William Comyn 
William was born about 1170 in Altyre, Morayshire, Scotland. William's father was Richard Comyn and his mother was Hextilda of Tynedale. His paternal grandfather was William Comyn and his paternal grandmother is Maud Basset; his maternal grandparents were Uchtred of Tynedale and UNKNOWN Bethoc. He had four brothers and two sisters, named Odo, Simon, David, John, Idonea and Margaret. He was the youngest of the seven children. He had a half-brother named Henry of. He died about 1233 in Buchan, Aberdeen, Scotland.General Notes
REFN: 1724AN
REFN: P1724
Balvenie Castle
Home of the Black Comyn
Balvenie Castle lies a m ile north of Dufftown, and is strategically
located in Glenfiddich in the Gra mpian Region of Scotland. The castle's
beginnings date to the 13th Century wh en Marjory, daughter of Fergus, the
last Celtic Earl of Buchan, married Willi am Comyn, one of the new breed
of Scottish noblemen. He became the new earl, as well as Lord of
Balvenie. It was either William or their son, Alexander, w ho built this
castle.
21st great grandfather, generation 23
Chamberlain to Alexander III, King of Scotland
William Comyn, jure uxoris Earl of Buchan (d. 1233) was the son of Richa
rd Comyn, Justiciar of Lothian. William made his fortune in the servi
ce of king William I of Scotland fighting the Meic Uilleim in the north. W
illiam witnesses no less than 88 charters of the king. William was sheri
ff of Forfar (x1195-1211x), Justiciar of Scotia (1205-33) and warden of Mo
ray (1211-2). Between 1199 and 1200, William was sent to England to discu
ss important matters on King William's behalf with the new king, John. Wil
liam was appointed to the prestigious office of Justiciar of Scotia, the m
ost senoir royal office in the kingdom, in 1205. Between 1211 and 1212, Wi
lliam, as "Warden of Moray" fought against the insurgency of Gofraid mac D
omnaill. William was successful, and it is perhaps for this reason that Wi
lliam received the hand of Marjory (c. 1212), the only child of Fergus, Ea
rl of Buchan. It was thus that William became the Mormaer or Earl of Bucha
n, by right of his wife (jure uxoris). When William finally destroyed t
he Meic Uilleim in 1229, he was given control of Badenoch (upland Moray
). He died in 1233.
William had many children, some by his unknown first wife, and some by Mar
jory. The two branches were the beginning of the two chief branches of t
he family:-
By his first wife,
Richard (d. 1244x1249)
Walter Comyn, Lord of Badenoch, jure uxoris Earl of Menteith
William
Johanna, m. Uilleam I, Earl of Ross
David
By Marjory,
Alexander, Earl of Buchan
William
Fergus
Idonea
Agnes
Elizabeth, m. Uilleam, Earl of Mar
Respectively, the two branches would be associated with the Lordship of Ba
denoch, and the Earldom of Buchan. For the historian Alan Young, William
's life, and particularly his marriage to the Countess of Buchan, marks t
he beginning of the "Comyn century".
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Ancestor Pedigree Chart
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*There are earlier generations for the ancestor(s) indicated. See their page(s) for details (click name)
- b.0991 in Normandy, France
- b.~ 1022 in Normandy, France d.28 Jan 1068 in Durham, England
- b.~ 1053 in Normandy, France d.~ 1100
- b.1085 in Northumberland, England d. in Altyre, Morayshire, Scotland
- b.~ 0990 in Longueville, Normandy, France d.1063 in France
- b.~ 1020 in Longueville, Normandy, France d.~ 1096 in France
- b.~ 1050 in Longueville, Normandy, France d.> 1085 in Badenoch, Inverness, Scotland
- b.~ 1025 in Normandy, France
- b.~ 1115 in Northalteron, Morayshire, Scotland d.1176 in Altyre, Morayshire, Scotland
- b.0960 in Normandy, France
- b.~ 1005 in Normandy, France
- b.~ 1050 in Thurliegh, Ouilly-Basset, Normandy, France d.1086 in Drayton, Staffordshire, England
- b.~ 1084 in Basset, Leicestershire, England
- b.~ 1045
- b.~ 1170 in Altyre, Morayshire, Scotland d.~ 1233 in Buchan, Aberdeen, Scotland
- b.~ 0975 in Denmark
- b.~ 1000 in Denmark d.1055 in York, Yorkshire, England
- b.~ 0980 in Denmark
- b.~ 1046 in Northumbria d.31 May 1076 in Winchester, Hampshire, England
- b.~ 0984 in Bernicia d.~ 1039
- b.~ 1020 in Bernicia, Northumberland, England
- b.~ 0985
- b.~ 1074 in Winchester, Hampshire, England d.~ 1155 in Sancto Johnstone, Scotland
- b.~ 1004 in Boulogne, Vendee, France
- b.< 1034 in Boulogne, Flanders d.1054 in Bataille De Lille, Flanders
- b.~ 0984 in Louvain, Brabant, Belgium
- b.1054 in Lens, Artois, France d.> 1086
- b.~ 1008 in Normandy, France d.22 Jun 1035 in Nice, Bithynia
- b.~ 1027 in Normandy, France d.< 1090
- b.1010 in Falasia, Normandy, France d.~ 1050
- b.~ 1122 in Tynedale, Morayshire, Scotland d.> 1189
- b.~ 0975 in Atholl, Perthshire, Scotland d.1045 in Dunkeld, Tayside, Scotland
- b.~ 1001 in Atholl, Perthshire, Scotland d.14 Aug 1040 in Bothganowan, Elgin, Scotland
- b.0984 in Atholl, Perthshire, Scotland d.1045 in Scotland
- b.~ 1033 in Scotland d.1099
- b.~ 1000 in Denmark d.1055 in York, Yorkshire, England
- b.1016 in Northumbria d.1040
- b.~ 1020 in Bernicia, Northumberland, England
- b.~ 1100 in Tynedale, Scotland d.~ 1160
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They had five sons and five daughters, named Walter, Richard, John, Alexander, Fergus, Jean, Margaret, Euphemia, Ideona and Elizabeth.
Family Notes
REFNMR2931
REFNM15302
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Children
Walter Comyn
Walter was born about 1188 in Rowallan, Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland. He died in 1258.
Elizabeth Comyn
Elizabeth was born about 1223 in Altyre, Morayshire, Scotland. She died in 1267 in Kildrummy Castle, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
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