CUMYN, CU3IMIN6, or CO31YN, a family which rose to great power and eminence in England and Scotland. It took its name from the town of Comines, near Lille, on the frontier between France and Belgium. While one branch remained there, and, in 1445, gave birth, in its old château, to the historian Philippe de Comines (q.v.), another fol lowed the banners of William of Normandy to the conquest of England. In 1069, tho conqueror sent Robert of Comines, or Comyn, with 700 horse to reduce the yet unsub dued provinces of the north. He seized Durham, but had not held it for 48 hours, when the people suddenly rose against him, and he perished in the flames of the bishop's palace. his nephew, 'William, became chancellor of Scotland about 1133, and, nine years later, all but possessed himself of the see of Durham. The chancellor's nephew, Richard, inherited the English possessions of his family, and .acquired lands in Scot land. By his marriage with Hexilda, countess of Athol, the granddaughter of Donald Bane, king of the Scots, he had a son William, who, about 1210, became earl of Buchan by marrying the Celtic heiress of that great northern earldom. By this marriage, ho was father of Alexander, earl of Buchan, who, by marrying a daughter of Roger do Quenci, earl of Winchester, acquired the high office of constable of Scotland, with great estates in Galloway, Fife, and the Lothians. By a previous marriage with a wife whose name has not been ascertained, William C. was father of Richard—whose son John became lord of Badenoch—and of Walter, who by marriage became earl of Monteith. By other marriages, the family obtained, for a time, the earldom of Angus and the earl dom of Athol, so that, by the middle of the 13th c., there were in Scotland 4 earls, 1 lord, and 32 belted knights of the name of Cumyn. Within 70 years, this great house
was so utterly overthrown that, in the words of a contemporary chronicle, " there was no memorial left of it in the land, save the orisons of the monks of Deer" (a monastery founded by William C., earl of Buchan, in 1219). The Cumyns perished in the memo rable revolution which placed Bruce on the throne of Scotland. Their chief, the lord of Badenoch, had, in 1201, been an unsuccessful competitor for the crown, as a descend ant, through king Donald Bane, of the old Celtic dynasty. His son, Red John C., was one of the three wardens of Scotland, and distinguished himself by his gallant resist ance to the English. He fell under Bruce's dagger, before the altar of the Franciscan friars at Dumfries, in 1306; and his kindred went down, one after another, in the struggle to avenge him. John C., earl of Buchan, was defeated by Bruce in a pitched battle, near Invernry, in 1308, when his earldom was wasted with such relentless sever ity, that—we are told by the poet who sang the victories of Bruce—for sixty years after wards, men mourned the desolation of Buchan. Such of the Cumyns as escaped the sword, found refuge, with their wives amid children, in England, where, although they Were so poor as to be dependants on the bounty of the English court, they married into the best families, so that, in the words of Mr. Riddel, "their blood at this day circu lates through all that is noble In the sister kingdom, including the numerous and royal descendants of king Henry IV." The earl of Shrewsbury seems to be the representa tive of the lord of Badenoch, who was the head of the race.