William Comyn | |
---|---|
Sheriff of Forfar | |
In office 1195–1211 | |
Justiciar of Scotia | |
In office 1205–1233 | |
Preceded by | Gille Brigte,Earl of Strathearn |
Succeeded by | Walter Stewart,3rd High Steward of Scotland |
Warden of Moray / Guardian of Moray | |
In office 1211–1212 | |
Personal details | |
Born | c. 1163 Altyre,Moray |
Died | 1233 Buchan,Aberdeenshire |
Spouse(s) | Sarah Fitzhugh (1193–1204) Marjory,Countess of Buchan (1212–death) |
Children | est. 13 (see family tree at bottom) |
Parent(s) | Richard Comyn Hextilda of Tynedale |
William Comyn (1163 - 1233) 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. Born in Altyre,Moray,Scotland,he died in Buchan and is buried in Deer Abbey.
William made his fortune in the service of King William I of Scotland fighting the Meic Uilleims in the north. William witnesses no fewer than 88 charters of the king. William was sheriff of Forfar (1195–1211),Justiciar of Scotia (1205–1233) and warden of Moray (1211–12). Between 1199 and 1200,William was sent to England to discuss important matters on King William's behalf with the new king,John.
William was appointed to the prestigious office of Justiciar of Scotia,the most senior royal office in the kingdom,in 1205. Between 1211 and 1212,William,as Warden of Moray (or Guardian of Moray) fought against the insurgency of Gofraid mac Domnaill (of the Meic Uilleim family),whom William beheaded in Kincardine in 1213. Upon finally destroying the Meic Uilleims in 1229,he was given the Lordship of Badenoch and the lands it controlled.
From an unknown date,William held the title Lord of Kilbride.
He helped oversee the construction of St Mungo's Cathedral in Glasgow and after his death,Marjory continued his work there.
During his time as Warden of Moray,Comyn's success may have been a reason for his marriage to Marjory (a.k.a. Margaret),Countess of Buchan,sometime between 1209 and 1212. Her father,Fergus,Earl of Buchan (died c.1214),had no male heirs and so in marrying his daughter to William he ensured a suitable line for his titles before his death. Through this marriage,William took management of the mormaerdom (earldom) of Buchan.
Founded in 1219 by Comyn as a Cistercian house, [1] [2] Deer Abbey later a monestary,bringing "Cistercian monks from Kinloss Abbey near Elgin to establish the new monastery." [3] After the Reformation of 1560,the abbey was secularized,becoming the barony or Altrie. [3]
The marriage of William and Sarah Fitzhugh,William's first marriage,is believed to have produced six children. This marriage is associated with the Lordship of Badenoch. The marriage of William and Marjory,Countess of Buchan,produced seven children and is associated with the Earldom of Buchan. [4] For the historian Alan Young,William's life,and particularly his marriage to the Countess of Buchan,marks the beginning of the "Comyn century". {{Citation needed}}
NB. Children are ranked according to either accounts showing a specific rank in the order of Williams children's birth or according to the earliest available date the child was thought to have been born.
Comyn died in 1233 in Aberdeenshire,Scotland and was buried in the new church at Deer Abbey. [3]
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. Subsidiary titles are Lord Cardross and Lord Auchterhouse and Baron Erskine.
Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan, called the Wolf of Badenoch, was a Scottish royal prince, the third son of King Robert II of Scotland by his first wife Elizabeth Mure. He was Justiciar of Scotia and held large territories in the north of Scotland.
The Mormaer or Earl of Menteith was the ruler of the province of Menteith in the Middle Ages. The first mormaer is usually regarded as Gille Críst, simply because he is the earliest on record. The title was held in a continuous line from Gille Críst until Muireadhach IV, although the male line was broken on two occasions. A truncated version of the earldom was given two years later to Malise Graham, 1st Earl of Menteith, in compensation for loss of the Earldom of Strathearn, which was a likely result of the execution of the Duke of Albany.
Hugh [probably Gaelic: Aodh], was the third successor of Ferchar mac in tSagairt as Mormaer of Ross (1323–1333).
The Meic Uilleim (MacWilliams) were the Gaelic descendants of William fitz Duncan, grandson of Máel Coluim mac Donnchada, king of Scots. They were excluded from the succession by the descendants of Máel Coluim's son David I during the 12th century and raised a number of rebellions to vindicate their claims to the Mormaerdom of Moray and perhaps to the rule of Scotland.
The Lord of Badenoch was a magnate who ruled the lordship of Badenoch in the 13th century and early 14th century. The lordship may have been created out of the territory of the Meic Uilleim, after William Comyn, jure uxoris Earl of Buchan, Justiciar of Scotia and Warden of Moray defeated Gille Escoib MacUilleim. However, there is no evidence that the Meic Uilleim held lands in this area. After the death of John III in 1306, the lordship was taken into royal hands, although it was still claimed by his son John. The Lordship was included in the vast Earldom of Moray when it was resurrected for Thomas Randolph.
Walter Comyn, Lord of Badenoch was the son of William Comyn, Justiciar of Scotia and Mormaer or Earl of Buchan by right of his second wife.
Alexander Comyn, 2nd Earl of Buchan was a Scoto-Norman magnate who was one of the most important figures in the 13th century Kingdom of Scotland. He was the son of William Comyn, Lord of Badenoch, and Marjory, Countess of Buchan, the heiress of the last native Scottish Mormaer of Buchan, Fergus. He was the chief counsellor of Alexander III, King of Alba (Scotland) for the entire period of the king's majority and as Scotland's leading magnate, played a key role in safeguarding the independence of the Scottish monarchy. During his long career, Alexander Comyn was Justiciar of Scotia (1258–1289), Constable of Scotland (1275–1289), Sheriff of Wigtown (1263–1266), Sheriff of Dingwall (1264–1266), Baillie of Inverie and finally, Guardian of Scotland (1286–1289) during the first interregnum following the death of Alexander III. In 1284 he joined with other Scottish noblemen who acknowledged Margaret of Norway as the heiress to King Alexander. He died sometime after 10 July 1289.
Alan Hostarius was the son of Thomas de Lundin, a grandson of Gille Críst, Mormaer of Mar. His mother's name is unknown, but she was almost certainly a daughter of Máel Coluim, Mormaer of Atholl, meaning that Alan was the product of two Gaelic comital families.
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.
John Comyn (Cumyn) was Lord of Badenoch in Scotland. He was Justiciar of Galloway in 1258. He held lands in Nithsdale and Tynedale.
Richard Comyn was a Scottish noble who was the son of Sir William de Comyn, Constable of Scotland and Maude Basset, and also the nephew of William Cumin.
Gofraid mac Domnaill, was a thirteenth-century Scottish rebel. The son of Domnall, his father's surname was almost certainly MacWilliam though Bane has been proposed.
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, historically 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.
Jardine Comyn, Lord of Inverallochy, also known as Jordan, was a son of William Comyn, Lord of Badenoch later the Earl of Buchan and was granted the lands of Inverallochy from his father upon William becoming the Earl of Buchan, jure uxoris of his second wife Margaret, Countess of Buchan.
Sir John de Keith, Marischal of Scotland, was a Scottish noble. He was a son of Hervey de Keith and Margaret de Douglas.
Philip de Meldrum, Lord of Meldrum, Justiciar of Scotia, was a Scottish noble. He was a son of Philippe de Fedarg.
Marjory, Countess of Buchan, also known as Margaret de Buchan, was a Scottish noblewoman.
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.