William Comyn, jure uxoris Earl of Buchan

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William Comyn, jure uxoris Earl of Buchan (d. 1233) was the son of Richard Comyn, Justiciar of Lothian. William made his fortune in the service of king William I of Scotland fighting the Meic Uilleim in the north. William witnesses no less than 88 charters of the king. William was sheriff of Forfar (x1195-1211x), Justiciar of Scotia (1205-33) and warden of Moray (1211-2). Between 1199 and 1200, William was sent to England to discuss important matters on King William's behalf with the new king, John. William was appointed to the prestigious office of Justiciar of Scotia, the most senoir royal office in the kingdom, in 1205. Between 1211 and 1212, William, as "Warden of Moray" fought against the insurgency of Gofraid mac Domnaill. William was successful, and it is perhaps for this reason that William received the hand of Marjory (c. 1212), the only child of Fergus, Earl of Buchan. It was thus that William became the Mormaer or Earl of Buchan, by right of his wife (jure uxoris). When William finally destroyed the Meic Uilleim in 1229, he was given control of Badenoch (upland Moray). He died in 1233.

William had many children, some by his unknown first wife, and some by Marjory. The two branches were the beginning of the two chief branches of the family:-

By his first wife,

Richard (d. 1244x1249)
Walter Comyn, Lord of Badenoch, jure uxoris Earl of Menteith
William
Johanna, m. Uilleam I, Earl of Ross
David

By Marjory,

Alexander, Earl of Buchan
William
Fergus
Idonea
Agnes
Elizabeth, m. Uilleam, Earl of Mar

Respectively, the two branches would be associated with the Lordship of Badenoch, and the Earldom of Buchan. For the historian Alan Young, William's life, and particularly his marriage to the Countess of Buchan, marks the beginning of the "Comyn century".