Comyn

Who he is

Name

William Comyn

Title

Sheriff of Forfar; lord of Kirkintilloch and Lenzie

Since

Sheriff of Forfar from 1195; the family lands from his father Richard Comyn (died about 1179)

Born

About 1163

Family

Son of Richard Comyn, justiciar of Lothian, and Hextilda of Tynedale, heiress of Uhtred of Tynedale (lands in Northumberland: for the eno researcher). First wife (1193): Sarah, daughter of Hugh (died about 1204); six children by her, among them Richard and Walter. His second marriage, to Marjory, heiress of Buchan, comes between 1209 and 1212.

Confidence

medium

Envoy to the new English king John in 1199-1200. Justiciar of Scotia from 1205; warden of Moray 1211-1212. Badenoch is not Comyn land until about 1229. Kirkintilloch's burgh charter is of 1211-1214.

Overlord

King William

What it holds

• Kirkintilloch and Lenzie (the barony later of Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch)
• The sheriffdom of Forfar (office; see Forfarshire)
• Lands in Tynedale (England, from his mother; not drawn)

How it was acquired

Inheritance from Richard Comyn; office by royal appointment.

Allies and rivals

A king's man; rival of the native earls in the north later.

How things stand that morning

Holds his lands and office; on embassy business with John (1199-1200).

Wealth

Rents and the sheriff's profits. No figures.

Military

Kirkintilloch (the old Roman fort site; later castle). No numbers.

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

1. 1200, not pinnedWilliam Comyn carries messages between William and John ahead of the Lincoln meeting (thin).Depends on: Continued talks Stopped by: War

Places of note

• Kirkintilloch: Comyn caput

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Wikipedia's account of his lands and embassy; the holder of Kirkintilloch in 1200 is inferred.

On the map: Approximate.

Primary sources for Scotland

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• Chronicle of Holyrood, Anonymous (canons of Holyrood, Edinburgh) (about 1150 to 1170, with later additions). Gives nothing for 1200: its original text ends in 1163 and the few additions stop before William the Lion's last decades. Read online
• Chronicle of Melrose, Anonymous (monks of Melrose abbey) (about 1173 to 1270, in many hands; the 1200 entries are near contemporary). The main Scottish annal for the year, kept at a Cistercian house on the Tweed. Read online
• Chronicle of Roger of Howden, Roger of Howden (about 1192 to 1201). The fullest single narrative for the year. Read online
• Chronicle of the Kings of Mann and the Isles, Anonymous (monks of Rushen abbey, Mann) (about 1257, with continuations to 1316). The only native record of the kingdom of Mann and the Hebrides. Read online
• History of English Affairs, William of Newburgh (about 1196 to 1198). Ends in 1198, so it gives no 1200 entries of its own; the Stanley continuation has only a line or two for 1200. Read online
• Saga of the Earls of Orkney, Anonymous (Icelandic) (about 1200 to 1230; surviving text mainly from Flateyjarbok, about 1390). The saga's last chapters are about Earl Harald Maddadsson, who in 1200 held Orkney under King Sverre of Norway and Caithness under William the Lion: his long rule, his quarrel with the Scottish king that cost him Caithness in 1196 to 1197, his recovery of it, and the maiming of Bishop John of Caithness and the king's revenge in 1201 to 1202. Read online
• The Registers of Pope Innocent III for 1199 to 1201, Innocent III and the papal chancery (22 February 1199 to 21 February 1201). The pope's outgoing letters for the year, in his chancery's own copy, touching nearly every realm in the atlas. Read online
• The Great Life of Saint Hugh of Lincoln, Adam of Eynsham (about 1210 to 1215). The last book is a day by day account of Hugh's final year by the chaplain who was with him: his dealings with John at the start of the reign, his journey to France and the Grande Chartreuse in 1200, his illness in London, his death at the Old Temple on 16 November 1200 and the funeral at Lincoln on 23 November attended by King John, William the Lion of Scotland, three archbishops and a crowd of bishops and earls. Read online

2 more in the sources library for The British Isles.