BattlefieldsKilling of John Comyn at Dumfries 1306
Medieval

Killing of John Comyn at Dumfries 1306

1306
Dumfriesshire, Scotland
Also known as: Murder of the Red Comyn 1306 · Greyfriars Dumfries 1306
Era
Medieval
Battle Type
Skirmish
Location
Dumfriesshire, Scotland
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
John Comyn
Forces
Comyn and his retinue
VS
Victor
Robert Bruce
Forces
Bruce with Roger de Kirkpatrick and James Lindsay
Outcome
Robert Bruce stabbed and killed John Comyn — his rival for Scottish leadership — at the Greyfriars church in Dumfries; the act committed Bruce irreversibly to rebellion
The Battle

History & Significance

The murder of John Comyn in the Greyfriars church at Dumfries on 10 February 1306 was one of the most consequential single acts of the Wars of Independence. Bruce and Comyn had met to discuss co-operation. An argument erupted and Bruce stabbed Comyn at the altar — a double sacrilege of murder and church violation. Knowing that excommunication and English punishment would follow, Bruce had no choice but to seize the Scottish throne immediately. He was crowned at Scone six weeks later. The murder made the Bruce dynasty: without it, there would have been no Bannockburn.

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