264 Assassination of the Red Comyn. 



Translation of an 'Excerpt from Walter of HemingburgJi' s 

 Chronicle, Vol. 2, pp. 245-246. 

 "In the year of the Lord 1305, Robert de Brus, fifth son of 

 that Robert de Brus who, as before described, disputed with 

 John de Balliol in the presence of the King of England about 

 the throne of Scotland, and, as was shown before, his suit had 

 been rejected by the judgment of the court, relying on perverse 

 counsel, aspired to the throne; and fearing the lord John 

 Comyn, earl of Badenoch, who was a powerful man in that 

 country and faithful to his lord the King of England, to whom 

 he had done homage, and knowing that he could be prevented 

 by him, he sent to him in craft two of his brothers, Thomas 

 and Nigel, to wit, begging him to be so kind as to come to him 

 at Dumfries, as he wished to treat with him on some matters of 

 business which concerned them both. For the justitiaries of 

 their lord the King of England were sitting in the castle on the 

 same day, to wit, the loth of February, and he suspecting no 

 evil come to him with a small retinue. They saluted each other 

 with a kiss, but not of peace, in the cloister of the Minor Friars, 

 and as they were conversing with each other with peaceful words, 

 as it seemed, suddenly changing his look and altering his style 

 of speech he began to upbraid him for his desertion, because he 

 had accused him to the King of England and had lowered his 

 position to his loss. When Comyn spoke peacefully and ex- 

 culpated himself, Brus refused to listen to his discourse; but, 

 as he had plotted, he gave him a kick and struck him with his 

 sword, and went away back again. But his men pursued him at 

 once and cast him forward on the pavement of the altar, leaving 

 him for dead. One of his soldiers, however, the Lord Robert 

 Comyn, his uncle, ran to his aid; but Christopher de Sethon, 

 who had married the sister of the Lord Robert de Brus, ran 

 up to him and struck on the head with his sword, and he died. 

 The Lord Robert de Brus went out, and seeing the Lord John's 

 fine steed, he mounted it, and his men mounted with him. They 

 set out for the castle and seized it. And when what had been 

 done was noised abroad the Scots ran to him, and the 

 justiciaries, fearing for themselves, shut the doors of the court 

 in which they were sitting with the few Englishmen who were 

 with them. When he heard this he ordered fire to be brought 

 unless they gave them up at once. But they surrendered, de- 



