Robert Fleming, one of the leading men of Scotland, to whom Edward I. wrote in 1290 about settling the succession of the crown upon the death of Margaret, and who proposed the marriage of the said Margaret, the Maid of Norway, to Prince Edward of England at Brigham on 12 March 1289-90. He afterwards swore fealty to Edward I., but soon repenting, he joined Robert Bruce in his efforts to secure the crown and restore the liberties of Scotland. He was with Bruce in the town of Dumfries on 10 February 1305-6, when, in the church of the convent of the Minorite Friars, he stabbed Sir John Comyn. Fleming then entered the church with Kirkpatrick and others and despatched the wounded man. Cutting off his head, it is said, and returning to Bruce, who inquired if Comyn were dead, he produced the same with the remark, ' Let the deid shaw,' which was thereafter borne by the family for their motto. As a reward for his services he received from the King a charter of the lands of Lenzie and Cumbernauld in Dumbartonshire which had been forfeited by John Comyn, Earl of Buchan. He died before 1314, leaving two sons:
1. Malcolm, his heir.
2. Sir Patrick of Biggar.
Source: "The Scots Peerage" Vol 8, page 520.

Biggar and the House of Fleming. Chapter 13: "Historical Sketches of the Fleming Family". Electric Scotland
SIR MALCOLM FLEMING, most likely a son of William formerly mentioned, witnessed the donation of the Church of Largs to the monastery of Paisley, by Walter, the High Steward, who died in 1246. In a charter of Malcolm, Earl of Lennox, of which he was a witness, he is styled, ‘Vice Comes de Dunbarton,’* which shows that during the reign of Alexander III. he had been appointed to the office of Sheriff of that county. Nicholas of Biggar, Knight, is mentioned in a deed dated at Lesmahagow in the year 1269, and he appears to have been Sheriff of Lanarkshire in 1273. He died previous to 1292, when the marriage of his wife Mary, and the ward and marriage of his daughters Marjory and Ada, were granted by Edward I. of England to Robert, Bishop of Glasgow. It has been asserted by some writers, that the Lairds of Biggar to whom we have already referred, were a different family from the Flemings who afterwards were proprietors and superiors of this barony. A Fleming, they say, married one of the daughters of Sir Malcolm de Biggar just referred to, and receiving with her the lands of Biggar, became the progenitor of the family who possessed the Biggar estate for some centuries. So far, however, as we can ascertain, this assertion is based entirely on conjecture.
ROBERT FLEMING, who probably was the son of Malcolm, attended the assembly of bishops, earls, abbots, priors, and barons, which took place at Brigham, 12th March 1289-90, to consider the proposal made by Edward I. of England, to marry his son Edward to the Maid of Norway, heiress to the Scottish throne, and thus to unite both kingdoms under one sovereign. Robert Fleming, along with the others present, agreed to this proposal, and appended his name to a letter addressed to the English monarch, in which it is stated that they were overjoyed to hear the good news that the ‘ Apostle ’ had granted a dispensation for the marriage of Margaret, their dear lady and Queen, to Prince Edward; and requested to be furnished with early intelligence regarding the steps taken to forward this important measure, with assurance of their full and ready concurrence, provided certain reasonable conditions were agreed to, which would be specified by commissioners, who were to attend in London at the meeting of the Parliament in Easter. This scheme, after all, was defeated by the early death of tbe Maid of Norway, in September 1290. Robert Fleming, previous to the year 1305, appears to have thrown off his allegiance to Edward of England, sad to have joined the patriots who fought for their country’s freedom. According to Holinshed, he was in the Castle of Lochmaben when Robert Bruce, escaping from the murderous fangs of the English king, arrived, in the February of that year, at the stronghold of his forefathers. At that time, the Justiciars, Roger de Kirkpatrick and Walter Burgheton, held their courts ait Dumfries; and Bruce, as a freeholder in Annandaie, was, no doubt, summoned to give suit and service for his lands, by appearing in the retinue of these dignitaries. He, at all events, set out to that town, attended by his brother Edward, and Robert Fleming; and during their journey, it is said, they met a servant of the distinguished Sir John Comyn, who had been Governor of Scotland, and who, as a sister’s son of Baliol, was also one of the -claimants of the Scottish throne.

Baldwin’s descendants continued to hold Biggar until the twentieth century while their influence, power and wealth waxed and waned with the politics of the different reigns. Robert Fleming of Lenzie achieved international fame when, accompanying Robert the Bruce at the slaying of the Red Comyn, he severed the dead man’s head and offered it to Bruce with the recommendation “Let the deid shaw” (Let the deed show) ~ which thereafter became the motto of the Flemings. Bruce rewarded him with a grant of the lands of Cumbernauld in Dunbartonshire.

Links

• The barony of Biggar: from where the Flemings ruled