When Robert the Bruce secured the throne of Scotland he rewarded his friends, generally at the expense of his enemies, and the family Comyn was among the latter who lost lands and titles. However, the Cummings, to use the modern spelling of the name, remained numerous in the north-east of Scotland.

The Cummings of Culter, traced their descent from Jardine Comyn, son of the Earl of Buchan, in the 13th century; the history of the Cummings of Relugas emerges from the 16th century, but it is the Cummings of Altyre who have occupied the principal position since the fall of the Comyns.

The first of the Cummings to be designated as of Altyre, was Ferquhard, son of Sir Richard Cumming, in the 14th century, a descendant of the Lords of Badenoch. During the 15th and 16th centuries the Cummings were actively engaged in public affairs, even to a feud with the clan Brodie. In 1594 Alexander Cumming of Altyre commanded a troop of horse in Huntly’s army at the Battle of Glenlivet when the Earl of Argyle was defeated.

In 1657 Robert Cumming of Altyre married Lucy, daughter of Sir Ludovick Gordon of Gordonstown, and when the last Sir William Gordon of Gordonstown died more than a century later, Alexander Cumming of Altyre, being his heir, assumed the name and arms of Gordon of Gordonstown, and was created a baronet in 1804. He died in 1806, and his second son Sir William became 2nd Baronet. Sir Alexander Penrose Gordon-Cumming, 3rd Bart., succeeded his father, and his bother Roualeyn was the famous traveller and lion hunter in the middle of the 19th century.

Crest: A lion rampant holding a dagger in dexter paw, proper. Badge: Cumin plant.