Walter Comyn, Lord of Badenoch (died 1258) was the son of William Comyn,

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 Riv ...

and

Mormaer In early medieval Scotland, a mormaer was the Gaelic name for a regional or provincial ruler, theoretically second only to the King of Scots, and the senior of a ''Toísech'' (chieftain). Mormaers were equivalent to English earls or Continental c ...

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 ...

by right of his second wife.

Life

Walter makes his first appearance in royal charters as early as 1211–1214. In 1220, he accompanied King

Alexander II of Scotland Alexander II ( Medieval Gaelic: '; Modern Gaelic: '; 24 August 1198 – 6 July 1249) was King of Scotland from 1214 until his death. He concluded the Treaty of York (1237) which defined the boundary between England and Scotland, virtually un ...

during the latter's visit to

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

. He appears as "

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 ...

" as early as 1229, after the defeat of 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 ...

by his father. Like his father, Walter was given the hand of an heiress,

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

. By 1234, Isabella had inherited the Mormaerdom of Menteith, and so Walter became Mormaer or Earl of Menteith by right of his wife ('' jure uxoris''). Walter appears to have had a son named Henry who witnessed a charter, dated to 1250, of Maol Domhnaich,

Mormaer of Lennox The Earl or Mormaer of Lennox was the ruler of the region of the Lennox in western Scotland. It was first created in the 12th century for David of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon and later held by the Stewart dynasty. Ancient earls The first earl ...

. His daughter Isabel was given in marriage to Gilchrist Mure. Walter was one of the leading political figures in the

Kingdom of Scotland The Kingdom of Scotland (; , ) was a sovereign state in northwest Europe traditionally said to have been founded in 843. Its territories expanded and shrank, but it came to occupy the northern third of the island of Great Britain, sharing a l ...

, especially during the minority of King Alexander III, when, along with Alan Durward, he essentially ran the country. He died suddenly in either the October or November 1258. By this time, his son Henry must have been dead. Isabella remained countess until 1260–1261, when Walter Stewart, husband of Isabella's sister

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

, seized the province. As Walter had no surviving male children, the Lordship of Badenoch passed to Walter's nephew

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 * Secon ...

. John was unable to inherit Menteith. He is remembered primarily in the proverbial expression ''Walter of Guiyock's curse'', encountered in Sir

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy ...

's '' Rob Roy'', under the English and Lowland form of his name, ''Walter Cuming'', where it appears in chapter 29: The origin of this is related in Sir Walter Scott's note at that page: An accident such as this was supposed to be a curse akin to that dealt upon Walter Cuming for his sins. It was thus that the expression originated.''"Funk and Wagnall's New Standard Dictionary"'', The Standard Dictionary Company, London and New York, 1929

Notes

References

* * Paul, James Balfour, ''

The Scots Peerage ''The Scots Peerage'' is a nine-volume book series of the Scottish nobility compiled and edited by Sir James Balfour Paul, published in Edinburgh from 1904 to 1914. The full title is ''The Scots Peerage: Founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Rober ...

'', Vol. VI, (Edinburgh, 1909) * Young, Alan, ''Robert the Bruce's Rivals: The Comyns, 1213-1314'', (East Linton, 1997) {{DEFAULTSORT:Comyn, Walter 1258 deaths Walter 13th-century mormaers Year of birth unknown Mormaers of Menteith Lords of Badenoch