John III Comin

On the eve of the War of Independence, the Comins were one of the dominant noble families in Scotland, with extensive land holdings in the north and south of the country, with political influence and family ties to the crown. Comins, a family of Norman-French descent, first appeared in Scotland during the reign of King David I. In the thirteenth century, the Comins acquired the lordships of Badenoch and Lokhaber, as well as the county of Buchan. In 1286, after the death of the King of Scotland, Alexander III, John II Comin (Black Comin) became a member of the Regency Council under his granddaughter Margaret of the Norwegian Virgin. In 1290, after the death of the seven-year-old Margaret of the Norwegian Virgin, a struggle for supreme power began in Scotland. In 1292, John Balliol was elected the new king of Scotland, who secured the support of his son-in-law, Black Comin, Lord Badenoch. The comins became the main supporters of King John Balliol and the enemies of the Bruce house. In 1296, King Edward I of England invaded Scotland, defeated the Scottish army at the Battle of Dunbar, and forced John Balliol to abdicate.

At the start of the war between England and Scotland, John II Comin , Lord of Badenoch, and John Comin, Earl of Buchan , John's father and cousin, crossed the border and attacked Carlisle , whose defense was led by Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick . With no siege equipment, the Comins retreated back and joined the Scottish army at Huddington , which was assembled to repel the advance of the English army along the east coast. On April 27, 1296, at the Battle of Dunbar, the British defeated the Scottish army. The British captured about a hundred Scottish lords. John de Balliol was defeated and retreated deep into Scotland, pursued by the English army. John Comin, Lord of Badenoch, and John Comin, Earl of Buchan, followed, and John the Red Comin was captured by the British and imprisoned in the Tower of London . On July 10 of the same 1296, the King of Scotland John de Balliol was forced to abdicate the royal throne.

In 1297, John Comin was released from the Tower and participated in the military campaign of King Edward I of Flanders against the French. There he learned of the uprising in Scotland under the leadership of William Wallace and Andrew de Morrey, who defeated the British in the Battle of Stirling Bridge in September 1297. In March 1298, John Comin deserted from the English army and arrived in Paris at the court of King Philip IV of France. In the summer of 1298, John Comin returned by ship from France to Scotland.

In 1297, William Wallace and Andrew de Morey were appointed regents (custodians) of Scotland, but Andrew de Morey died in 1297 in Stirling. The main task facing the regents was to assemble a Scottish army to repel the invasion of the English army by Edward I Plantagenet, who sought to avenge the Scots over the Stirling Bridge. On July 22, 1298, at the Battle of Falkirk, the Scottish army under the command of William Wallace was defeated by the 15,000-strong British army of Edward I. The Scottish chronicler John Fordunsky reported that John Comin and his relatives hated Wallace and left the battlefield in the midst of the battle with their equestrian warriors . Soon after the defeat at Falkirk, William Wallace resigned as the custodian of Scotland; John Red Comin and Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick, got this position.

After the defeat at Falkirk, the prestige of William Wallace among the Scots fell. Instead, the guardian of Scotland was given to John the Red Comin and Robert Bruce, who were at war with each other and claiming the Scottish crown. William Lumberton, Bishop of St. Andrews, was appointed the third guardian of the kingdom to try to ensure order between them. Lumberton was a personal friend of Wallace and Bruce. Until May 1300, Robert Bruce resigned as a keeper. In his place was elected Parliament in Rutherglen, the nobleman Ingram de Umfraville. The election of the latter suited John Comin, because Umfraville was a close political ally and relative of King John de Balliol. In February 1302, Robert de Bruce, Earl of Carrick, entered into a peace treaty with King Edward I.

The new triumvirate lasted until May 1301 , when instead of Ingram de Umfraville, Baron John de Soles was elected guardian. The following 1302, John de Soles went on a diplomatic mission to France, and John the Red Comin became the only regent (keeper) of the kingdom, he held this position for the next two years. In 1302, after the death of his father, John Black Comin, John the Red Comin inherited the lordships of Badenoch and Lohaber.

In February 1303, John the Red Comin and Sir Simon Fraser defeated the English army under the command of John Segrave, Baron Segrave, at the Battle of Roslin. The English king Edward I Plantagenet began to gather great strength and prepare for an offensive inland Scotland. February 9, 1304 in Strathord, near Perth , John Comin concluded a peace treaty with the English crown.

On February 10, 1306, by order of Robert Bruce , Earl of Carrick, John the "Red Comin" was killed in front of the altar of the Greyfriars Church in Dumfries . On March 25 of the same year, Robert Bruce was crowned Scottish king at Skane. The possessions of the Comin in Badenoch were confiscated by the Scottish crown.

The King of England Edward I Plantagenet , learning about the death of John Comin in Winchester , became furious and ordered Emer de Walesc, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, brother-in-law of the Red Comin, to speak out against Robert Bruce and his supporters. By order of Edward, his cousin, Joan, sent his son John Comin to England, where he was placed under the care of Sir John Weston, the guardian of the royal children. John IV Comin grew up in England and died in 1314 at the Battle of Bannockburn , fighting in a battle in the ranks of the English army.

John III Comin was married to Joan de Valence, the youngest daughter of William de Valence, 1st Earl of Pembroke (? - 1296) and Joan de Mooncensy (? - 1307). Their kids:

• John IV Comin (c. 1294 - June 24, 1314), died at the Battle of Bannockburn
• Joan Comin (c. 1293-1326), wife of David Stratbog, 10th Earl of Atoll (d. 1326)
• Elizabeth Comin (1299-1372), wife of Richard Talbot, 2nd Baron Talbot (c. 1305-1356).

• Barrow, G, Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland, 1976.
• Barron, EM, The Scottish War of Independence, 1934.
• Traquair, Peter Freedom's Sword, 1999.
• Young, A., Robert the Bruce's Rivals: the Comyns, 1212–1314, 1997.
• Grant, A. (2007-10-01). "The Death of John Comyn: What Was Going On?" The Scottish Historical Review. 86 (2, 222): 176-224. doi: 10.3366 / shr.2007.86.2.176. JSTOR 25529980.

• John 'the Red' Comyn, 2nd of Badenoch