[MR] Wikipedia: The Fate of Isabella MacDuff

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends, Especially Fellow Scots, and all the rest of you who are
housebound:

On this date in 1306, Robert the Bruce was crowned King of Scots at Scone
by the Bishop of St. Andrews William de Lamberton.

It was Scottish tradition at the time that the MacDuff Earl of of Fife or a
representative of the MacDuff family had the right to set the crown upon
the sovereign's head. Isabella MacDuff, Countess of Buchan, arrived at
Scone on 26 March hoping to perform the right in lieu of her brother, the
Earl of Fife, who was an English prisoner. King Robert agreed to redo the
ceremony again on 27 March so Isabella could fulfill the family honor, and
also to remove one more question about his legitimacy.

Isabella was married to the John Comyn, Earl of Buchan. By marriage, she
was cousin to the other John Comyn (John Comyn III of Badenoch, aka "The
Red Comyn"). The Red Comyn, like Bruce, was a Guardian of Scotland. Bruce
and Comyn became rivals, and at a parlay in the Greyfriars Abbey church in
Dumfries on 10 February 1306 they came to blows. Bruce wounded Comyn, and
his men finished the job. The Red Comyn's death caused the Comyns and their
allies to defect to the English side in Edward I's attempt to conquer
Scotland. Thus Isabella was defying her husband in favor of Bruce and her
own family.

Following the coronation, Bruce's female relatives and Isabella were sent
north, probably toward Carrick for their safety. Carrick was the Bruce's
earldom. Along the way they were betrayed to the English by a Scottish lord
supporting Edward. Taken to Berwick, Isabella was displayed in cage
(apparently only during the day) hung from the walls of a building. After
four years of this horrid treatment, she was transferred to a friary in
Berwick. She was moved again in 1513, and there is no further mention of
Isabella in history. She apparently died in captivity.

Isabella is commemorated in a tableau of the Bruce's coronation at
Edinburgh Castle in the Disney-esque "pre-show" as visitors process (really
sort of trudge; it's a very popular attraction and the line moves slowly)
to see the Honors of Scotland -- the Scottish crown jewels and the Stone of
Scone. She is also depicted on the great frieze, a sort of timeline of
Scottish history) in the Scottish National Gallery.

Here's an interesting factoid for our SCA heralds, as illustrated by
Isabella: In medieval Scotland, women generally did not take their
husbands' surname upon marriage. They retained their clan/family names.
Thus Isabella might have been the Countess of Buchan through her marriage
to the Earl of Buchan (and note also that he was styled "Buchan" not
"Comyn"), she was still called Isabella MacDuff. Confused?

I've told you just about everything that is on Wikipedia about Isabella
MacDuff, but you can read her story at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_MacDuff,_Countess_of_Buchan .

More about Robert the Bruce is found at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_the_Bruce .

And Bishop William de Lamberton? He wasn't Archbishop of St. Andrews. St.
Andrews was not raised to the archbishop level until 1472. His bio is found
at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_de_Lamberton .

Yours Aye,

Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆