Walter Comyn, Lord of Badenoch (died 1258) was the son of William Comyn, Justiciar of Scotia and Mormaer or Earl of Buchan by right of his second wife.

Life

Walter makes his first appearance in royal charters as early as 1211–1214. In 1220, he accompanied King Alexander II of Scotland during the latter's visit to

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

. He appears as " Lord of Badenoch" as early as 1229, after the defeat of the Meic Uilleim by his father. Like his father, Walter was given the hand of an heiress, Isabella, Countess of Menteith. By 1234, Isabella had inherited the Mormaerdom of Menteith, and so Walter became Mormaer or Earl of Menteith by right of his wife (''

jure uxoris ''Jure uxoris'' (a Latin phrase meaning "by right of (his) wife"), citing . describes a title of nobility used by a man because his wife holds the office or title '' suo jure'' ("in her own right"). Similarly, the husband of an heiress could beco ...

''). Walter appears to have had a son named Henry who witnessed a charter, dated to 1250, of Maol Domhnaich, Mormaer of Lennox. His daughter Isabel was given in marriage to Gilchrist Mure. Walter was one of the leading political figures in the

Kingdom of Scotland The Kingdom of Scotland was a sovereign state in northwest Europe, traditionally said to have been founded in 843. Its territories expanded and shrank, but it came to occupy the northern third of the island of Great Britain, sharing a Anglo-Sc ...

, especially during the minority of King Alexander III, when, along with

Alan Durward Alan Hostarius (or Alan Durward) () (died after 1264, or in 1275) was the son of Thomas de Lundin, a grandson of Gille Críst, Mormaer of Mar. His mother's name is unknown, but she was almost certainly a daughter of Máel Coluim, Mormaer of ...

, he essentially ran the country. He died suddenly in either the October or November 1258. By this time, his son Henry must have been dead. Isabella remained countess until 1260–1261, when Walter Stewart, husband of Isabella's sister Mary, seized the province. As Walter had no surviving male children, the Lordship of Badenoch passed to Walter's nephew John. John was unable to inherit Menteith. He is remembered primarily in the proverbial expression ''Walter of Guiyock's curse'', encountered in Sir

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

's '' Rob Roy'', under the English and Lowland form of his name, ''Walter Cuming'', where it appears in chapter 29: The origin of this is related in Sir

's note at that page: An accident such as this was supposed to be a curse akin to that dealt upon Walter Cuming for his sins. It was thus that the expression originated.''"Funk and Wagnall's New Standard Dictionary"'', The Standard Dictionary Company, London and New York, 1929

Notes

References

* * Paul, James Balfour, '' The Scots Peerage'', Vol. VI, (Edinburgh, 1909) * Young, Alan, ''Robert the Bruce's Rivals: The Comyns, 1213-1314'', (East Linton, 1997) {{DEFAULTSORT:Comyn, Walter 1258 deaths Nobility from Highland (council area) Walter 13th-century mormaers Year of birth unknown Mormaers of Menteith Lords of Badenoch