
· V. ________- m. Galfrid de Mowbray
Ref:
(1) English Heritage Battlefield Report: Lewes 1264 at:
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/upload/pdf/Lewes.pdf
(2) Cal. Doc. Scot.- Vol. I, No. 2463; Cal. Pat. Rolls- 178
"The Scottish Nation"- William Anderson, A. Fullarton & Co.,
Edinburgh, 1880
10II. JOHN (ROBERT 1, WILLIAM 3,
RICHARD 4, WILLIAM 5, RICHARD 6, JOHN 7)
m. MARJORY BALIOL, d. of John Balliol of Barnard Castle
d. 1302 Lochindorb castle
Sir John the "Black Comyn" became Lord of Badenoch and was one of
the nobles who settled the Norwegian marriage of Princess Margaret in 1281.
In 1286 at Alexander III's death he was chosen by Parliament one of the six
Regents of Scotland during the minority of the Maiden of Norway.
After the death of the Queen the "Black Comyn" became a candidate
for the crown as descended from King Duncan by the daughter of his son Donald
Bane. He did not push his claim for fear of jeopardising that of his
brother-in-law John de Balliol. He was a committed ally of Balliol and assisted
him in his struggle against Edward I and ws the driving force behind Balliol's
claim to the throne and the revolt against Edward's demands. At the meeting of
the competitors for the crown at Holywell-haugh 2 June 1291 John acknowledged
Edward the feudal superior of Scotland
and swore allegiance to the English King. After the election of Baliol to the
vacant throne the "Black Comyn" seems to have retired from public
life.
Lochindorb Castle
Issue-
· 11I. JOHN- m. JOAN PLANTAGENET, d. 4 Feb. 1305/6
· II. Euphemia- m. Sir Andrew Moray of Petty
· III. ______- m. Sir William Galbraith
Ref:
Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland- G.W.S.
Barrow, 2005- p. 188
"The Scottish Nation"- William Anderson, A. Fullarton & Co.,
Edinburgh, 1880
11I. JOHN (ROBERT 1, WILLIAM 3, RICHARD
4, WILLIAM 5, RICHARD 6, JOHN 7, JOHN 8)
m. JOAN PLANTAGENET, d. of William de
Valence, Earl of Pembroke
d. 10 Feb. 1305/6
Dunbar Castle
John the "Red Comyn" possessed the same right to the throne as
Baliol and he supported King Edward as long as he supported Baliol's interest. Upon
the English King's insulting treatment of John Baliol the Scots revolted and
John joined the army which destroyed much of Cumberland. He was among the force admitted
to Dunbar castle by the Countess of March,
Marjory Comyn which held off the English under Warene, Earl of Surrey. After
the Battle of Dunbar 28 Apr. 1296 the castle surrendered and the "Red
Comyn" was taken prisoner to the Tower
of London, but soon released on
condition that he took up service with King Edward in Flanders.
After the English defeat by Wallace at Stirling bridge on 11 Sept. 1297 John
was among the Scots who deserted the English and ended up in Paris
where they appealed for aid from Philip IV, however, the only help they
received was a ship back to Scotland.
John then joined the patriots and commanded the cavalry at the battle of Falkirk 22 July 1298 when all his men ran from the field.
The main Scottish sources, the chronicles of John Fordun and John Barbour, were
composed decades after the event, long after the Comyns had been expelled from Scotland. The
important thing to remember about Fordun and Barbour is that they were not
composing detached historical narratives, but manifestos, so to speak, with a
specific agenda in mind, namely to magnify Robert Bruce and diminish John
Comyn. In Fordun John and his kin move on and off stage like operatic villains.
Hating Wallace, they seem only to have appeared on the battlefield with
premeditated treachery in mind—"For, on account of the ill-will, begotten
of the sprig of envy, which the Comyns had conceived towards the aforesaid
William, they, with their accomplices, forsook the field, and escaped
unhurt." This is set alongside a commendation of Robert Bruce, the future
king, who, in Fordun's account, fought on the side of the English and "was
the means of bringing about the victory." Set against the partisan
Scottish accounts we have the contemporary English record of the Lanercost
Chronicle, partisan in a different way, which simply blames the inadequacy of
the Scottish cavalry in general. Soon after the defeat John Comyn was to emerge
as Guardian in place of Wallace, unlikely if treachery had been so manifest.
John afterwards threatened to impeach Wallace for treason and he therefore
voluntarily resigned as Governor of Scotland with John de Soulis and Sir John
being chosen Regents.
With no independent power base Wallace, whose prestige had always been based
on the success of his army, had little choice but to resign as Guardian after Falkirk, though Fordun has him stepping down because of
the "wickedness of the Comyns." In his place came one of the more
unusual, and difficult, balancing acts in Scottish history: John Comyn and
Robert Bruce the younger, who had now joined the patriot party. The Scots were
still fighting on behalf of the absent King John, so Bruce must have paid lip
service to the cause, though his royal ambitions were openly known. The records
give little or nothing in the way of insight into the feelings and motives of
these men, but it seems reasonably clear that hatred and suspicion of the one
for the other were uppermost. At a meeting of a council of the magnates at
Peebles in August 1299 an argument broke out, during which Comyn is said by an
English spy to have seized Bruce by the throat. Seemingly to act as a mediator
William Lamberton, Bishop of St. Andrews, was appointed as a third Guardian,
not the best of arrangements as Lamberton was politically closer to Bruce.
Bruce resigned before May 1300, when the restoration of King John was looking
increasingly likely, leaving only Comyn and Lamberton, but even this was too
much. When parliament assembled at Rutherglen it learned that "the bishop
of St Andrews and sire John Comyn were at
discord and the Stewart of Scotland and the earl of Atholl took the part of the
bishop, and sir John Comyn said that he did not wish to be a guardian of the
realm along with the bishop. But at length they were in accord and they elected
Sir Ingram d'Umphraville to be one of the guardians of the realm in place of
the earl of Carrick." This was obviously an arrangement that suited Comyn,
because Umphraville was a close political associate and a kinsman of King John.
With the Guardianship taking Scotland one way Robert Bruce went the other,
making his peace with Edward by February 1302 in a document in which he
expressed the fear that "the realm of Scotland might be removed from the
hands of the king, which God forbid, and delivered to John Balliol, or to his
son." The new triumvirate lasted to May 1301, when John de Soules emerged as
sole Guardian, seemingly appointed by Balliol himself pending his return. The
following year, with Soules leaving for France on a diplomatic mission,
Comyn became sole Guardian, occupying the position for the next two years.
Comyn became Lord of Badenoch following his father's death that same year.
In 1300 when Edward invaded Scotland
the Earl of Buchan and Sir John had an audience with the King and demanded that
Baliol be permitted to reign over them and that their estates which had been
unjustly given to English nobles be restored. Edward refused to grant these
proposals and the Scots left vowing to defend themselves to the last.
There was a certain inevitability to the Comyn domination of Scottish
government in the years before 1304: not only were they the most powerful of
the noble families, but their heartlands to the north of the Forth
had been untouched ever since the campaign of 1296. English invasions in 1298,
1300 and 1301 had been confined to the south of the country, leaving the north
as the chief recruiting ground, and supply base, of the Scottish army. In 1302
John joined forces with Sir Simon Fraser of Tweeddale and they defeated the
superior English force at Roslin 25 Feb. 1302/3. For once Fordun recognised the
achievement:
There never was so desperate a struggle, or one in which the stoutness
of knightly prowess shone forth so brightly. The commander and leader in this
struggle was John Comyn, the son... John Comyn, then guardian of Scotland, and
Simon Fraser with their followers, day and night, did their best to harass and
to annoy, by their general prowess, the aforesaid kings officers and
bailiffs... the aforesaid John Comyn and Simon, with their abettors, hearing of
their arrival at Rosslyn and wishing to steal a march rather than have one
stolen upon them, came briskly through from Biggar to Rosslyn, in one night,
with some chosen men, who chose rather death before unworthy subjection to the
English nation; and all of a sudden they fearlessly fell upon the enemy.
John continued to lead the patriots through the war and thus redeemed
himself for his army's flight from the battle of Falkirk.
Scotland
was again over run by Edward's army and John along with Wallace and Fraser were
forced into the forests where they carried on a guerilla was against the English:
"The Lord of Badenauh, Freselle, and Walais,
Lived at thieves' law, ever robbing alle wayes."
Politically, however, the outlook was bleak. Philip entered into a final
peace with Edward, from which Scotland
was excluded. John Balliol, whose star had risen briefly above the horizon, now
sank into the twilight of history. In a mood of desperation the Scottish
diplomats in Paris, who included Comyn's cousin Buchan, wrote words of
encouragement; "For God's sake do not despair...it would gladden your
hearts if you would know how much your honour has increased in every part of
the world as a result of your recent battle with the English." However,
for the first time since 1296 Edward was preparing an offensive that would take
him deep into the north of Scotland.
Edward took the Comyn's castle of Lochindorb and Sir John's army was defeated in an
attempt to stop the English at the Forth. On 9
Feb. 1304 the Earls of Pembroke and Ulster
and Sir Henry Percy met Sir John at Strathurd (Struthers) in Fife.
However, this was no abject surrender, unlike that of King John in 1296. Comyn
laid down clear terms, insisting that there should be no reprisals or
disinheritance, which Edward accepted, with notable exceptions. Edward
maintained his particular hatred for one former Guardian. Comyn was thus
obliged to adhere to a condition in which he and other named individuals were
to "capture Sir William Wallace and hand him over to the king, who will
watch to see how each of them conducts himself so that he can do most favour to
whoever shall capture Wallace..." There is no evidence to suggest Comyn
made any effort to fulfill this condition, though this does not imply that he
would have failed to hand over Wallace if he had the opportunity.
At a conference between the rivals to the throne at Stirling
the Bruce made the following proposal to John: "Support my title to the
throne and I will give you all my lands or bestow on me your lands and I shall
support your claim." John agreed to support Robert in his claim in
exchange for his lands and Bruce went to London, but John anxious to regain
Edward's favor betrayed the plot to the English King an sent him the signed
agreement. King Edward then told some of his nobles of the plan to destroy the
Bruce and that night the Earl of Gloucester sent Robert a purse of money and a
pair of gilded spurs, a sign to flee to Scotland. On his way back home he
met Sir John's messenger who had all the papers confirming his suspicions of
his rival's treachery including a paper suggesting that Edward put the Bruce to
death. King Robert went to Dumfries and
requested a private interview with Sir John 10 Feb. 1305 in the church of the
Minorite Friars. Bruce then drew his dagger and stabbed him in the heart and
quickly left the church, pale and agitated telling his followers: "I doubt
I have slain the red Comyn."
"You doubt!" said Sir Thomas Kirkpatrick: "Is that a matter
to be left to doubt? I'se mak siccar (I will make sure)." He rushed into
the church with Sir James Lindesay and Sir Christopher Seton and finished off
the "Red Comyn" and his uncle Sir Robert Comyn who tried to defend
him.
Although the above story is interesting it is probably not true and John's
murder was probably the unexpected outcome of a quarrel between the two rivals
as no agreement existed and King Edward certainly did not know of it as he
states in a document shortly after Comyn's death that he had complete
confidence in the Bruce. It is probable that John instilled some suspicions
into Edward's mind out of jealousy for Robert and after hearing of it Bruce
demanded an explaination and killed him in the heat of the arguement. The
appearance of a premeditated assassination was aggravated by the actions of
Robert's followers. The later Scottish sources all try to justify the crime by
amplifying earlier accusations of malevolence and treachery against Comyn. For
the English sources the villain is Robert Bruce, who lured Comyn into a
church—taken as a guarantee of safety—with the intention of committing
premeditated murder. We will never know the complete truth, because none of
those present ever provided an account of what happened. One thing all the
sources agree on, both English and Scottish, is that Bruce could never move his
cause forward for as long as John Comyn was alive.
We know that by early 1306, either from the records or subsequent events,
that Bruce had secured the support of leading Scottish churchmen, like
Lamberton and Robert Wishart the bishop of Glasgow, for some kind of political coup,
most likely involving the revival of the Scottish monarchy. Balliol was
obviously never going to return—not that Bruce would have worked for such an
outcome—so the only two realistic candidates for the office were either himself
or John Comyn. Some sources suggest that Bruce offered a pact, whereby one
would take the crown in return for the lands of the other; but it does not seem
credible that he would have hazarded his long-cherished claim so lightly. The
essential truth is probably contained in a list of charges later drawn up for
Edward against William Lamberton. When Lamberton was made chief Guardian, Bruce
rose against King Edward as a traitor, and murdered Sir John Comyn, lord of
Badenoch, in the church of the Friors Minor of the town of Dumfries, by the
high alter, because Sir John would not assent to the treason which Robert
planned against the king of England, namely, to resume war against him and make
himself king of Scotland.
The murder of John Comyn took Edward by complete surprise. Thirteen days
after the event, a garbled version of the facts reached his court at Winchester, where the murder was reported as "the
work of some people who are doing their utmost to trouble the peace and quiet
of the realm of Scotland."
Upon hearing of John's murder Edward appointed the Earl of Pembroke Governor of
Scotland
and sent him with his army to avenge his death. Once the picture became clear
he reacted in fury, authorising Aymer de Valence, Comyn's brother-in-law, to
take extraordinary action against Bruce, who had since been crowned king less
than seven weeks after the killing in Dumfries.
He also emphasised his blood relationship with the Comyns by ordering his
cousin, Joan, to send John's young son and namesake to England, where
he was placed in the care of Sir John Weston, guardian of the royal children.
John Comyn the younger grew to manhood in England,
not returning to Scotland
until 1314, when he was killed at the Battle of Bannockburn. The death of his
father plunged Scotland
into a brief but bloody civil war, largely concluded by 1308, but with
political reverberations that were to last for decades.
The power of the Comyns was effectually broken after the battle of Inverury
22 May 1308 when Robert the Bruce defeated the third Earl of Buchan. The name
sunk into an obscurity from which it did not emerge for centuries. Carrick in
his "Life of Wallace" states that "while the Scots in the low
country cried out against the 'fause Cumyn's kyn' their vassals in Badenoch and
Lochaber re-echoed the charge." There was a Gaelic proverb that said that
"while there are trees in a wood, there will be deceit in a Cumyn."
Issue-
· I.
John- d.s.p. 1325
· 12II. JOAN-
m. DAVID De STRATHBOGIE
· III. ______-
Ref:
The Bruce- John Barbour, trans. A.A.H. Duncan, 1964
Scotichronicon- Walter Bower, D.E.R. Watt, Ed., 1987-1996
Chronicles- John Fordun, W.F. Skene, Ed., 1871-2
Lanercost Chronicle- Sir Thomas Gray, trans. H. Maxwell, 1913
Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland- Andrew Wyntoun, D. Lang, Ed.,
1872-9
The Scottish Nation- William Anderson, A. Fullarton & Co.,
Edinburgh, 1880
7VIII. ALEXANDER (ROBERT 1,
WILLIAM 3, RICHARD 4, WILLIAM 5)
m. ELIZABETH De QUINCY, d. of Roger de
Quincy and Helen de Galloway
d. before 6 Apr. 1290
In 1244 Alexander was one of the guarantees of the treaty with England and
in 1251 he was appointed Justiciary of Scotland, but was removed from office
four years later because of his anti-English beliefs and was restored to that
office in 1257 and served in that capacity until 1289.
By his marriage to Elizabeth he obtained her
father's estates in Galloway and other
counties and upon the resignation of the office of Constable by her older
sister Margaret, Countess of Derby in 1270 Alexander became Constable of
Scotland. On 5 Feb. 1283/4 he was one of the Magnates Scotiae who agreed to
Margaret of Norway as heir to the crown. In 1286 upon Alexander III's death he
was chosen one of six guardians of Scotland.
Issue-
· I. John- third Earl of Buchan, m. Isabel,
daughter of Duncan, Earl of Fife, d. before 28 Apr. 1313
· II. Alexander- fourth Earl of Buchan, m. Joan
Latimer
· III. William- Provost of St. Mary's Church, St. Andrews
· 13IV. MARJORY-
m. PATRICK DUNBAR
· V. Emma- m. Maol Iosa III, Earl of Strathearn
(d. 1313, bur. Inchaffray Abbey)
· VI. Elizabeth- m. Gilbert De Umfreville, Earl
of Angus, d. before 17 Feb. 1328/9
· VII. Elena- m. William de Brechin
· VIII. Annora- m. Nicholas de Soules
· IX. Roger-
Ref:
Robert the Bruce's Rivals: They Comyns, 1213-1314- Alan Young,
East Linton, 1997
The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the
United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant- G.E. Cokayne, Vicary Gibbs,
Alan Sutton Pub., 2000- Vol. II, pp. 374-5
The Complete Peerage or a History of the House of Lords and All its
Members From the Earliest Times- Peter W. Hammond, Ed., Sutton Pub.,
Stroud, Gloucestershire, 1998- Vol. XIV, p. 46
"The Scottish Nation"- William Anderson, A. Fullarton & Co.,
Edinburgh, 1880
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