General Notes

Alias:<ALIA> The Red /Comyn/
REFN: 3394AN
Alias:<ALIA> The Red /Comyn/
REFN: P3395
Comyn, John (Red Comyn), d. 1306, Scottish nobleman. He was called the R
ed Comyn, to distinguish him from his father, the Black Comyn. Aiding h
is uncle, John De Baliol, in the struggle against Edward I, he was for a t
ime held hostage by the English. After the rout of the Scottish troo
ps at Falkirk (1298), he was
appointed one of the guardians of the realm. He renewed the struggle wi
th Edward, but surrendered in 1304 on condition that he could retain his l
ands. He was murdered at Dumfries by Robert the Bruce (later Robert I), pr
obably because Robert feared him as a rival claimant to the throne. The na
me also appears as Cumming.
JOHN COMYN (d. 1306), called the” red Comyn,” is more famous. Like his fat
her he assisted Baliol in his rising against Edward I., and he was for so
me time a hostage in England. Having been made guardian of Scotland aft
er the battle of Falkirk in 1298 he led the resistance to the English ki
ng for about five years, and then early in 5304 made an honourable surrend
er. Comyn is chiefly known for his memorable quarrel with Robert the Bruc
e. The origin of the dispute is uncertain. Doubtless the two regarded ea
ch other as rivals ; Comyn may have refused to join in the insurrection pl
anned by Bruce. At all events the pair met at Dumfries in January 1306; du
ring a heated altercation charges of treachery were made, and Comyn was st
abbed to death either by Bru ce or by his followers. Another member of t
he Comyn family who took an active part in Scottish affairs during these t
roubled times is JoHN COMYN, earl of B uchan (d. c. 1353). This earl, a s
on of Earl Alexander, was constable of Scot land, and was first an ally a
nd then an enemy of Robert the Bruce.
The Red Comyn
John "the Red" Comyn, Lord of Badenoch, also known simply as the Red Comy
n, (died 10 February 1306) was a Scottish patriot and royal Competitor. H
is father, another John Comyn, was known as the Black Comyn. Through his a
ncestor William Comyn, son Hextilda, daughter of Ughtred of Tynedale by h
is wife Bethoc, daughter of King Donald Bane, the Red Comyn was a cognat
ic descendant of the Royal House of Scotland, the Dunkeld clan.
After the deaths of King Alexander III of Scotland in 1286 and his grandda
ughter and last uncontested heir Margaret, the Maid of Norway in 1290, twe
lve to fourteen powerful noble houses with tenuous royal claims competed f
or the throne. Foremost among these were the Balliol, the Comyn, and the B
ruce. John Balliol had the support of the Comyns, and "Red" Comyn marri
ed Balliol's sister, to cement an alliance. However, Balliol was set up on
ly to be knocked down by King Edward I of England.
In 1306, John Comyn, Lord of Badenoch, was summoned to a secret parley wi
th his chief rival, Robert the Bruce, Earl of Carrick. As a "guarante
e" of nonviolence, the negotiation was to be held in Greyfriars Chur
ch in Dumfries. Comyn did not survive this meeting, as Bruce stabbed hi
m. Tradition has it that the wounded Comyn was then "finished off" by a co
mpanion of Bruce, Sir Roger De Kirkpatrick, with the words "I mak sikka
r" (I make sure). This has remained the Kirkpatrick family motto to this d
ay, with its crest being a bloodied hand holding a dagger.
The action resulted in Pope Clement V excommunicating the Bruce, temporari
ly damaging his chances of attaining the throne. However, He was crowned k
ing six weeks later.
The Scottish clan descended from the Comyns is now known as Cumming.
1306 - Murder Of The 'Red Comyn'
In 1304, John Comyn II, known as the Red Comyn after his grandfather, mov
ed his allegiance over to England’s Edward I and sat on his ‘Scottish Coun
cil’.
When Robert the Bruce set his plans to resume the War of Independence in 1
306, he and Comyn met together in southerly Dumfries at the isolated Franc
iscan priory Church of the Minorite Friars. Eit