The Clan Comyn was once the most powerful family in 13th-century Scotland,[5] until they were defeated in civil war by their rival to the Scottish throne, Robert the Bruce.

Like many of the families that came to power under King David I of Scotland, the Comyn clan is of Norman or Flemish origin.

The surname may be a place-name, possibly derived from Bosc-Bénard-Commin, near Rouen in the Duchy of Normandy,[6] or from Comines, near Lille, in France.

[5] When Alexander III's minority ended, the Comyns, instead of suffering political eclipse dominated public offices between 1260 and 1286.

Their duty was to act as regents for Margaret of Norway, heir to the Scottish throne; however, she died en route to Scotland.

[12] An anonymous sister of John II Comyn of Badenoch married Sir Andrew Moray of Petty.

[14] Murray and Comyn had a son, named Andrew, who with William Wallace would lead a Scottish army to victory at the Battle of Stirling Bridge on 11 September 1297.

This John Comyn was a descendant of both kings Donald III and David I, as his maternal grandmother was Devorguilla of Galloway, the daughter of Margaret of Huntingdon.

[15] In particular Clan Comyn castles controlled important passes from the north and west highlands into the Tay basin.

[15] The long-standing authority of the Clan Comyn (Cumming) was witnessed by their extended tenure of the Justiciarship of Scotia, the most important political and administrative office in the kingdom.

[15] Three successive Comyn Lords of Badenoch and Earls of Buchan were justiciars of Scotia for no fewer than sixty six years between 1205 and 1304.

With the outbreak of war between England and Scotland, Comyn, his father, and his cousin, John Comyn, Earl of Buchan, crossed the border and attacked Carlisle on 26 March 1296, defended for King Edward I of England by Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick, the father of the future king of Scotland.

[19] It is likely that Robert Bruce stabbed the Red Comyn at the high altar, and his companions finished the job.

The lands in Badenoch, once the centre of Comyn power, were given to the Clan Macpherson for supporting Robert Bruce.

But its members played a significant part in the history and culture of the Badenoch, Strathspey, and Aberdeenshire regions of Scotland.

Many members of the Cumming (Comyn) clan left Scotland for greener pastures, some went to Ireland, England and Wales; others later migrated in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to North America, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Mascarene Islands (Mauritius and La Réunion).