John* Comyn was born Abt. 991 in Morayshire, Scotland, and died Abt. 1023 in Morayshire, Scotland.
Notes for John* Comyn: Lady Diana's 25-Great Grandfather
A SHORT HISTORY OF CLAN CUMMING The story of Clan Cumming has been restudied in recent years. As a result, their image has evolved from being arch enemies of Robert the Bruce and the Scots' cause in the struggle to free Scotland from the armies of Edward I (and the next two Edwards). A more positive and improved scholarship now recognizes their meaningful place within the fabric of Scotland's heritage. And their political differences with the Bruce are beginning to be seen for what they were—manifestations of other viewpoints in a time of great turmoil. Therefore, this "Short History" will join that reassessment in a summary of this clan's early years. The Comyns are traditionally traced to a Robert, one of the warriors who accompanied William the Conqueror in the successful invasion of England in 1066. While this Robert Comyn is historical, our connection with him as the first of our clan in this general Norman influx is not clear.
Since the clan family name is spelled several ways, Comyn will be used here for consistency. This surname is believed to be derived from the vicinity of Comines, a village near Lille, France, on the road to Ypres, once part of Flanders. Several battles during World War I were fought along the Ypres-Comines Canal. Another Comines is just across the Belgian border and Comyns can be found in both countries.
Another place for Comyn origins may be Bosc, near Rouen, northwest of Paris. (ROBERT THE BRUCE'S RIVALS by Alan Young, page 40, footnote 4). It will be interesting to see what further research finds.
A legendary thread ties the Comyns to Emperor Charlemagne of the Holy Roman Empire. While it is a fascinating tidbit, the historical proof is elusive. However, the Great Charles lived at Aachen, not far from both of the villages named Comines, so perhaps the Comyns are related to that august person!
The family name was, by coincidence, found in the British Isles before Robert crossed the English Channel; for example: a seventh century Abbot of Iona was named Cummin, but the only connection is in the use of the spice's name.
After the initial conquest of the Anglo-Saxons, William the Conqueror, now King William I, placed Robert Comyn in charge of Northumberland. This area, like a county or state, had once been a separate realm of its own. At other times it had been part of Scotland; it was now part of William's England. Robert's appointment as governor, akin to an earl, indicated his abilities in the eyes of the king. Unfortunately, Robert's tenure in this office was very short. Because, as history states, the citizens of Durham burned down the building in which he and some of his soldiers were billeted! Elsewhere in the city all but one of Comyn's seven hundred men were slaughtered.
Another revolt against the Normans soon followed and King William retaliated by marching north with fire and sword. The resulting devastation was like that which the King of Scots, Robert I (the Bruce), would conduct against the Buchan Comyns and their allies in 1308, because of their opposition to him.
Approximately two generations later, after Robert Comyn's violent death in Durham, another Comyn, William, entered the clan story when he was called by the King of Scots, David I, to be Chancellor of Scotland. The year was about 1133, and with this Comyn we are "almost" on solid genealogical ground. While he was probably English, historians consider this William to be the first verifiable Comyn in Scotland; that is, the first in this clan's story. But he brings a problem in specific identification; namely: What was his brother's name?
That particular question is important because the son of William's unknown brother begins the first confirmed Comyn for the clan. His name was Richard and with him the line is unbroken. William, his uncle, the Chancellor, helped lead the way for Richard into the royal favor of David I. This favor meant grants of land and position from both David I and his son, Earl Henry. Richard may have been from Northumberland, but after this royal favor, he possessed land in both England and Scotland. The Comyn rise up the ladder was rather swift from this point.
A further word on the indistinct family line between Chancellor William and Richard as uncle and nephew: Round's definitive study of the Comyns, written in 1904, while not drawing a solid line between the two generations, leaves the precise question open. Two recent historians, Alan Young and Marion Campbell, accept the relationship given in the traditional story. This history will follow their leading and accept the uncle-nephew connection and simply acknowledge the lack of knowing just who Richard's father was. Hopefully, further searching will one day draw the exact line, not only to the Chancellor, William, but also to Robert of the Norman Conquest and then across the English Channel to Comines or Bosc.
Richard's marriage to Hextilda of Tynedale was an important match for the Comyn family because she was the granddaughter of the King of Scots, Donald III, known as Donald Bane. His reign was in two parts: 1093-94 and 1094-97; he was overthrown for some months in 1094 which is the reason for the apparently unbroken years. This was another time of turmoil with a bloody end, especially for Donald Bane, who was mutilated by a nephew and then imprisoned for life. But, because he was a formally recognized King of Scots, he passed a bloodline claim to the Crown to the Comyns through Hextilda. After 1290, this was one of the two lines used by Clan Comyn in the competition for the Crown, as will be noted later in the story.
Richard and Hextilda's eldest son was John, but the clan really advanced through their second son, William. This William was married twice, but the name of his first wife is not certain. His resulting two families created two dominant branches in the House of Comyn. The Red Comyn, slain by Bruce in 1306, and the present Cumming House descended from the first family.
The Comyn Earls of Buchan descended from the second marriage of William to Marjory, Countess of Buchan, about 1210. Through that union he became Earl of Buchan, an important position with very extensive properties. At first reading the scope of the Buchan Comyns would seem to be the major branch of the two. It was, however, secondary to the first family's line, the Badenoch Comyns.
The point in the previous paragraph is a key to understanding the way Comyn power was developed and then used between the senior Badenoch branch and the junior or secondary Buchan Comyns. It is also important to see the status of an earl in Scotland compared, in this case, to that of a lord. Unlike the English usage, a lord could be superior to an earl; it depended upon the order of the family bloodline. But it should be said that at least it did here, because such principles are not always followed. And so, in the Comyn family, the Lordship of Badenoch continued in the first family, and that took precedence over the Earls of Buchan in the descendants of the second family of William.
William was a man of many talents and was given responsibilities in both political and military arenas. After an important military campaign, Alexander II granted the Lordship of Badenoch to William. He, in turn, presented it to Walter, his second son from the first marriage.
When Walter married the Countess of Mentieth, he became Earl of Mentieth. After his death, perhaps due to poisoning by his wife, that title passed from the Comyns to others. There was a court challenge by the Comyns which was eventually settled by giving them half of the earldom's lands. However, Walter's Lordship of Badenoch stayed with William's first family, and was inherited by Walter's nephew, John, known as the Black Comyn.
It should be noted that Walter was a man of exceptional ability and political importance in Scotland. And, secondly, that his nephew ably carried on the tradition of Comyn contributions to leadership in Scottish affairs.
The Black Comyn married Alianora, as sister of John Balliol, future King of Scots. This marriage would help lay the foundation for an unseen confrontation with the House of Bruce (and others). This was due to the heritage of Alianora's mother, the Lady Devorgilla, wife of Sir John Balliol, the Lord of Galloway. She carried a line of descent from the family of William the Lion, King of Scots; specifically through the daughters of his brother, David, Earl of Huntingdon, which the Bruces also shared. Because of this link to the Crown, Devorgilla became the mother of a King of Scots, John Balliol, and the grandmother of another, Edward Balliol (who is seldom found in the regnal lists). Alianora, in turn, passed this heritage to her son, John the Red Comyn (II), who, through his father, carried a descent from Donald III (as did the Comyn Earls of Buchan). An explosive contest for the Crown was on the horizon and with it, a crushing defeat for Clan Comyn.
Now, to the cause of that contest: In 1286, the King of Scots, Alexander III, died in an untimely accident. His only direct living heir was a granddaughter in Norway. The six year old Margaret, called "the Maid of Norway," unfortunately died on the trip back to Scotland. There was no clear successor to the empty throne amongst at least thirteen persons who claimed that prize. Amidst the obvious chaos of the situation, Edward I, the King of England, was asked to judge which one of these "Claimants" had the best claim to be King of Scots. He chose John Balliol, Devorgilla's son and the Black Comyn's brother-in-law.
Little did the Scottish leaders realize what that invitation to King Edward I was going to bring! It brought years of war, bloody and devastating to both nations, with centuries of distrust still to be found on both sides of the border.
King John Balliol's reign was, therefore, troubled from its very beginning, November 30, 1292. On July 10, 1296, King John was removed from the throne and his kingdom after a heavy handed English invasion. King Edward I had, in effect, forcibly annexed Scotland and the long struggle to regain Scottish independence commenced its horror.
Upon the death of John, the Black Comyn, his son, also named John became Lord of Badenoch and Lochaber, as well as senior head of the Comyn family This John is known as the Red Comyn (No. 2), who was assassinated by Robert Bruce in Dumfries, February 10, 1306.
Highlights of the Red Comyn's life show an involved record: He was one of the leaders on the 1296 raid into Cumberland; imprisoned by Edward I, a relative of his wife's, after the Battle of Dunbar; elected one of three Guardians for the realm of Scotland, 1299; defeated the English troops at Roslyn, February 24, 1303; the next year be surrendered to King Edward I; sentenced to exile, he was offered his freedom if he would help capture William Wallace, but that dubious achievement was accomplished by another Scot.
The relationship between the Red Comyn and Robert Bruce was lukewarm at best and went downhill from there. At times they were opposed to the heroic William Wallace. While the film, "Braveheart" showed the nonsupport of Bruce for Wallace, the media remains reluctant to criticize the popular King Robert I. It is true, however, that Bruce's achievements did outweigh his failures and that fact is carefully worded in contemporary history books.
The Red Comyn's failings and defeats, while in positions of political and military command, were no worse than many others — including Bruce. However, they were overemphasized to create a favorable image of the victor in the power struggles during the years between the death of the Maid of Norway and the eventual victory at Bannockburn, followed by the consolidation of the Bruce regime.
The quarrel in the monastery Church of the Greyfriars, founded by the Red Comyn's grandmother, Devorgilla, is traced back to an agreement which both Comyn and Bruce signed. It detailed what each would do if the other was to become king and indicating that the struggle to eject the English occupation forces would go on. The commonly accepted theory is that Comyn leaked the plan to King Edward I. Bruce was in Edward I's court, but was able to escape capture for such "treason." When he met Comyn in the monastery church, accusations flew and tempers rose. In the ensuing struggle with drawn weapons, Comyn was killed. Who struck first is not certain because the art of propaganda was as strong in those days as it is in ours. Nor is it 'known for certain just who dispatched Comyn, Bruce or Kirkpatrick. What is certain is that Bruce went from that event to become King of Scots and a revered hero of Scotland.
Comyn and Bruce often quarreled and had already come to blows before the coup de grace in Dumfries. These two contenders for leadership of the Scots—whether as puppet vassal King of Scots by King Edward I's "approval" or by Scottish support—could not agree to disagree. Something had to give and, therefore, Bruce's sword was used to eliminate the Red Comyn from the scene. This deadly encounter occurred in front of the altar in the Greyfriars' Monastery Church, Dumfries. It put Bruce in firm opposition to the English King Edward I, but also on the road to becoming what his family had so long dreamed—to become King of Scots Robert I.
Lost in the story is an account of the Red Comyn's positive contributions to the fabric of Scotland. He was at times the sole Guardian of the land and a leader in tying down the forces of a vastly superior foreign army and its much broader base of support. It does not take much study to see that the Clan Comyn has an honorable heritage, well worth proclaiming, for they held a tremendous amount of property and were heavily involved in political leadership. With their allies by marriage and interest, the Comyns presented an obstacle to the Bruce party. But, for a long time, little attention has been paid to them. A famous quote from Fordun's history of Scotland states that in the middle of the thirteenth century, the Comyns held four earldoms and there were thirty-two belted knights in the family.
During the struggle in Dumfries, February 10, 1306, the Red Comyn's aged Uncle Robert attempted to help his nephew, but he was also assassinated on the spot. His descendants would become the Altyre Cummings and Chiefs of the Clan Cumming. Our present Chieftain is Sir Alastair Cumming, Baronet of Altyre and Gordonstoun, the thirtieth to hold the title.
The Red Comyn (of 1306) was survived by a son, also named John. Most authors say he was killed at Bannockburn, fighting with the English King Edward II,in 1314; one of many Scots who objected to Bruce being King Robert I. This John's son, Aymer, died quite young without descendants. His aunts, the two daughters of the Red Comyn, inherited his properties, at least in England. The bulk of the Comyn possessions were given as rewards for service to Bruce's cause. As noted, the senior line was now the Altyre Comyns, but still in direct succession from William Comyn's first marriage.
Amongst the ways the clan name is spelled are these: de Comyn (using the French "de"), Comyn, Cumming, Cummings, Cuming, Cummin, Cummins, Cumyn, Commyn, Cumine, Cummine.
As with most clans, there are a number of septs, such as Buchan, MacNiven, Niven and Russell. We share with them the Comyn motto, "Courage,” an honorable word to this very day!
The major castles of the senior Comyns until the death of the Red Comyn were Dalswinton, Ruthven (now the site of Ruthven Barracks), Inverlochy, Balvenie, Lochindorb, Bedrule and Kirkintilloch. They also held properties in England such as Thornton and Tarset, to name two in Tynedale, Northumberland.
The three Comyn Earls of Buchan were: William, Alexander and John. John's wife, Isabel, exercised her family's long right to crown the Kings of Scots, a couple of days after Bruce's first formal installation at Scone. On March 27, 1306, she kept that tradition, in direct opposition to her husband's position in Scotland. Captured by Scots opposed to Bruce's ascension to the crown, she was imprisoned by King Edward I in a cage for her treasonous behavior. Her husband, John, whom she never saw again, lost the military and political struggle with Bruce in Buchan, 1308, and left Scotland to die in England. His Scottish lands were awarded to his two nieces and amongst other supporters of Bruce.
Other Comyns, in addition to the Altyre line, did survive. For example, a branch at Auchmacoy near Ellon was spared by agreeing to support Bruce and to change their surname. They chose Buchan which became an illustrious name and they still occupy Auchmacoy. Some of the other Comyn lines are those of Culter, Relugas and Inverallochy.
Several suggested books to continue a study of the Comyns are: THE BRUCES AND THE CUMYNS by M. E. Cumming-Bruce; HISTORY OF DUMFRIES by William McDowall (with an introduction and update by A. E. Truckell); ROBERT BRUCE AND THE COMMUNITY OF THE REALM OF SCOTLAND by G. W. S. Barrow; ROBERT THE BRUCE by Ronald M. Scott; THE WARS OF THE BRUCES by Colm McNamee; MORAY & BADENOCH and THE LORDSHIP OF GALLOWAY both by Richard Oram; THE HIGHLAND CLANS by Moncriffe & Hicks; HIGHLAND HIGHWAYS by John Kerr; THE BRUCE TRILOGY by Nigel Tranter; ROBERT THE BRUCE'S RIVALS: THE COMYNS, 1212--1314 by Alan Young; IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF Robert Bruce by Young & Stead; ALEXANDER III by Marion Campbell.
More About John* Comyn: Degree: 28 great grandparent from Leo Moss' side.
Children of John* Comyn are:
+Robert* Comyn, b. Abt. 1022, Morayshire, Scotland, d. 28 Jan 1068/69.
John* Comyn (b. Abt. 991, d. Abt. 1023)
Notes for John* Comyn: