Richard (Comyn) de Comyn

Born [date unknown] in Scotland

Ancestors

Descendants

Died before 1179 in Scotland

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Richard (Comyn) de Comyn was an inhabitant of Medieval Scotland. Join: Scotland Project Discuss: Scotland

Biography

Family and Land Holdings

Richard was one of four sons of John de Comyn and (Unknown) Giffard, and the nephew and heir of William de Comyn, chancellor of Scotland.^[1][2] [See research notes] Upon his marriage to Hextilda, daughter of Uhtred of Tynedale, he was granted the lands of Walwick, Thornton, Staincroft and Henshaw in Tynedale.^[3] These lands became the base of the Comyn family's holdings, but perhaps even more importantly, the fact that Hextilda was a granddaughter of Duncan III of Scotland gave the Comyns a connection for the first time to Scottish royalty.^[4] Through his wife, Richard also possessed the lordship of Bedrule in Roxburghshire and eventually greatly expanded his holdings throughout the north.^[5] By the 1160s he also owned significant amounts of land in southern Scotland and was a major benefactor to Hexham priory and the abbeys of Rievaulx, Kelso, and Holyrood.^[6]

In the 1170s, Richard Comyn was appointed justiciar of Lothian.^[7] There were three justiciars for Scotland, one each for Scotia, Lothian, and Galloway, and they were tasked with dispensing all justice in the king's name and determining all crown pleas other than the "most solemn and high-ranking" ones.^[8] During this period, Comyn was often present at the royal court, and witnessed at least thirty-three charters of William the Lion.^[6] He was listed among the knights who were with the king when he was surprised and taken captive at Alnwick,^[9] and was one of the hostages taken to guarantee the Treaty of Falaise in December, 1174.^[10]

Marriage and Children

Richard de Comyn married, sometime before 1159 and probably closer to 1145, Hextilda, who was a daughter of Uhtred of Tynedale and Bethoc, daughter of Donald III of Scotland.^[11][12] There were at least five children from this marriage:

• John de Comyn; d. bef. 1152^[13][14][15]

• William de Comyn, Earl of Buchan; m(1) Unknown Unknown;^[15] m(2) c.1212 Marjory, Countess of Buchan;^[15] d. 1274^[15][16]

• Odinel de Comyn; b. c.1134;^[15][17] d. aft. 24 Dec 1165^[18]

• Simon de Comyn;^[15] d. aft. 24 Dec 1165^[18]

• Idonea de Comyn; m. Adam fitz Gilbert^[19][20]

Sir James Balfour Paul incorrectly assigns a fifth son, David de Comyn, who married Isabella 'de Valloniis' [sic];^[15] and died before 7 August 1247 when his widow received sasine of his lands.^[21] [See research notes]

Death

Richard Comyn died sometime around 1179, although the exact date of his death is unknown. ^[22] His wife Hextilda married (second) Malcolm Atholl.^[23]

Research Notes

Parentage of Richard Comyn

• Sir James Balfour Paul inserts an additional generation in the Comyn pedigree without providing any sources for doing so, i.e. he states that John had only one son, William, and William in turn had three sons: William, Richard, and Walter.^[24] More recent scholarship refutes this, assigning William, Richard, Walter, and Osbert all as the sons of John Comyn.^[25][26] Since William and Osbert both died attempting to help their uncle William hold on to the bishopric of Durham^[27], and William (the Chancellor) eventually surrendered the see of Durham in exchange for the castle of Richmond, which he then gave to his nephew Richard, it seems more likely that Balfour Paul erred in this instance, and William the Chancellor's brother John was indeed the father of four sons, all nephews to William Comyn.
• Edited to add: In the "Addenda et Corrigenda" in vol. 9, Balfour Paul corrects his earlier work by omitting the extra generation and acknowledging the four brothers as nephews of William Comyn, chancellor of Scotland. He does not, however, correct his misidentification of David de Comyn (see below).^[28]

David de Comyn

• Once again Balfour Paul appears to be conflating several generations within the Comyn family. David de Comyn, who married Isabel de Valognes, lady of East Kilbride, was a son of Willliam Comyn, earl of Buchan (by his first wife) and a grandson of Richard Comyn.^[29]

Daughter Margaret detached

• Until reliable sources can be provided showing that Richard and Hextilda ever had a daughter named Margaret, Margaret Comyn has been detached from this profile. Stevens-17832 20:58, 4 June 2021 (UTC)

Sources

1. ↑ Young, Alan. Robert the Bruce's Rivals: The Comyns, 1212-1314. East Lothian, Scotland: Tuckwell Press (1997), p. x (pedigree).
2. ↑ Young, Alan. William Cumin: Border Politics and the Bishopric of Durham 1141-1144. Borthwick Papers No. 54, University of York Institute of Historical Research, p. 28.
3. ↑ Calendar of Charter Rolls. London: Mackie and Co, Ld (1906), Vol. 2, pp. 40-41.
4. ↑ Young, Alan. Robert the Bruce's Rivals: The Comyns, 1212-1314. East Lothian, Scotland: Tuckwell Press (1997), p. 16.
5. ↑ Young, Alan. Robert the Bruce's Rivals: The Comyns, 1212-1314. East Lothian, Scotland: Tuckwell Press (1997), p.p 16-17.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Young, Alan. Robert the Bruce's Rivals: The Comyns, 1212-1314. East Lothian, Scotland: Tuckwell Press (1997), p.17.
7. ↑ Newbattle Registrum, p.289; Melrose Liber, pp. 12-13, cited in Young, Alan. Robert the Bruce's Rivals: The Comyns, 1212-1314. East Lothian, Scotland: Tuckwell Press (1997), p.17.
8. ↑ Young, Alan. Robert the Bruce's Rivals: The Comyns, 1212-1314. East Lothian, Scotland: Tuckwell Press (1997), p.18.
9. ↑ Roger of Hoveden, II, pp. 63,81, cited in Young, Alan. Robert the Bruce's Rivals: The Comyns, 1212-1314. East Lothian, Scotland: Tuckwell Press (1997), p.18.
10. ↑ Stones, E.L.G. Anglo-Scottish Relations, 1174-1328, Oxford (1965), p. 7, cited in Young, Alan. Robert the Bruce's Rivals: The Comyns, 1212-1314. East Lothian, Scotland: Tuckwell Press (1997), p.18.
11. ↑ Weir, Alison. Britain's Royal Families. London: the Bodley Head (1989), p. 186.
12. ↑ Paul, Sir James Balfour. The Scots Peerage. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1904), vol 1, pp. 504-505.
13. ↑ PoMS document 3/167/1 (Kel. Lib. i, 274), 12 Jun 1152, Charter. "Richard Comyn has given.....to Kelso Abbey.....for the soul of John, his son..."
14. ↑ Kelso Liber, Vol. I, p. 11, cited in Young, Alan. Robert the Bruce's Rivals: The Comyns, 1212-1314. East Lothian, Scotland: Tuckwell Press (1997), p. 17.
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6} Paul, Sir James Balfour. The Scots Peerage. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1904), vol 1, p. 505.
16. ↑ Young, Alan. Robert the Bruce's Rivals: The Comyns, 1212-1314. East Lothian, Scotland: Tuckwell Press (1997), p. 19.
17. ↑ PoMS 9042, 12 Jun 1152, Grant from Richard Comyn to Kelso Abbey of the church of West Linton. Witnessed by Odinel Comyn and Simon Comyn, sons of Richard.
18. ↑ ^{18.0 18.1} PoMS No. 1179, witnessing Doc. 3/167/2 (Mort. Reg. ii, 2).
19. ↑ Morton Reg, II, pp. 4-5, cited in Young, Alan. Robert the Bruce's Rivals: The Comyns, 1212-1314. East Lothian, Scotland: Tuckwell Press (1997), p. 29.
20. ↑ PoMS Doc. 3/12/14 (Mort. Reg. II, 5), 9 Oct 1211x1224, Charter. "William Comyn, earl of Buchan, grants to...Adam, son of Gilbert, with Ydonia his sister in free marriage, Blyth, Ingraston, and 'le Halch'...holding for him and his heirs of Ydonia free from all service pertaining to the earl..."
21. ↑ Cal. of Docs, No. 1717, cited in Paul, Sir James Balfour. The Scots Peerage. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1904), vol 1, p. 505.
22. ↑ Young, Alan. Robert the Bruce's Rivals: The Comyns, 1212-1314. East Lothian, Scotland: Tuckwell Press (1997), p. 17.
23. ↑ Barrow, G.W.S. The Anglo-Norman Era in Scottish History. Oxford: Clarendon Press (1980), p. 159.
24. ↑ Paul, Sir James Balfour. The Scots Peerage. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1904), vol 1, p. 504.
25. ↑ Young, Alan. Robert the Bruce's Rivals: The Comyns, 1212-1314. East Lothian, Scotland: Tuckwell Press (1997), pp. 15-19.
26. ↑ Round, J.H. The Origins of the Comyns. The Ancestor, Oswald Barron (ed.). London: Constable & Co., Ltd, vol. 10 (July 1904), pp. 104-119.
27. ↑ Young, Alan. Cumin [Comyn], William. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (23 Sep 2004), available online by subscription.
28. ↑ Paul, Sir James Balfour. The Scots Peerage. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1904), vol. 9, p. 30.
29. ↑ Young, Alan. Robert the Bruce's Rivals: The Comyns, 1212-1314. East Lothian, Scotland: Tuckwell Press (1997), p. 29.

See Also:

• Robertson, Eben W. Scotland Under Her Early Kings. Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas (1862), p. 217.