John Comyn, Earl of Buchan

John Comyn, 3rd Earl Buchan
Coat of arms as Earl of Buchan.
Personal details
Born	Buchan, Aberdeenshire
Died	1308, England

John Comyn, 3rd Earl of Buchan (died 1308) was an important member of Clan Comyn during the early 14th century. He was a chief opponent of Robert the Bruce in the civil war that paralleled the War of Scottish Independence. He should not be confused with the better known John III Comyn, Lord of Badenoch, who was his cousin, and who was killed by Bruce in Dumfries in March 1306. Confusion between the two men has affected the study of this period of history.

Buchan was the representative of a family that had long dominated the politics of Scotland. He was defeated by Bruce at the Battle of Barra and was forced to flee to England. Bruce's subsequent Harrying of Buchan destroyed support for the Comyns in northern Scotland. This defeat, together with Comyn's death that year, produced a significant and lasting shift in the balance of power in Scotland.

The Comyns, a family of Norman origin, first made their appearance in Scotland during the reign of David I. In 1136 William Comyn, who had formerly been in the service of Henry I of England, became Chancellor of Scotland. William Comyn was part of a new class of French-speaking foreigners whose power and status in Scotland was entirely dependent on their service to the king, and were to be used by David and his successors in extending royal authority to the semi-independent fringes of the kingdom. The Comyns first grants of land were in the south of Scotland; but in 1212 they made their most significant advance when William Comyn, Justiciar of Scotia, married Marjorie, the only child and heir of Fergus, the "earl" or mormaer of Buchan, a lordship encompassing a large area in the north-east of Scotland. When their son Alexander succeeded them, the Comyns became the first family of Norman origin to acquire comital status in Scotland, gaining more than a head start on the Bruces, also of Norman-French origin, who did not acquire the earldom of Carrick until the later thirteenth century. William also advanced Comyn power by acquiring for his son, Walter Comyn, the southern section of the old earldom of Moray, the Lordship of Badenoch, which also included the more westerly district of Lochaber. By the middle of the thirteenth century Comyn power thus extended from the shores of Aberdeenshire westwards all the way to Loch Linnhe. The family was a force of growing importance through the successive reigns of Alexander II and Alexander III; but they might be said to have reached the heights of their power and influence during the reign of John Balliol.