John Comyn, Earl of Buchan
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John Comyn was Earl of Buchan
and an important member of Clan Comyn
during the early 14th century. He 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 1306. Confusion between the two men has affected the study of this period of history.
Buchan was the representative of a family that had long dominated the politics of Scotland. He was defeated by Bruce at the Battle of Barra and was forced to flee to England
. Bruce's subsequent Harrying of Buchan
destroyed support for the Comyns in northern Scotland. This defeat, together with Comyn's death that year, produced a significant and lasting shift in the balance of power in Scotland.
, a family of Norman
origin, first made their appearance in Scotland during the reign of David I
. In 1136 William Comyn
, who had formerly been in the service of Henry I of England
, became Chancellor of Scotland. William Comyn was part of a new class of French
-speaking foreigners whose power and status in Scotland was entirely dependent on their service to the king, and were to be used by David and his successors in extending royal authority to the semi-independent fringes of the kingdom. The Comyns first grants of land were in the south of Scotland; but in 1212 they made their most significant advance when William Comyn
, Justiciar of Scotia
, married Marjorie, the only child and heir of Fergus
, the "earl" or mormaer of Buchan, a lordship encompassing a large area in the north-east of Scotland. When their son Alexander
succeeded them, the Comyns became the first family of Norman origin to acquire comital status in Scotland, gaining more than a head start on the Bruces, also of Norman-French origin, who did not acquire the earldom of Carrick
until the later thirteenth century. William also advanced Comyn power by acquiring for his son, Walter Comyn
, the southern section of the old earldom of Moray, the Lordship of Badenoch
, which also included the more westerly district of Lochaber
. By the middle of the thirteenth century Comyn power thus extended from the shores of Aberdeenshire
westwards all the way to Loch Linnhe
. The family was a force of growing importance through the successive reigns of Alexander II
and Alexander III
; but they might be said to have reached the heights of their power and influence during the reign of John Balliol.
, the last descendant of the Canmore
dynasty, died, leaving the Scottish throne with no clear successor. In the end thirteen Competitors
came forward, the most important of whom were Robert Bruce of Annandale
, grandfather of the future king, and John Balliol. Although John Comyn, Lord of Badenoch
, sometimes known as the Black Comyn, was one of the minor competitors, the weight of the family was behind the claim of Balliol, Badenoch's brother-in-law. Following the intervention of Edward I
, Balliol finally emerged in 1292 as the strongest claimant in terms of feudal law, though the Bruce family was not reconciled to this outcome. Any successful future bid for the crown could only proceed with the co-operation, or by the destruction, of the house of Comyn. By 1292 the great division which was to dominate Scottish politics on and off for over fifty years had taken definite shape.
with France and prepared for war with England. In virtually the first act of that war Buchan, along with his cousin, John, the Red Comyn
, son of the Black Comyn and nephew of King John, led an attack on Carlisle, which happened to be under the command of Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick
, son of the Competitor. Thus it might be said that what was to become the War of Scottish Independence opened with a clash between the Comyns and the Bruces.
The attack on Carlisle was a failure; so too was the whole Scottish campaign of 1296. Edward, having knocked out the main Scottish host at the Battle of Dunbar
, moved north in rapid stages. Buchan and King John surrendered at Montrose
in July, along with other leading Scottish nobles. The hapless John was stripped of the symbols of majesty and power and taken south to the Tower of London
. Buchan did not fare too badly, simply being imprisoned in England south of the River Trent. In June 1297 he promised to serve in the army against France, though Edward was soon to find a more pressing occasion for his services. That same year Scotland was engulfed in a widespread rebellion, led by Andrew Moray
in the north and William Wallace
in the south of the country. Moray's rising was of particular interest to Buchan because it touched on the borders of his own estates. It was with the intention of bringing Moray under control that Edward finally sent Buchan homewards in July.
, the chief agent of the English occupation, was aware that this was a thinly disguised double-act, writing on 5 August that "the peace on the other side of the Scottish sea (Firth of Forth) is still in obscurity, as it is said, as to the doings of the earls who are there." The Guisborough Chronicle had little doubt of Comyn's culpability, who "at first pretended to repress rebellion but in the end changed sides and became a thorn in our flesh." However, as late as September, shortly before the Battle of Stirling Bridge
, Buchan was still believed to be loyal by the English government. The reality is that Wallace and Moray could scarcely have met up, or even recruited sufficient forces in the north, without the tacit approval of Buchan and his associates.
filled, at Wallace's behest, by William Lamberton in place of the man he had expected to take the position, Master William Comyn, his own brother. Both John Fordun and John Barbour said in their chronicles, although their neutrality could be questioned, that the Comyns abandoned Wallace at the Battle of Falkirk
. Their interpretation of events involves some intellectual acrobatics: Fordun condemns the Comyns for losing the battle for Wallace, while in the next breath he commends Robert Bruce, the future king, for winning it for the English. Yet, setting this interpretation of events aside, the evidence suggests Comyn hostility towards Wallace, magnified, perhaps, by Lamberton's known association with the Bruce family.
Shortly after the defeat at Falkirk, Wallace resigned as Guardian. He was replaced by Robert Bruce the younger, who had now joined the patriots, and John Comyn of Badenoch, who had returned to Scotland. This uneasy match was obviously intended to balance the competing interests in Scotland; for though Bruce acted with the Red Comyn in the name of "the illustrious King John", his claim to the throne was openly known. In 1299 the whole delicate structure threatened to fall apart at a meeting of the baronial council at Peebles
, a potentially murderous episode reported by an English spy. David Graham, an adherent of the Comyns, made a surprise intervention;
At the council Sir David Graham demanded the lands and goods of Sir William Wallace because he was leaving the kingdom without the leave or approval of the Guardians. And Sir Malcolm Wallace, Sir William's brother, answered that neither his lands nor his goods should be given away, for they were protected by the peace in which Wallace left the kingdom. At this the two knights gave the lie to each other and drew their daggers. And since Sir David was of Sir John Comyn's following and Sir Malcolm Wallace of the Earl of Carrick's following, it was reported to the Earl of Buchan and John Comyn that a fight had broken out without their knowing it; and John Comyn leaped at the Earl of Carrick and seized him by the throat, and the Earl of Buchan turned on the Bishop of St. Andrews, declaring that treason and lesemajestie were being plotted. Eventually the Stewart and others came between them and quitened them.
Lamberton was added to the panel of Guardians with the intention of keeping the peace, an odd arrangement considering the Comyns' hostility towards him. In the end he had to step down when The Red Comyn declared that he no longer wished to serve with him. Bruce himself stepped down in 1300, at a time when the restoration of King John looked like a serious possibility, the chief political aim of the whole Comyn family.
, holding court at Aberdeen
in early 1300. He was also active on the border, taking part in raids against the English and in Galloway
, where, as sheriff of Wigtown
, he attempted to win over the local people to the national cause. In 1301 he joined with John de Soules in campaigning against the English army in the valley of the River Clyde
. The following year he was chosen to take part in an embassy to Paris
to try to prevent a peace treaty between England and France. In his absence his cousin helped beat an English force at the Battle of Roslin
, but this was a false dawn, overtaken by ensuing darkness. Edward, preparing for a major offensive against Scotland, persuaded Philip IV
to exclude her from the Treaty of Paris, signed in May 1303. Buchan joined with the other ambassadors in writing words of encouragement to his cousin: "For God's sake do not despair...it would gladen 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. If you have done brave deeds, do braver ones now. The swiftest runner who falls before the winning post has run in vain."
In the end Edward's invasion in 1303, by far the strongest since 1296, proved too strong to resist. As the English army punched north of the Forth, the first time it had done so since 1296, threatening the Comyn estates in Buchan and Badenoch, the Guardian took the pragmatic step, entering into peace negotiations with King Edward, concluded at Strathord near Perth
in February 1304. Paradoxically the Comyns did not fare too badly, still figuring in the government of Scotland even after the conquest. Edward I, despite his fierce reputation, and his implacable hatred for men like Wallace, was by political and economic necessity forced to compromise. In Scotland he could not afford the ruinous cost in men, money and materials that it had taken to secure his earlier conquest of Wales
, so time and again he was forced to enter into bonds and alliances with his former enemies. Buchan's lands confiscated at one minute were returned at the next, and he was made a member of the council of regency under the new English governor, John of Brittany, Earl of Richmond
; and in September 1305 he was one of the commissioners who attended the union Parliament at Westminster
to accept Edward's Ordinances for the government of Scotland.
, the former king's son, but he was still in English captivity and would be for some time to come. The next best candidate was the Red Comyn, King John's nephew. His greatest competitor was, of course, Robert Bruce, who had submitted to the English as long ago as 1302, but had never fully abandoned his own royal ambitions. Since 1286 the threat of civil war between the houses of Bruce and Balliol had haunted and shaped Scottish politics. On 10 February 1306 Bruce and his associates murdered Comyn and his uncle in Dumfries
; the threat now became a reality.
We will never know for certain the reasons behind the murder of the Red Comyn: for the Scottish sources it was the justified fate of a traitor and a spy; for the English it was a bloody and premeditated crime. The one thing they both agree on is that the Comyn family in general, and the Red Comyn in particular, was a major obstacle on the path of Bruce's ambition. The murder of 1306 was thus rewriting the judgement of 1292. Seizing the political high ground, Bruce was crowned at Scone
on 25 March in an improvised ceremony. The Stone of Scone
was missing; so too was the Earl of Fife
, who by custom placed all new kings on the throne as the foremost of the Scottish earls. In a surprise move Isabella MacDuff
, his sister, who also happened to be Buchan's wife, turned up and claimed the right for herself. Accordingly another ceremony was held two days after the first. We have no insight into the precise reasons why she took a different view of matters from her husband, but there may have been some personal as well as political antagonisims. Buchan, as far as we know, took no action to save Isabella from the fate that her actions were shortly to bring upon her, though as Edward's chief Scottish adherent his views on the matter would certainly have carried some weight. Some sources say that he wanted her executed.
With Bruce having gone one way it was inevitable that Buchan and his associates would go the other: men, in other words, whose patriotic credentials had hitherto been impressive were now guaranteed to fight on the side of the English. Setting aside Bruce's obvious skills as a soldier and a political strategist, this was the key to the ultimate failure of the Comyns: people who took no position on the murder in Dumfries would identify themselves with a new and successful King of Scots against a party invariably ranged on the side of the national enemy.
. With the main English army absent from the scene Bruce dealt with his enemies in Scotland with ruthless determination. Following successful campaigns in Galloway and Argyllshire he concentrated all his efforts and resources against the earl of Buchan, his principal domestic enemy.
The campaign against Comyn was to last from late 1307 right through to the spring of 1308, prolonged after the king was overtaken by a bout of serious illness. This was, perhaps, the best opportunity for Comyn to destroy his enemy. With Bruce incapacitated, and the royal army reduced in numbers, an attack was mounted against his camp at Slioch near Huntly; but it was pressed with no great determination, and Buchan withdrew after some desultory arrow fire. Unfortunately the only sources we have for the whole campaign in the north-east are uniformly hostile to Comyn. There are two possibilities here: either Buchan's talents as a soldier were limited, or he could not fully rely on the forces at his disposal. The evidence suggests a combination of both factors. The campaign concluded in May 1308 when Buchan's army collapsed at the Battle of Inverurie. Buchan managed to escape to England while his earldom was subject to systematic devastation.
The Harrying of Buchan
was carried out with one aim in mind: to destroy forever Comyn power in north-east Scotland. For once atrocities were carried out not by the English but by Scots against their fellow Scots, so thorough and effective that it was remembered for some fifty years after the event. As a piece of political terrorism it was supremely effective. A similar herschip in Galloway did not destroy the loyalties of the local people for the Balliol family, which were to resurface in the 1330s. But the earldom of Buchan would never again rise for the Comyns.
In England the fugitive earl was well-received by King Edward, who appointed him warden of the west marches in June 1308; but he was not to enjoy his new responsibilities for long, dying sometime before December. Alice Comyn
, his niece and heir, married Henry Beaumont
, a French nobleman in the English service. Beaumont was to claim the earldom of Buchan in right of his wife, a claim pursued with such relentless determination that it was a major factor in bringing about the Second War of Scottish Independence
in the 1330s and beginning anew the war between the Comyns and the Bruces.
Earl of Buchan
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...
and an important member of Clan Comyn
Clan Cumming
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 and were instrumental in defeating the English at the Battle of Roslin in 1303...
during the early 14th century. He 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
John III Comyn, Lord of Badenoch
John III Comyn, Lord of Badenoch and Lord of Lochaber or John "the Red", also known simply as the Red Comyn was a Scottish nobleman who was an important figure in the Wars of Scottish Independence, and was Guardian of Scotland during the Second Interregnum 1296-1306...
, who was his cousin, and who was killed by Bruce in Dumfries
Dumfries
Dumfries is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth. Dumfries was the county town of the former county of Dumfriesshire. Dumfries is nicknamed Queen of the South...
in 1306. Confusion between the two men has affected the study of this period of history.
Buchan was the representative of a family that had long dominated the politics of Scotland. He was defeated by Bruce at the Battle of Barra and was forced to flee to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Bruce's subsequent Harrying of Buchan
Harrying of Buchan
The Harrying of Buchan, also known as the Herschip or Rape of Buchan, took place in 1308 during the Wars of Scottish Independence...
destroyed support for the Comyns in northern Scotland. This defeat, together with Comyn's death that year, produced a significant and lasting shift in the balance of power in Scotland.
Comyns of Buchan
The ComynsClan Cumming
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 and were instrumental in defeating the English at the Battle of Roslin in 1303...
, a family of Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
origin, first made their appearance in Scotland during the reign of David I
David I of Scotland
David I or Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians and later King of the Scots...
. In 1136 William Comyn
William Cumin
William Cumin was Regius Professor of Midwifery at the University of Glasgow between 1834 and 1840.He was the son of Patrick Cumin , Professor of Oriental Languages at the University of Glasgow, and his wife Rachael Baird...
, who had formerly been in the service of Henry I of England
Henry I of England
Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...
, became Chancellor of Scotland. William Comyn was part of a new class of French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
-speaking foreigners whose power and status in Scotland was entirely dependent on their service to the king, and were to be used by David and his successors in extending royal authority to the semi-independent fringes of the kingdom. The Comyns first grants of land were in the south of Scotland; but in 1212 they made their most significant advance when William Comyn
William Comyn, jure uxoris Earl of Buchan
William Comyn was one of four sons 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...
, Justiciar of Scotia
Justiciar of Scotia
The Justiciar of Scotia was the most senior legal office in the High Medieval Kingdom of Scotland. Scotia in this context refers to Scotland to the north of the River Forth and River Clyde....
, married Marjorie, the only child and heir of Fergus
Fergus, Earl of Buchan
Fergus of Buchan was the last native Gaelic Mormaer of Buchan, and only the third to be known by name as Mormaer. Fergus appears to have had strong connections in Fife, and it is possible that his father Colbán was a Fifer. A charter issued by Fergus appears to have survived. The charter is a...
, the "earl" or mormaer of Buchan, a lordship encompassing a large area in the north-east of Scotland. When their son Alexander
Alexander Comyn, Earl of Buchan
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, jure uxoris Earl of Buchan, and Marjory, Countess of Buchan, the heiress of the last native Scottish Mormaer of Buchan,...
succeeded them, the Comyns became the first family of Norman origin to acquire comital status in Scotland, gaining more than a head start on the Bruces, also of Norman-French origin, who did not acquire the earldom of Carrick
Carrick, Scotland
Carrick is a former comital district of Scotland which today forms part of South Ayrshire.-History:The word Carrick comes from the Gaelic word Carraig, meaning rock or rocky place. Maybole was the historic capital of Carrick. The county was eventually combined into Ayrshire which was divided...
until the later thirteenth century. William also advanced Comyn power by acquiring for his son, Walter Comyn
Walter Comyn, Lord of Badenoch, jure uxoris Earl of Menteith
Walter Comyn, Lord of Badenoch, jure uxoris Earl of Menteith was the son of William Comyn, Justiciar of Scotia and Mormaer or Earl of Buchan by right of his second wife....
, the southern section of the old earldom of Moray, the Lordship of Badenoch
Lord of Badenoch
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...
, which also included the more westerly district of Lochaber
Lochaber
District of Lochaber 1975 to 1996Highland council area shown as one of the council areas of ScotlandLochaber is one of the 16 ward management areas of the Highland Council of Scotland and one of eight former local government districts of the two-tier Highland region...
. By the middle of the thirteenth century Comyn power thus extended from the shores of Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives. Together, the modern council area and the city formed historic...
westwards all the way to Loch Linnhe
Loch Linnhe
Loch Linnhe is a sea loch on the west coast of Scotland....
. The family was a force of growing importance through the successive reigns of Alexander II
Alexander II of Scotland
Alexander II was King of Scots from1214 to his death.-Early life:...
and Alexander III
Alexander III of Scotland
Alexander III was King of Scots from 1249 to his death.-Life:...
; but they might be said to have reached the heights of their power and influence during the reign of John Balliol.
Competitors and kings
In 1290 Margaret, Maid of NorwayMargaret, Maid of Norway
Margaret , usually known as the Maid of Norway , sometimes known as Margaret of Scotland , was a Norwegian princess who was Queen of Scots from 1286 until her death...
, the last descendant of the Canmore
House of Dunkeld
The so-called House of Dunkeld, in Scottish Gaelic Dùn Chailleann , is a historiographical and genealogical construct to illustrate the clear succession of Scottish kings from 1034 to 1040 and from 1058 to 1290.It is dynastically sort of a continuation to Cenél nGabráin of Dál Riata, "race of...
dynasty, died, leaving the Scottish throne with no clear successor. In the end thirteen Competitors
Competitors for the Crown of Scotland
With the death of Alexander III of Scotland in 1286 without a male heir, the throne of Scotland had become the possession of the three-year old Margaret, Maid of Norway, the granddaughter of the King...
came forward, the most important of whom were Robert Bruce of Annandale
Robert Bruce, 5th Lord of Annandale
Robert V de Brus , 5th Lord of Annandale , was a feudal lord, Justice and Constable of Scotland and England, a Regent of Scotland, and a leading competitor for the Scottish throne in 1290/92 in the Great Cause...
, grandfather of the future king, and John Balliol. Although John Comyn, Lord of Badenoch
John II Comyn, Lord of Badenoch
John II Comyn, Lord of Badenoch and Lord of Lochaber or John "the Black", also known as Black Comyn, a Scottish nobleman, was a Guardian of Scotland, and one of the six Regents for Margaret, Maid of Norway...
, sometimes known as the Black Comyn, was one of the minor competitors, the weight of the family was behind the claim of Balliol, Badenoch's brother-in-law. Following the intervention of Edward I
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
, Balliol finally emerged in 1292 as the strongest claimant in terms of feudal law, though the Bruce family was not reconciled to this outcome. Any successful future bid for the crown could only proceed with the co-operation, or by the destruction, of the house of Comyn. By 1292 the great division which was to dominate Scottish politics on and off for over fifty years had taken definite shape.
John of Buchan
John Comyn became third earl of Buchan following the death of his father, Alexander, in 1289. Some thirty years of age at the time he was quickly thrust to the front in the great political contests of the day. He was prominent in John Balliol's administration, emerging as Constable of Scotland by 1293. He was one of those summoned by Edward I, in his capacity as the Feudal overlord of Scotland, to serve in the wars in France. This was clearly no welcome development; and when King John effectively caved in to the demands of the English king for Scottish participation in the war he was put 'in ward' by Buchan and others, who took the management of the kingdom into their own hands. The new government concluded an allianceAuld Alliance
The Auld Alliance was an alliance between the kingdoms of Scotland and France. It played a significant role in the relations between Scotland, France and England from its beginning in 1295 until the 1560 Treaty of Edinburgh. The alliance was renewed by all the French and Scottish monarchs of that...
with France and prepared for war with England. In virtually the first act of that war Buchan, along with his cousin, John, the Red Comyn
John III Comyn, Lord of Badenoch
John III Comyn, Lord of Badenoch and Lord of Lochaber or John "the Red", also known simply as the Red Comyn was a Scottish nobleman who was an important figure in the Wars of Scottish Independence, and was Guardian of Scotland during the Second Interregnum 1296-1306...
, son of the Black Comyn and nephew of King John, led an attack on Carlisle, which happened to be under the command of Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick
Robert Bruce, jure uxoris Earl of Carrick
Sir Robert VI de Brus , 6th Lord of Annandale , jure uxoris Earl of Carrick , Lord of , Writtle and Hatfield Broad Oak , was a cross-border lord, and participant of the Second Barons' War, Welsh Wars, and First War of Scottish Independence.The son and heir of Robert de Brus,...
, son of the Competitor. Thus it might be said that what was to become the War of Scottish Independence opened with a clash between the Comyns and the Bruces.
The attack on Carlisle was a failure; so too was the whole Scottish campaign of 1296. Edward, having knocked out the main Scottish host at the Battle of Dunbar
Battle of Dunbar (1296)
The Battle of Dunbar was the only significant field action in the campaign of 1296. King Edward I of England had invaded Scotland in 1296 to punish King John Balliol for his refusal to support English military action in France.-Background:...
, moved north in rapid stages. Buchan and King John surrendered at Montrose
Montrose, Angus
Montrose is a coastal resort town and former royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. It is situated 38 miles north of Dundee between the mouths of the North and South Esk rivers...
in July, along with other leading Scottish nobles. The hapless John was stripped of the symbols of majesty and power and taken south to the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
. Buchan did not fare too badly, simply being imprisoned in England south of the River Trent. In June 1297 he promised to serve in the army against France, though Edward was soon to find a more pressing occasion for his services. That same year Scotland was engulfed in a widespread rebellion, led by Andrew Moray
Andrew Moray
Andrew Moray , also known as Andrew de Moray, Andrew of Moray, or Andrew Murray, was a prominent military leader of patriotic forces during the Scottish Wars of Independence. He led the rising in northern Scotland in the summer of 1297 against the occupation by King Edward I of England,...
in the north and William Wallace
William Wallace
Sir William Wallace was a Scottish knight and landowner who became one of the main leaders during the Wars of Scottish Independence....
in the south of the country. Moray's rising was of particular interest to Buchan because it touched on the borders of his own estates. It was with the intention of bringing Moray under control that Edward finally sent Buchan homewards in July.
War of the Comyns
For Buchan the task before him demanded a high degree of diplomatic skill, involving national politics and family loyalties. Moray was known to him, the son of his close neighbour Sir Andrew Moray of Petty and Avoch, who was still in prison in England. Long political allies, there was also a family association between the Morays and the Comyns: Sir Andrew had taken as his second wife Euphemia Comyn, the daughter of the first Lord of Badenoch. Yet to do nothing, or even to join the rebels, also involved risks; for the Red Comyn was with Edward in Flanders. In the end the two sides met up on the banks of the Spey, whereupon Moray retired into a "great stronghold of bog and wood" where he could not be followed, as Buchan later offered Edward by way of excuse. Hugh de CressinghamHugh de Cressingham
Hugh de Cressingham was the treasurer of the English administration in Scotland during 1296-97. He was hated by the Scots and did not seem well liked even by the English. He was an advisor to John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey at the Battle of Stirling Bridge...
, the chief agent of the English occupation, was aware that this was a thinly disguised double-act, writing on 5 August that "the peace on the other side of the Scottish sea (Firth of Forth) is still in obscurity, as it is said, as to the doings of the earls who are there." The Guisborough Chronicle had little doubt of Comyn's culpability, who "at first pretended to repress rebellion but in the end changed sides and became a thorn in our flesh." However, as late as September, shortly before the Battle of Stirling Bridge
Battle of Stirling Bridge
The Battle of Stirling Bridge was a battle of the First War of Scottish Independence. On 11 September 1297, the forces of Andrew Moray and William Wallace defeated the combined English forces of John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey and Hugh de Cressingham near Stirling, on the River Forth.-The main...
, Buchan was still believed to be loyal by the English government. The reality is that Wallace and Moray could scarcely have met up, or even recruited sufficient forces in the north, without the tacit approval of Buchan and his associates.
The noble and the guardian
Buchan can be said to have made at least some indirect contribution to the victory at Stirling, though he was not personally present at the battle. Afterwards his career goes through a period of particular obscurity, few details having survived. It seems certain, though, that the death of Moray, either during or shortly after the battle, and the political ascendancy of William Wallace, who emerged as Guardian of Scotland by early 1298, had an effect on his general attitude towards the rising. It is important to remember that few if any of the major players at this time were either the selfless patriots or the dark villains depicted by later history. Personal advantage and self-interest were always significant factors. For Buchan, and many of his fellow nobles, Wallace was less of the great hero and more of the political parvenu, who by the normal order of things would have been a figure of little importance in a conservative feudal society. It would therefore have been particularly galling for Buchan to see the vacant bishopric of St AndrewsSt Andrews
St Andrews is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle.St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....
filled, at Wallace's behest, by William Lamberton in place of the man he had expected to take the position, Master William Comyn, his own brother. Both John Fordun and John Barbour said in their chronicles, although their neutrality could be questioned, that the Comyns abandoned Wallace at the Battle of Falkirk
Battle of Falkirk (1298)
The Battle of Falkirk, which took place on 22 July 1298, was one of the major battles in the First War of Scottish Independence...
. Their interpretation of events involves some intellectual acrobatics: Fordun condemns the Comyns for losing the battle for Wallace, while in the next breath he commends Robert Bruce, the future king, for winning it for the English. Yet, setting this interpretation of events aside, the evidence suggests Comyn hostility towards Wallace, magnified, perhaps, by Lamberton's known association with the Bruce family.
Shortly after the defeat at Falkirk, Wallace resigned as Guardian. He was replaced by Robert Bruce the younger, who had now joined the patriots, and John Comyn of Badenoch, who had returned to Scotland. This uneasy match was obviously intended to balance the competing interests in Scotland; for though Bruce acted with the Red Comyn in the name of "the illustrious King John", his claim to the throne was openly known. In 1299 the whole delicate structure threatened to fall apart at a meeting of the baronial council at Peebles
Peebles
Peebles is a burgh in the committee area of Tweeddale, in the Scottish Borders, lying on the River Tweed. According to the 2001 Census, the population was 8,159.-History:...
, a potentially murderous episode reported by an English spy. David Graham, an adherent of the Comyns, made a surprise intervention;
At the council Sir David Graham demanded the lands and goods of Sir William Wallace because he was leaving the kingdom without the leave or approval of the Guardians. And Sir Malcolm Wallace, Sir William's brother, answered that neither his lands nor his goods should be given away, for they were protected by the peace in which Wallace left the kingdom. At this the two knights gave the lie to each other and drew their daggers. And since Sir David was of Sir John Comyn's following and Sir Malcolm Wallace of the Earl of Carrick's following, it was reported to the Earl of Buchan and John Comyn that a fight had broken out without their knowing it; and John Comyn leaped at the Earl of Carrick and seized him by the throat, and the Earl of Buchan turned on the Bishop of St. Andrews, declaring that treason and lesemajestie were being plotted. Eventually the Stewart and others came between them and quitened them.
Lamberton was added to the panel of Guardians with the intention of keeping the peace, an odd arrangement considering the Comyns' hostility towards him. In the end he had to step down when The Red Comyn declared that he no longer wished to serve with him. Bruce himself stepped down in 1300, at a time when the restoration of King John looked like a serious possibility, the chief political aim of the whole Comyn family.
The Comyns in power
From about 1300 to 1304 the war of Scotland was also, in a sense, the war of the Comyns. With his cousin as Guardian, Buchan was occupied as Justiciar North of the ForthJusticiar of Scotia
The Justiciar of Scotia was the most senior legal office in the High Medieval Kingdom of Scotland. Scotia in this context refers to Scotland to the north of the River Forth and River Clyde....
, holding court at Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
in early 1300. He was also active on the border, taking part in raids against the English and in Galloway
Galloway
Galloway is an area in southwestern Scotland. It usually refers to the former counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire...
, where, as sheriff of Wigtown
Wigtown
Wigtown is a town and former royal burgh in the Machars of Galloway in the south west of Scotland. It lies south of Newton Stewart and east of Stranraer. It has a population of about 1,000...
, he attempted to win over the local people to the national cause. In 1301 he joined with John de Soules in campaigning against the English army in the valley of the River Clyde
River Clyde
The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
. The following year he was chosen to take part in an embassy to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
to try to prevent a peace treaty between England and France. In his absence his cousin helped beat an English force at the Battle of Roslin
Battle of Roslin
The Battle of Roslin was a battle of the First War of Scottish Independence, taking place on 24 February 1303 at Roslin, Scotland. It is the subject of an extremely highly-coloured account written by Walter Bower in the mid-15th century which bears no relationship to the contemporary evidence.It...
, but this was a false dawn, overtaken by ensuing darkness. Edward, preparing for a major offensive against Scotland, persuaded Philip IV
Philip IV of France
Philip the Fair was, as Philip IV, King of France from 1285 until his death. He was the husband of Joan I of Navarre, by virtue of which he was, as Philip I, King of Navarre and Count of Champagne from 1284 to 1305.-Youth:A member of the House of Capet, Philip was born at the Palace of...
to exclude her from the Treaty of Paris, signed in May 1303. Buchan joined with the other ambassadors in writing words of encouragement to his cousin: "For God's sake do not despair...it would gladen 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. If you have done brave deeds, do braver ones now. The swiftest runner who falls before the winning post has run in vain."
In the end Edward's invasion in 1303, by far the strongest since 1296, proved too strong to resist. As the English army punched north of the Forth, the first time it had done so since 1296, threatening the Comyn estates in Buchan and Badenoch, the Guardian took the pragmatic step, entering into peace negotiations with King Edward, concluded at Strathord near Perth
Perth, Scotland
Perth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire...
in February 1304. Paradoxically the Comyns did not fare too badly, still figuring in the government of Scotland even after the conquest. Edward I, despite his fierce reputation, and his implacable hatred for men like Wallace, was by political and economic necessity forced to compromise. In Scotland he could not afford the ruinous cost in men, money and materials that it had taken to secure his earlier conquest of Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, so time and again he was forced to enter into bonds and alliances with his former enemies. Buchan's lands confiscated at one minute were returned at the next, and he was made a member of the council of regency under the new English governor, John of Brittany, Earl of Richmond
John of Brittany, Earl of Richmond
John of Brittany or Jean de Bretagne 3rd Earl of Richmond, was an English nobleman of Breton origin. He entered royal service under Edward I, and fought in the Scottish Wars. On 15 October 1306 he received his father's title of Earl of Richmond...
; and in September 1305 he was one of the commissioners who attended the union Parliament at Westminster
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...
to accept Edward's Ordinances for the government of Scotland.
Murder and blood feud
By 1306 it was plain to all that John Balliol, now in retirement on his French estates, would never return to Scotland. His kingship was dead but the Balliol claim was not. It was best represented by Edward BalliolEdward Balliol
Edward Balliol was a claimant to the Scottish throne . With English help, he briefly ruled the country from 1332 to 1336.-Life:...
, the former king's son, but he was still in English captivity and would be for some time to come. The next best candidate was the Red Comyn, King John's nephew. His greatest competitor was, of course, Robert Bruce, who had submitted to the English as long ago as 1302, but had never fully abandoned his own royal ambitions. Since 1286 the threat of civil war between the houses of Bruce and Balliol had haunted and shaped Scottish politics. On 10 February 1306 Bruce and his associates murdered Comyn and his uncle in Dumfries
Dumfries
Dumfries is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth. Dumfries was the county town of the former county of Dumfriesshire. Dumfries is nicknamed Queen of the South...
; the threat now became a reality.
We will never know for certain the reasons behind the murder of the Red Comyn: for the Scottish sources it was the justified fate of a traitor and a spy; for the English it was a bloody and premeditated crime. The one thing they both agree on is that the Comyn family in general, and the Red Comyn in particular, was a major obstacle on the path of Bruce's ambition. The murder of 1306 was thus rewriting the judgement of 1292. Seizing the political high ground, Bruce was crowned at Scone
Scone, Scotland
Scone is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The medieval village of Scone, which grew up around the monastery and royal residence, was abandoned in the early 19th century when the residents were removed and a new palace was built on the site by the Earl of Mansfield...
on 25 March in an improvised ceremony. The Stone of Scone
Stone of Scone
The Stone of Scone , also known as the Stone of Destiny and often referred to in England as The Coronation Stone, is an oblong block of red sandstone, used for centuries in the coronation of the monarchs of Scotland and later the monarchs of England, Great Britain and the United Kingdom...
was missing; so too was the Earl of Fife
Earl of Fife
The Earl of Fife or Mormaer of Fife referred to the Gaelic comital lordship of Fife which existed in Scotland until the early 15th century....
, who by custom placed all new kings on the throne as the foremost of the Scottish earls. In a surprise move Isabella MacDuff
Isabella MacDuff
Isabella MacDuff, Countess of Buchan was a significant figure in the Wars of Scottish Independence.She was the daughter of Donnchadh III, Earl of Fife, and Johanna de Clare, daughter of Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford...
, his sister, who also happened to be Buchan's wife, turned up and claimed the right for herself. Accordingly another ceremony was held two days after the first. We have no insight into the precise reasons why she took a different view of matters from her husband, but there may have been some personal as well as political antagonisims. Buchan, as far as we know, took no action to save Isabella from the fate that her actions were shortly to bring upon her, though as Edward's chief Scottish adherent his views on the matter would certainly have carried some weight. Some sources say that he wanted her executed.
With Bruce having gone one way it was inevitable that Buchan and his associates would go the other: men, in other words, whose patriotic credentials had hitherto been impressive were now guaranteed to fight on the side of the English. Setting aside Bruce's obvious skills as a soldier and a political strategist, this was the key to the ultimate failure of the Comyns: people who took no position on the murder in Dumfries would identify themselves with a new and successful King of Scots against a party invariably ranged on the side of the national enemy.
War and Terror
At the outset the combination of forces ranged against Bruce were formidable but widely scattered. He was to deal with them piece by piece, a task made all the easier by the death of Edward I in July 1307 and the accession of the far less capable Edward IIEdward II of England
Edward II , called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed by his wife Isabella in January 1327. He was the sixth Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of Henry II...
. With the main English army absent from the scene Bruce dealt with his enemies in Scotland with ruthless determination. Following successful campaigns in Galloway and Argyllshire he concentrated all his efforts and resources against the earl of Buchan, his principal domestic enemy.
The campaign against Comyn was to last from late 1307 right through to the spring of 1308, prolonged after the king was overtaken by a bout of serious illness. This was, perhaps, the best opportunity for Comyn to destroy his enemy. With Bruce incapacitated, and the royal army reduced in numbers, an attack was mounted against his camp at Slioch near Huntly; but it was pressed with no great determination, and Buchan withdrew after some desultory arrow fire. Unfortunately the only sources we have for the whole campaign in the north-east are uniformly hostile to Comyn. There are two possibilities here: either Buchan's talents as a soldier were limited, or he could not fully rely on the forces at his disposal. The evidence suggests a combination of both factors. The campaign concluded in May 1308 when Buchan's army collapsed at the Battle of Inverurie. Buchan managed to escape to England while his earldom was subject to systematic devastation.
The Harrying of Buchan
Harrying of Buchan
The Harrying of Buchan, also known as the Herschip or Rape of Buchan, took place in 1308 during the Wars of Scottish Independence...
was carried out with one aim in mind: to destroy forever Comyn power in north-east Scotland. For once atrocities were carried out not by the English but by Scots against their fellow Scots, so thorough and effective that it was remembered for some fifty years after the event. As a piece of political terrorism it was supremely effective. A similar herschip in Galloway did not destroy the loyalties of the local people for the Balliol family, which were to resurface in the 1330s. But the earldom of Buchan would never again rise for the Comyns.
In England the fugitive earl was well-received by King Edward, who appointed him warden of the west marches in June 1308; but he was not to enjoy his new responsibilities for long, dying sometime before December. Alice Comyn
Alice Comyn
Alice Comyn, Countess of Buchan, Lady Beaumont was a Norman-Scottish noblewoman, being a member of the powerful Comyn family that supported the Balliols, who were claimants to the disputed Scottish throne against their rivals, the Bruces. She was the niece of John Comyn, Earl of Buchan to whom...
, his niece and heir, married Henry Beaumont
Henry de Beaumont
Henry de Beaumont, jure uxoris 4th Earl of Buchan and suo jure 1st Baron Beaumont was a key figure in the Anglo-Scots wars of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, known as the Wars of Scottish Independence.-Life:...
, a French nobleman in the English service. Beaumont was to claim the earldom of Buchan in right of his wife, a claim pursued with such relentless determination that it was a major factor in bringing about the Second War of Scottish Independence
Second War of Scottish Independence
The Second War of Scottish Independence was the second cluster of a series of military campaigns fought between the independent Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries....
in the 1330s and beginning anew the war between the Comyns and the Bruces.
Documentary and narrative
- Barbour, John, The Bruce, trans, A. A. H. Douglas, 1964.
- Bower, Walter, Scotichronicon, ed. D. E. R. Watt, 1987-1996.
- Calendar of Documents relating to Scotland, I-V, ed. J. Bain et all 1881-1986.
- Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough, ed. H. Rothwell, Camden SocietyCamden SocietyThe Camden Society, named after the English antiquary and historian William Camden, was founded in 1838 in London to publish early historical and literary materials, both unpublished manuscripts and new editions of rare printed books....
vol 89, 1957 - Foedera, Conventiones, Litterae ed. T, Rymer, 1816.
- Fordun, John of, Chronicles, ed. W. F. Skene, 1871-2
- Gray, Sir Thomas, Scalicronica, ed. H. Maxwell, 1913.
- Lanercost Chronicle, ed. H. Maxwell, 1913.
- Palgrave, F. ed. Documents and Records Illustrating the History of Scotland, 1837.
- Pluscarden, the Book of, ed. F. J. H. Skene, 1877-80.
- Wynyoun, Andrew, Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland, ed. D. Laing, 1872-9.
Secondary works
- Barrow, G., Robert Bruce and the Commubity of the Realm of Scotland, 1976.
- Barron, E. M., The Scottish War of Independence, 1934.
- Young, A., Robert the Bruce's Rivals:the Comyns, 1212-1314, 1997.
See also
- Earl of BuchanEarl of BuchanThe 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...