Cleary, J. (2023). The Cummings of Altyre and the search for an ancient genealogy, part 2. 'Truth has here lain in the bottom of a well'. Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland 152. Vol 152, Edinburgh: Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. pp. 217-239. https://doi.org/10.5284/1118573. Cite this via datacite

Title The title of the publication or report Title:	The Cummings of Altyre and the search for an ancient genealogy, part 2. 'Truth has here lain in the bottom of a well'
Issue The name of the volume or issue Issue:	Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland 152
Series The series the publication or report is included in Series:	Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
Volume Volume number and part Volume:	152
Page Start/End The start and end page numbers. Page Start/End:	217 - 239
Downloads Any files associated with the publication or report that can be downloaded from the ADS Downloads:	9_PSAS152_p217-239.pdf (2 MB) : Available for download from 30-Nov-2025
Licence Type ADS, CC-BY 4.0 or CC-BY 4.0 NC. Licence Type:	ADS Terms of Use and Access
DOI The DOI (digital object identifier) for the publication or report. DOI	https://doi.org/10.5284/1118573
Publication Type The type of publication - report, monograph, journal article or chapter from a book Publication Type:	Journal
Abstract The abstract describing the content of the publication or report Abstract:	Part 1 of this study, in Proceedings volume 151 (Cleary 2022), analysed a tradition of descent built by the Gordon Cummings of Altyre, Moray, from a mix of historical fact, legend and romance, claiming descent from one of the two 'Red Comyns' killed by the Bruce party in Dumfries, 1306. In a 150-year genealogy linking the Red Comyns to the first verifiable Cumming resident of Altyre, only two of the names were demonstrably historical persons. Part 2 examines the historical evidence for these two individuals and for whether they were related in the way the Altyre tradition claims. It is argued that one of them, but not both, was a lineal ancestor of the Altyre Cummings. The two were more distantly related than tradition claims, and the first – Sir Richard Comyn the Crusader (c 1340–1412 × 1415) – founded a different line of Cummings, that of Couttie, Perthshire. The other, Alexander Cumyne, who contracted to marry a sister of the Dunbar earl of Moray in 1408, almost certainly is the Altyre line's founder, and through him the Gordon Cummings may be descended from the Red Comyns, but in a different way to constructed tradition. In a remarkable series of letters by the antiquarian lawyer John Riddell, a sound account of the Cummings' origin was put forward in the 1820s, before being overlooked for 200 years. Transcriptions are presented in an appendix to this article.
Author The authors of this publication or report Author:	John Cleary
Publisher The publisher of the publication or report Publisher:	Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
Year of Publication The year the book, article or report was published Year of Publication:	2023
Locations Any locations covered by the publication or report. This is not the place the book or report was published. Subjects / Periods:	Comyn Cumming Moray Altyre genealogy John Riddell Gelre armorial double tressure Dunbar Leslie
Source Where the record has come from or which dataset it was orginally included in. Source:	ADS Archive (ADS Archive)
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Created Date The date the record of the pubication was first entered Created Date:	12 Apr 2024