John Balliol or John de Balliol,known derisively as Toom Tabard,was King of Scots from 1292 to 1296. Little is known of his early life. After the death of Margaret,Maid of Norway,Scotland entered an interregnum during which several competitors for the Crown of Scotland put forward claims. Balliol was chosen from among them as the new King of Scotland by a group of selected noblemen headed by King Edward I of England.
The Mormaer or Earl of Buchan was originally the provincial ruler of the medieval province of Buchan. Buchan was the first Mormaerdom in the High Medieval Kingdom of the Scots to pass into the hands of a non-Scottish family in the male line. The earldom had three lines in its history,not counting passings from female heirs to sons. Today,it is held by the Erskine family as a peerage. The current holder is Harry Erskine,18th Earl of Buchan.
Roger de Quincy,2nd Earl of Winchester,hereditary Constable of Scotland,was a nobleman of Anglo-Norman and Scottish descent who was prominent in both England and Scotland,at his death having one of the largest baronial landholdings in the two kingdoms.
John Comyn III of Badenoch,nicknamed the Red,was a leading Scottish baron and magnate who played an important role in the First War of Scottish Independence. He served as Guardian of Scotland after the forced abdication of his uncle,King John Balliol,in 1296,and for a time commanded the defence of Scotland against English attacks. Comyn was stabbed to death by Robert the Bruce before the altar at the church of the Greyfriars at Dumfries,once it had been declared that Comyn had more connection to King David of Scotland and therefore should be the next King of Scotland,not Robert.
The Lord High Constable is a hereditary,now ceremonial,office of Scotland. In the order of precedence of Scotland,the office traditionally ranks above all titles except those of the Royal Family. The Lord High Constable was,after the King of Scots,the supreme officer of the Scottish army. He also performed judicial functions as the chief judge of the High Court of Constabulary. From the late 13th Century the Court –presided over by the Lord High Constable or his deputies –was empowered to judge all cases of rioting,disorder,bloodshed and murder if such crimes occurred within four miles of the King,the King's Council,or the Parliament of Scotland. Following James VI's move to England,the jurisdiction of the Lord High Constable was defined in terms of the "resident place" appointed for the Council.
Patrick III,7th Earl of Dunbar was lord of the feudal barony of Dunbar and its castle,which dominated East Lothian,and the most important military personage in the Scottish Borders.
Dervorguilla of Galloway was a 'lady of substance' in 13th century Scotland,the wife from 1223 of John,5th Baron de Balliol,and mother of John I,a future king of Scotland.
Donnchadh III or Duncan was Earl of Fife from 1270/2 to 1288.
Malise III of Strathearn was a Scottish nobleman,the ruler of the region of Strathearn.
William of Mar,also known by the name Uilleam mac Dhonnchaidh,was the mormaer of Mar in medieval Scotland from 1244 to 1276. His father was Donnchadh of Mar.
William II,Earl of Ross was ruler of the province of Ross in northern Scotland,and a prominent figure in the Wars of Scottish Independence.
John Comyn II of Badenoch,nicknamed the Black Comyn,was a Scottish nobleman,a Guardian of Scotland,and one of the six Regents for Margaret,Maid of Norway. His father was John Comyn I of Badenoch.
William Comyn was Lord of Badenoch and Earl of Buchan. He was one of the seven children of Richard Comyn,Justiciar of Lothian,and Hextilda of Tynedale. He was born in Scotland,in Altyre,Moray in 1163 and died in Buchan in 1233 where he is buried in Deer Abbey.
John Comyn,3rd Earl of Buchan was a chief opponent of Robert the Bruce in the civil war that paralleled the War of Scottish Independence. He should not be confused with the better known John III Comyn,Lord of Badenoch,who was his cousin,and who was killed by Bruce in Dumfries in March 1306. Confusion between the two men has affected the study of this period of history.
Alexander of Argyll,also known as Alexander of Lorne,and Alexander MacDougall,was a Scottish magnate from the late 13th and early 14th century.
Alice Comyn,Countess of Buchan,Lady Beaumont was a Scottish noblewoman,a member of the powerful Comyn family which supported the Balliols,claimants to the disputed Scottish throne against their rivals,the Bruces. She was the niece of John Comyn,Earl of Buchan,to whom she was also heiress,and after his death the Earldom of Buchan was successfully claimed by her husband Henry de Beaumont,Earl of Buchan,by right of his wife. His long struggle to claim her Earldom of Buchan was one of the causes of the Second War of Scottish Independence.
Clan Cumming,also known as Clan Comyn,is a Scottish clan from the central Highlands that played a major role in the history of 13th-century Scotland and in the Wars of Scottish Independence. The Clan Comyn was once the most powerful family in 13th-century Scotland,until they were defeated in civil war by their rival to the Scottish throne,Robert the Bruce.
John Comyn,Earl of Angus jure uxoris,was a son of William Comyn,Lord of Badenoch later the Earl of Buchan and became the Earl of Angus,jure uxoris of his wife Matilda,heiress of Máel Coluim,Earl of Angus. He died in 1242.
The Galloway revolt of 1234–1235 was an uprising in Galloway during 1234–1235,led by Tomás mac Ailein and Gille Ruadh. The uprising was in response to the succession of Alan of Galloway,whereby King Alexander II of Scotland ordered Galloway to be divided the amongst Alan's three heiresses under Norman feudal law. This judgement excluded Alan's illegitimate son Tomás,who believed he was the rightful heir under the Gaelic system of tanistry. Alexander II responded by leading an army into Galloway to crush the rebellion. The Scottish army was almost routed,however was saved by the arrival of Fearchar,Earl of Ross and his forces. Walter Comyn,Lord of Badenoch was left to mop up the revolt,however was forced to abandon the region. Patrick II,Earl of Dunbar led another army in 1235,with Adam,Abbot of Melrose,and Gilbert,Bishop of Galloway and forced the submission of Tomás and Gille.
Comyn is a surname. The name originated in the 12th century from Clan Cumming and was commonly used by the Lords of Badenoch,the Lords of Kilbride and the Earls of Buchan.
