John Comyn II of

Badenoch Badenoch (from gd, Bàideanach, meaning "drowned land") is a traditional district which today forms part of Badenoch and Strathspey, an area of Highland Council, in Scotland, bounded on the north by the Monadhliath Mountains, on the east by t ...

(died 1302), nicknamed the Black Comyn, was a Scottish nobleman, a

Guardian of Scotland The Guardians of Scotland were regents who governed the Kingdom of Scotland from 1286 until 1292 and from 1296 until 1306. During the many years of minority in Scotland's subsequent history, there were many guardians of Scotland and the post was ...

, and one of the six

Regents A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state ''pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy, ...

for

Margaret, Maid of Norway Margaret (, ; March or April 1283 – September 1290), known as the Maid of Norway, was the queen-designate of Scotland from 1286 until her death. As she was never inaugurated, her status as monarch is uncertain and has been debated by historian ...

. His father was

John Comyn I 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 ...

Competitor for the Crown

In 1284 he joined with other Scottish noblemen who acknowledged Margaret of Norway as the heir of King Alexander. He was a Guardian of the Realm from 1286 to 1292.G. W. S. Barrow, ''Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland'' (2005) p. 188. Comyn submitted to the

English king The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiw ...

in July 1296 at Montrose. As a descendant of King Donald III, Comyn was one of the thirteen

Competitors for the Crown of Scotland When the crown of Scotland became vacant in September 1290 on the death of the seven-year-old Queen Margaret, 13 claimants to the throne came forward. Those with the most credible claims were John Balliol, Robert de Brus, 5th Lord of Annandale, ...

. He did not aggressively push his claim for fear of jeopardising that of his brother-in-law

John Balliol John Balliol ( – late 1314), known derisively as ''Toom Tabard'' (meaning "empty coat" – coat of arms), 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 ...

. Comyn, head of the most powerful noble family in Scotland, was a committed ally of Balliol and assisted him in his struggle against

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vas ...

. It has even been suggested that the Comyn family were the driving force behind both the Balliol kingship and the revolt against Edward's demands. John Comyn is credited with the building of several large castles or castle houses in and around Inverness. Parts of Mortlach ( Balvenie Castle) and Inverlochy Castle still stand today. John Comyn as his father was before him was entrusted by

Alexander III of Scotland Alexander III (Medieval ; Modern Gaelic: ; 4 September 1241 – 19 March 1286) was King of Scots from 1249 until his death. He concluded the Treaty of Perth, by which Scotland acquired sovereignty over the Western Isles and the Isle of Man. His ...

with the defence of Scotland's northern territories from invasion by the

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and ...

and the Danes.

Family

Comyn married Eleanor de Balliol, daughter of

John I de Balliol John de Balliol (before 1208 – 25 October 1268) was an English nobleman, belonging to the House of Balliol. Balliol College, in Oxford, is named after him. Life John de Balliol was born before 1208 to Cecily de Fontaines, daughter of Aléa ...

Barnard Castle Barnard Castle (, ) is a market town on the north bank of the River Tees, in County Durham, Northern England. The town is named after and built around a medieval castle ruin. The town's Bowes Museum's has an 18th-century Silver Swan automato ...

, sister of King John of Scotland. Together they had two children: *

John Comyn III of Badenoch John Comyn III of Badenoch, nicknamed the Red (c. 1274 – 10 February 1306), 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 ...

,SCOTTISH ROYAL LINEAGE - THE HOUSE OF ATHOLL Part 2 of 6

Burkes Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher founded in 1826, when the Irish genealogist John Burke began releasing books devoted to the ancestry and heraldry of the peerage, baronetage, knightage and landed gentry of Great ...

Retrieved on 2007-11-01Comyn01 @ Stirnet
Retrieved on 2007-11-04 who married Lady Joan de Valence of Pembroke, daughter of

William de Valence, 1st Earl of Pembroke {{Infobox noble, name=William de Valence, christening_date=, noble family=, house-type=, father= Hugh X of Lusignan, mother=Isabella of Angoulême, birth_name=, birth_date=, birth_place=, christening_place=, styles=, death_date=13 June 1296, death ...

, who was the half-brother to

Henry III of England Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry a ...

, and uncle of

. *a daughter, married Sir Andrew Moray of Petty. Sir Andrew's second wife was called Euphemia de Clavering. Euphemia was the widow of

William Comyn, Lord of Kilbride William Comyn, Lord of Kilbride was a son of David Comyn and Isobel de Valognes. Sheriff of Ayr in 1263, he died in 1283. Life William was a son of David Comyn, Lord of Kilbride The Lord of Kilbride was a title in the peerage of Scotland. ...

and not the daughter of John Comyn II of Badenoch.

Death

John Comyn II of Badenoch died at

Lochindorb Castle Lochindorb (from the gd, Loch nan Doirb meaning "loch of the minnows") is a freshwater loch north of Grantown on Spey in the Highland council area of Scotland. In the loch there is an island, which is now thought to have been artificially creat ...

, in 1302.

Notes

References

* * Rymer, Thomas,''Foedera Conventiones, Literae et cuiuscunque generis Acta Publica inter Reges Angliae''. London. 1745. (Latin

*

External links

4. Clan Galbraith History: http://www.clangalbraith.org/GalbraithHistory/GalbraithHistory.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Comyn, John II 13th-century births Year of birth unknown 1302 deaths 13th-century Scottish people 14th-century Scottish people 13th-century viceregal rulers John II Comyn, Lord of Badenoch Competitors for the Crown of Scotland Guardians of Scotland Regents of Scotland Scottish people of the Wars of Scottish Independence Lords of Badenoch