William Comyn was

Lord of Badenoch Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

and

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 li ...

. He was one of the seven children of

Richard Comyn Richard Comyn (died c. 1179) was a Scottish noble, the nephew of William Cumin. Richard was probably born between 1115 and 1123. In 1144, William Comyn gave him Northallerton Castle, which he had re-built a few years earlier. Shortly after, he r ...

, Justiciar of

Lothian Lothian (; sco, Lowden, Loudan, -en, -o(u)n; gd, Lodainn ) is a region of the Scottish Lowlands, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills and the Moorfoot Hills. The principal settlement is the Sco ...

, and Hextilda of Tynedale. He was born in Scotland, in Altyre,

Moray Moray () gd, Moireibh or ') is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Between 1975 ...

in 1163 and died in

Buchan Buchan is an area of north-east Scotland, historically one of the original provinces of the Kingdom of Alba. It is now one of the six committee areas and administrative areas of Aberdeenshire Council, Scotland. These areas were created by th ...

in 1233 where he is buried in

Deer Abbey Deer Abbey was a Cistercian monastery in Buchan, Scotland. It was founded by 1219 under the patronage William Comyn, jure uxoris Earl of Buchan, who is also buried there. History There was an earlier community of Scottish monks or priests, nev ...

. William made his fortune in the service of King

William I of Scotland William the Lion, sometimes styled William I and also known by the nickname Garbh, "the Rough"''Uilleam Garbh''; e.g. Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1214.6; Annals of Loch Cé, s.a. 1213.10. ( 1142 – 4 December 1214), reigned as King of Scots from 11 ...

fighting the

Meic Uilleim __NOTOC__ 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 1 ...

in the north. William witnesses no fewer than 88 charters of the king. William was

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

Forfar Forfar ( sco, Farfar, gd, Baile Fharfair) is the county town of Angus, Scotland and the administrative centre for Angus Council, with a new multi-million pound office complex located on the outskirts of the town. As of 2021, the town has a p ...

(1195–1211),

Justiciar of Scotia The Justiciar of Scotia (in Norman-Latin, ''Justiciarus Scotie'') was the most senior legal office in the High Medieval Kingdom of Scotland. ''Scotia'' (meaning Scotland) in this context refers to Scotland to the north of the River Forth and Rive ...

(1205–1233) and warden of

(1211–2). Between 1199 and 1200, William was sent to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

to discuss important matters on King William's behalf with the new king,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

. 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 Gofraid mac Domnaill (alternatively "Godfrey MacWilliam"; "Guthred"; "Guthred son of Macwilliam"), was a thirteenth-century Scottish rebel. The son of Domnall (modern; Donald), his father's surname was almost certainly MacWilliam (the modern spelli ...

(of the

family), whom William beheaded in

Kincardine Kincardine may refer to: Places Scotland *Kincardine, Fife, a town on the River Forth, Scotland **Kincardine Bridge, a bridge which spans the Firth of Forth *Kincardineshire, a historic county **Kincardine, Aberdeenshire, now abandoned **Kincardi ...

in 1213. Upon finally destroying the Meic Uilleim's in 1229, he was given the

Lordship of Badenoch A lordship is a territory held by a lord. It was a landed estate that served as the lowest administrative and judicial unit in rural areas. It originated as a unit under the feudal system during the Middle Ages. In a lordship, the functions of econ ...

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 Glasgow Cathedral ( gd, Cathair-eaglais Ghlaschu) is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in Glasgow, Scotland. It is the oldest cathedral in mainland Scotland and the oldest building in Glasgow. The cathedral was the seat of the Archbishop ...

in Glasgow and after his death, Marjory continued his work there.

Earl of Buchan

During his period as Warden of Moray, Comyn was so successful, it may have been the reason he received the hand of Marjory (a.k.a. ''Margaret''), Countess of Buchan, sometime between 1209 and 1212. Her father

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 (if he was his father) Colbán was a Fife ...

, had no male heirs and so in marrying his daughter to William he ensured a suitable line for his titles before his death. Dying sometime around 1214 (perhaps earlier) William took over the management of the mormaerdom (earldom) of Buchan, by right of his wife.

Family tree

William (is believed to have) had six children through his first wife Sarah Fitzhugh and eight through Marjory, Countess of Buchan. The two branches would be associated with the

through his first wife and the

Earldom 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 ...

through the second. For the historian Alan Young, William's life, and particularly his marriage to the Countess of Buchan, marks the beginning of the "Comyn century". ''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.'' * ''father''

(b.c.1115–1123 d.c.1179); ''mother'' Hextilda of Tynedale (a.k.a. ''Hextilda FitzUchtred'' or ''Hextilda FitzWaldeve'') (b.1112–1122 d.c. 1149–1189). Hextilda's first husband was Malcolm, 2nd Earl of Atholl, making their son

Henry, 3rd Earl of Atholl Henry of Atholl, the son of Maol Choluim ( Gd: ''Eanraig mac Mhaoil Chaluim''), was Mormaer of Atholl, Scotland, from sometime in the 1190s until his death in 1211. Henry had no sons, but did have at least two daughters—Isabella and Forbhlaith ...

, William Comyn's half-brother. ** ''first wife'' married 1193: Sarah Fitzhugh (a.k.a. ''Sarah filia Roberti'') (b.1155–1160 d.c.1204) **# Richard (b.c.1190–1194 d.c.1244–1249); married to unknown wife; father of

John I Comyn, Lord of Badenoch John Comyn (Cumyn) (c. 1215 – c. 1275) was Lord of Badenoch in Scotland. He was Justiciar of Galloway in 1258. He held lands in Nithsdale (Dalswinton, a Comyn stronghold, and Duncow) and Tynedale. Life The Comyn family were in effec ...

(b.c.1220 d.c.1277) **# Jardine Comyn, Lord of Inverallochy (b. during or before 1190) **# Walter, Lord of Badenoch (b.1190 d.c.1258) married

Isabella, Countess of Menteith Isabella, Countess of Menteith (1217 – 1272) was the eldest daughter of Muireadhach II, Mormaer of Menteith. When the old mormaer died without legitimate male heir in 1233, the province passed to Isabella. Isabella married Walter Comyn, Lord o ...

**# Johanna (a.k.a. ''Jean'') (b.c.1198 d.c.1274); married c.1220:

Uilleam I, Earl of Ross William I, Earl of Ross (Gaelic: ''Uilleam''; d. 1274) was ruler of the province of Ross in northern Scotland. William appears as early as 1232, witnessing a charter as the son of Ferquhard, Earl of Ross. He succeeded his father as Earl around ...

(a.k.a. ''William de Ross'') (b.c.1194–1214 d.1274) **# John Comyn, jure uxoris Earl of Angus (died 1242); married (c.1242);

Matilda, Countess of Angus Matilda of Angus, also known as Maud, was the daughter of Maol Choluim, Earl or Mormaer of Angus and, as his heiress, was countess of the province in her own right. Marriages and issue She married John Comyn, but he died in France in 1242. They ...

(aka. ''Maud'') (b.c.1222, d.1261) **#

David Comyn, Lord of Kilbride David Comyn, Lord of Kilbride was a son of William Comyn, Lord of Badenoch, later the Earl of Buchan, and inherited the barony of Kilbride from his wife Isobel, the daughter of William de Valognes. He died in 1247. Life David was a younger so ...

(died 1247); married Isabel de Valoigne (d.1253) ** ''second wife'' married c.1209–1212: Marjory (aka. ''Margaret''), Countess of Buchan (a.k.a. ''Margaret Colhan of Buchan'') (b.c.1184 d.c.1243–1244) **# Idonea (a.k.a. ''Idoine'') (b.c.1215–1221); married 1237: Gilbert de Haya of Erroll (a.k.a. ''Gilbert de la Hay'') (d.1262) **# Alexander, Earl of Buchan (b.c.1217 d.c.1289–1290); married: Elizabetha de Quincy (a.k.a. Isabel) (b.1220 d.1282) **# William (b.c.1217) **# Margaret (b.c. 1218–1230); married Sir

John de Keith Sir John de Keith, Marischal of Scotland (died c.1270), was a Scottish noble. He was a son of Hervey de Keith (died 1249) and Margaret de Douglas. John inherited the position of Marischal of Scotland in 1249, which was charged with the safety ...

, Marischal of Scotland (b.1212 d.1270) **# Fergus, Lord of Gorgyn (b.c.1219–1228 d.); married 1249: unknown wife; father of Margaret Comyn (b.c.1270) **# Elizabeth (b.c. 1223 d.1267); married:

Uilleam, Earl of Mar William of Mar, or Uilleam mac Dhonnchaidh (Anglicization, Anglicized: William, Duncan's son), was the mormaers of Marr, Mar from 1244 to 1276, also known as Earl of Mar. His father was Donnchadh, Earl of Mar, Donnchadh of Mar Uilleam was respo ...

(d.1281) **# Agnes (b.c.1225); married 1262: Sir

Philip de Meldrum Philip de Meldrum, Lord of Meldrum, Justiciar of Scotia, was a Scottish noble. He was a son of Philippe de Fedarg. Philip was granted the position of Justiciar of Scotia in 1251, which was the most senior legal office in the Kingdom of Scotland ...

, Justiciar of Scotia (a.k.a. ''Philip de Fedarg'' or ''Philip de Melgarum'')

Notes

References

* Young, Alan, ''Robert the Bruce's Rivals: The Comyns, 1213-1314'', (East Linton, 1997) {{DEFAULTSORT:Comyn, William Lord chancellors of Scotland

William Comyn, jure uxoris Earl of Buchan 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 b ...

Norman warriors Scoto-Normans 1160s births 1233 deaths Year of birth uncertain 12th-century Scottish people 13th-century mormaers Peers jure uxoris Earls or mormaers of Buchan