Reiver Games

Border Reivers were raiders along the Anglo-Scottish border. They included both Scottish and English people, and they raided the entire border country without regard to their victims' nationality.Hay, D. "England, Scotland and Europe: The Problem of the Frontier." Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, vol. 25, 1975, pp. 81. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3679087. They operated in a culture of legalised raiding and feuding.Leeson, Peter T. "The Laws of Lawlessness." The Journal of Legal Studies 38, no. 2 (2009): 473. Neville, Cynthia. "Scottish Influences on the Medieval Laws of the Anglo-Scottish Marches." The Scottish Historical Review 81, no. 212 (2002): 171. Their heyday was in the last hundred years of their existence, during the time of the House of Stuart in the Kingdom of Scotland and the House of Tudor in the Kingdom of England.

The lawlessness of the Anglo-Scottish Borderlands in the 16th century is captured in a 1526 description of Tynedale and Redesdale:

" nhabitants there..nothinge regard deyther the lawes of God or of the kinges majesties for any love or other lawful consideracion, but onely for the drede and feare of instante coreccion."Ellis, Steven G. Tudor Frontiers and Noble Power: The Making of the British State. Oxford University Press, 1995, p.62.

The term "Border Reiver" is an exonym and anachronistic term used to describe the raiders and bandits who operated along the Anglo-Scottish Border during the late Middle Ages and early modern period. The reivers, as we understand today, emerged in textual and archaeological evidence sometime between 1350 and 1450,Steingraber, Aubrey Maria. Landscape and the Making of the Medieval Anglo-Scottish Border: Power, Place, and Perspective c.1200–c.1500. PhD Thesis, University of York, Department of Archaeology, March 2022. p83 with their activities reaching their height in the 16th century during the Tudor period in England and the late Stewart period in Scotland.Fraser, George MacDonald. The Steel Bonnets: The Story of the Anglo-Scottish Border Reivers. HarperCollins, London, 1995. . They were infamous for raiding, eliciting protection money or taking hostages('blackmail'), cattle rustling, and lawlessness, where justice was frequently negotiated through arbitration at Truce Days rather than enforced through the peremptory and inescapable punishments mandated by state law. Many crimes, such as theft and feuding, were treated with less severity due to the ancient customs and culture of the Borderlands, which had evolved over centuries to tolerate and even codify such practices.

Although less well-known than Highlanders in Scotland—whom they met and defeated in battle on occasion— the Border Reivers played a significant role in shaping Anglo-Scottish relations. Their activities were a major factor in ongoing tensions between the two kingdoms, and their raids often had international repercussions.Moffat, Alistair. The Reivers: The Story of the Border Reivers. Birlinn Limited, Edinburgh, 2007. . There is an emerging historical debate over how great their threat and the extent to which their raids were state-directed rather than purely opportunistic.Robb, Graham. The Debatable Land: The Lost World Between Scotland and England. Picador, London, 2018. .

The culture of the Border Reivers—characterised by honour, close family bonds, and self-defence—has been said to influence the culture of the Upland South in the United States. Many Borderers migrated as families to America, where their values are thought to have contributed significantly to the region's social structure and political ideologies, with echoes of their influence persisting even today.

The etymology of "Border Reiver"

''Reive'', a noun meaning raid, comes from the Middle English (Scots) ''reifen.'' The verb ''reave'' meaning "plunder, rob", a closely related word, comes from the Middle English ''reven''. There also exists a Northumbrian and Scots verb ''reifen''. All three derive from Old English ''rēafian'' which means "to rob, plunder, pillage". Variants of these words were used in the Borders in the later Middle Ages. The corresponding verb in Dutch is "(be)roven", and "(be)rauben" in German.

The earliest use of the combined term "border reiver" appears to be by Sir Walter Scott in his anthology ''Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border''. George Ridpath (1716?–1772), the author of posthumously published ''The Border-History of England and Scotland, deduced from the earliest times to the union of the two crowns'' (London, 1776), referred not to 'border reivers' but only to ''banditti''.

Background

Governance, culture and territorality of the Anglo-Scottish frontier

The Anglo-Scottish borders were shaped by centuries of territorial disputes, cultural integration, and overlapping systems of governance, resulting in one of the most administratively complex regions of medieval Britain.

The traditional narrative places the Battle of Carham in 1018 as a pivotal moment when Scottish forces secured control over Lothian, marking a fundamental shift in the northern boundary of England. However, this interpretation is subject to debate. Some historians question whether the 'loss' of Lothian to Scotland can be definitively dated to 1018, with a range of alternative timelines proposed.

Contemporary evidence suggests the gradual establishment of Scottish authority over Lothian and the Borders, marked by the consolidation of continuous royal control around the same time as the Norman Conquest, West Lothian and Midlothian likely dates between Máel Coluim III’s accession in 1058 and the death of his son Edgar in 1107. East Lothian saw consolidation under Máel Coluim III by 1093, with Edgar firmly establishing authority by 1107. Berwickshire (Merse) was under Máel Coluim III's rule, with Edgar solidifying control around 1100. Teviotdale (Roxburghshire) and Tweeddale fell under continuous Scottish control from 1113 during David I’s tenure. Annandale came under Robert de Brus, 1st Lord of Annandale between 1113 and 1124 as a vassal of David I,McGuigan, Neil
"Donation and Conquest: The Formation of Lothian and the Origins of the Anglo-Scottish Border."
Offa’s Dyke Journal, vol. 4, 2022, pp. 33–65. ResearchGate having been conferred upon him by Henry I of England.

Further enterprising and independent Norman lordships lay in South West Scotland at the freyed western end of the Borders. This period also saw the Normanisation of the Scottish nobility, as Norman lords, brought in by David I of Scotland, introduced new complexities of Norman colonisation in the Borderlands. Many of these lords held land in England and brought in Anglo-Saxon tenants from their estates south of the border.Hunter, Linsey Forsyth. Charter Diplomatics and Norms of Landholding and Lordship Between the Humber and Forth, c.1066–c.1250. Volume Two, PhD Thesis, University of Stirling, 2016.

Concurrently, south of the Tweed, including parts of Tweeddale, it is not entirely clear when the former territories of the Earldom of Bamburgh fell following William I's successful invasion of England. Neither Northumberland nor Cumberland was surveyed in the Domesday Book in 1085. Into the late 11th century, Lothian was still regarded as one of England's unshired regions, alongside Northumberland, Cumberland, and Westmorland. There are strong indications that the area north of the Tyne remained outside effective Norman control until at least 1090s, with evidence suggesting the persistence of an independent Anglian polity or organised resistance until the early 12th century.

Following the Norman Conquest, the Anglo-Scottish border in the west remained ambiguous. William Rufus in 1090 expelled Dolfin of Carlisle, a possible descendant of the Anglo-Saxon Earls of Northumbria, from Cumberland and fortified Carlisle to secure the region. It is also suggested that Dolfin may have been installed by Máel Coluim III.

However, during the period of civil war known as The Anarchy (1135–1153), David I of Scotland exploited the instability and advanced southward into northern England. In the Second Treaty of Durham (1139), King Stephen granted the Earldom of Northumbria—encompassing Carlisle, Cumberland, Westmorland, and Lancashire north of the Ribble—to David's son, Prince Henry. These territories were later reclaimed, and David's successor, Malcolm IV, was forced to cede them. Since then, the Anglo-Scottish border has remained largely unchanged, with only minor adjustments.

The Anglo-Scottish Border only began to formalise by 1237 in the Treaty of York.

Complex and dual identities

Land ownership and governance in the Anglo-Scottish border region during the 12th and 13th centuries were shaped by a highly mixed population, but the ruling elite was predominantly composed of Norman, Flemish, and Breton incomers.

These newcomers were granted lands and titles as knights and lords, establishing castles and vast demesnes—some straddling the ambiguous Anglo-Scottish frontier during the Wars of Scottish Independence, which later fueled disputes over land and jurisdiction. The Borderlands, home to Early Scots, Northumbrians, Norse, Brythonic and Gaelic communities, ultimately fell under the control of a newly established ruling class.

The integration of these groups under predominantly Norman, Flemish, and Breton lords across the border introduced a dual identity and a new layer of governance that often clashed with local traditions, further complicating loyalties and creating a fragmented political landscape. The unique March Law can be seen as an example of a distinct regional culture, different from both England and Scotland. This dual identity was further evident in the case of groups like the Armstrongs of Liddesdale, a Scottish clan who had settled in the region from England during the 13th and 14th centuries. Known for their independent and often lawless ways, they were referred to as "Evil Inglis" well into the 16th century, reflecting both their English origins and their feared reputation in Scottish border society. According to late Tudor estimates, Scots comprised a third of those living within ten miles of the frontier.

Alexander Mason's case exemplifies the complexities of nationality and jurisdiction in the Anglo-Scottish borderlands. In 1441, Mason—a Scot who sometimes resided in Northumberland—was accused of murdering Lawrence Grey in England. His dual identity led to prolonged legal complications, and in 1449 he ultimately secured a royal pardon by swearing allegiance to the English crown.

The Wars of Scottish Independence played a key role in this transformation of the Borders, fostering and forcing a growing sense of national belonging that extended across social, cultural and linguistic groups. However, alongside this burgeoning national identity, a shared border identity also emerged, rooted in the unique cultural and legal practices of the region. This shared identity coexisted with a lingering sense of Otherness,Ellis, Steven G. Region and Frontier in the English State: The English Far North, 1296–1603. Galway: National University of Ireland, Galway, 1995.Ellis, Steven G. "Civilizing Northumberland: Representations of Englishness in the Tudor State." The Journal of Historical Sociology, Volume 12, Issue 2, 1999, pp. 103–127. as the borders remained distinct from the centralised identities of both nations, shaped by their unique history and violent reputation, and the persistent influence of local loyalties.Prestwich, Michael, ed. Liberties and Identities in the Medieval British Isles. Boydell & Brewer Ltd, Suffolk, 2008. . This shared Border identity and feelings of Otherness persisted throughout the 16th century.

Disputed territory

Efforts to define the Anglo-Scottish border often proved contentious and inconclusive. By 1245, territorial disputes remained unresolved, as demonstrated in a case involving Hugh de Bolbec, a Northumbrian knight.Robb, Graham. The Debatable Land: The Lost World Between Scotland and England. W. W. Norton & Company, 2021., p23 A meeting near Carham on the Tweed attempted to establish "the true and ancient marches between the two kingdoms". Six knights from each side were appointed to walk the border line, but the Scottish and English representatives disagreed at every step. A second attempt expanded the parties to twelve knights per side, with additional servants and men-at-arms processing through the Tweed Valley, but it too ended without agreement.

A third effort involved 48 knights, who swore an oath to trace the border. The English knights proposed a line running from the confluence of Reddenburn and the Tweed, south to Tres Karras and Hopperichlawe (now lost), and then to Whitelaw Hill in the Cheviot Hills. However, the Scottish knights opposed this perambulation with threats, and tensions escalated. Lacking further resources to continue, the English knights unilaterally declared the defined line to be "the true and ancient marches and divisions", despite the lack of mutual agreement.

Throughout the period, various territories remained disputed due to unresolved claims, particularly lands referred to as ''threiplands'' ( Scots for "disputed lands"). There were five such lesser threiplands alongside the larger and more notorious Debatable Land, as illustrated in the accompanying image. The Debatable Land was an expansive area, which lay between the rivers Esk and Sark, was the subject of contention until 1552, when its status was finally settled. Originally referred to as the "Batable Land"—a term derived from its use as fertile grazing ground—the territory was notable for an agreement allowing both English and Scottish borderers to graze cattle during the day, despite prohibitions on permanent settlement.

Berwick-upon-Tweed, a strategically important town on the Anglo-Scottish border, changed hands multiple times during the medieval period, reflecting its contested status between England and Scotland. The town was alternately controlled by each kingdom, with significant captures in 1174, 1296, and 1318, among others. Its turbulent history culminated in 1482 when it was seized by Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later Richard III), and thereafter remained under English administration. Berwick's frequent exchanges highlight its role as both a prize of war and a continued focal point of Anglo-Scottish tensions.

The Anglo-Scottish border was not fully demarcated until the mid-19th century, when the Ordnance Survey mapped the area in detail. Even as late as this period, some lands, such as Kirkholm Common, were still considered by locals to be threipland. Locals regarded it as shared communal ground, with its historical status as contested land lingering in local tradition.

Other disputed areas were resolved through less formal means. The Ba Green (or Ba' Green or Ball Green) near Wark and Coldstream, a Scottish tract of land that curiously lies on the English side of the River Tweed, is one such example. This threipland became the subject of an annual game of football, whose result determined temporary control of the land. Over time, Coldstream's growing population allowed it to field far more players than Wark, leading to the land being informally absorbed into Scotland.

Overlapping powers: judicial, religious, and secular authority

The Anglo-Scottish Borders were marked by overlapping systems of administration and law, creating a patchwork of competing jurisdictions. On the English side, noble families, ecclesiastical authorities, and state officials held varying degrees of power, often clashing over jurisdiction. Secular liberties like Tynedale and Redesdale operated semi-independently, granting local lords significant autonomy to enforce laws and defend their territories. Robert de Umfraville, also known as "Robert-with-the-Beard," was granted the newly established Liberty of Redesdale in 1075, replacing the former Anglian lord, Mildraed. The Liberty of Tynedale, created in 1157, was governed by the monarch of Scotland as a fief of England until death of Alexander III, when it reverted to English rule. The liberties were first incorporated into the shire of Northumberland during the reign of Henry VII and were later abolished entirely under Henry VIII.

To note, Liddesdale, established in the late 12th century, was a rarity on the Scottish side, functioning effectively as a secular liberty, with its own keeper who, ''ex officio'', also held the position of Captain of Hermitage Castle.

Religious influence was prominent in the liberty of Hexhamshire, governed by the Archbishops of York, and in the County Palatine of Durham (which included the exclaves of Norhamshire and Islandshire on the frontier), ruled by the Prince Bishops, who held powers comparable to those of a king, including raising armies and collecting taxes. The religious liberties fiercely resisted the encroachment of secular lawmen into their jurisdictions.

The Earls of Northumberland, based in Alnwick, were another major force, holding substantial military and administrative influence over northern England.Armstrong, Jackson W. Local Society and the Defence of the English Frontier in Fifteenth-Century Scotland: The War Measures of 1482. ''The Scottish Historical Review'', Volume 87, Issue 2, October 2008, pp. 153–176. The legal framework of the region was equally fragmented, with March law addressing cross-border disputes and raids, while state law and ecclesiastical law functioned in parallel. The Liberties, both religious and secular, were repeatedly accused of being havens for outlaws. Disputes often arose between Wardens of the Marches, Keepers of the liberties, and local sheriffs, reflecting the constant struggle to impose order in this turbulent region.

While both England and Scotland had overlapping jurisdictions, Scottish regalities generally lacked the level of autonomy seen in English liberties. This difference arose because England had a more centralised system of governance, whereas Scotland's rule was more fragmented, with local polities retaining greater independence. Despite these differences, both nations faced persistent challenges in governing the borderlands, where local power dynamics frequently overruled central authority.

Antecedents on the Anglo-Scottish frontier

Hen Ogledd

The pervasive tradition of cattle raiding and endemic violence in the Border region appears to have roots that extend deep into its history, suggesting that such practices have long been an intrinsic part of the area's cultural and social fabric. The earliest references to such behaviour appear in the Old Welsh (Hen Ogledd) poems attributed to bards such as Taliesin, Aneirin, and Llywarch Hen, which describe battles and raids in the early medieval period of what is now the Anglo-Scottish Borders. These poetic accounts hint at a long-standing culture of raiding and conflict in the northern British territories.

''I roared, my breast full of tumult,
Lance on my shoulder, shield in my hand,
When Goddeu and Rheged were ranged for war,
I saw a man who was raiding cattle -
Famous dragon, unique trampler.''

Modern genetic studies support the idea of continuity in the Borders region, showing that its population clusters separately from both broader Scottish and English genetic groups.Gilbert, E., O'Reilly, S., Merrigan, M., McGettigan, D., Vitart, V., Joshi, P. K., Clark, D. W., Campbell, H., Hayward, C., Ring, S., Golding, J., Goodfellow, S., Navarro, P., Kerr, S. M., Amador, C., Campbell, A., Haley, C. S., Porteous, D. J., Cavalleri, G. L., & Wilson, J. F. (2019). The genetic landscape of Scotland and the Isles. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 116(38), 19064-19070. There is evidence of continued settlement patterns in the Anglo-Scottish Borders, suggesting a continuity of territorial practices from the pre-Anglo-Saxon period. This distinction aligns with the historical role of the Borders as a cultural and geographical transitional zone and is consistent with the region's heritage, tracing back to the Brythonic-speaking kingdoms of Gododdin and Rheged.

'The ancient laws and customs of the land'

Laws of the Marches, or ''Leges Marchiarum'', first formally codified in 1249, offers a significant insight into the long-standing legal and social structures designed to manage the unique challenges of the Anglo-Scottish Border. This legal framework addressed not only diplomatic relations between England and Scotland but also sought to regulate banditry, cross-border smuggling, and feuding. Its provisions included the return of fugitives, the recovery of debts, and the production of accused parties at designated trysting places along the border, such as Reddenburn near Kelso. These trysting places served as neutral meeting points for resolving disputes under the framework of March law.

The formulation of March law followed a meeting in 1248 between six English knights and six Scottish knights, and the resulting code was formally promulgated the following year. Between 1249 and 1596, the laws of the marches were reviewed and recodified on at least eight occasions, reflecting their enduring importance in managing Border relations. The legal traditions referenced in these codes draw upon "the ancient laws and customs of the land," and some of the language, such as "handwasil" and "manbote," suggests Anglo-Saxon origins. The document itself refers to the laws as originating "from a time which memory does not exist," implying that aspects of March law may predate the Norman Conquest. However, the extent to which these laws derive from pre-Norman customs remains a topic of scholarly debate.

Schavaldours

An earlier rendition of banditry may have been the bands of armed men who first appeared on the Borders in the early 14th century, then known as the Schavaldours (also spelled shavaldour, shavaldor, or shavaldor) during the unstable rule of Edward II of England. The term was first recorded in 1313, when Richard de Kellawe, then Bishop of Durham, requested to be excused from levying any money from the goods of the parson of Whickham, citing the damage caused by "Schavadours and plunderers." The Schavaldours, like the later (and anachronistically named) Border reivers, were often pressed into service during cross-border wars, such as those in 1350.King, Andy. War, Politics, and Landed Society in Northumberland, c.1296-c.1408. PhD Thesis, Durham University, 2001.

The problem of banditry grew worse following Edward II's loss at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 and appeared to further worsen after a severe famine in 1315–1317 and a failed campaign in 1322. The anarchy that followed created conditions where both organised and independent bands of Scottish armed men, along with opportunistic English bands, raided as far as Yorkshire, devastating the land not only through plunder but also widespread burning.

While the term 'Schalvadours' disappears from records by the late 14th century, the violence and lawlessness that characterised the Border region continued for centuries.

Border Warfare and the Rise of Surnames

The Border reivers emerged between the end of the First Scottish War of Independence and the Wars of the Roses, as fortified defenses in England began appear during this period. The earliest example for an elaborate nickname appears in this period, with John "Out with the sword" Turnbull (early 15th century).Scott Elliot, George Francis. The Border Elliots and the Family of Minto. David Douglas, Edinburgh, 1897.

It was during this turbulent period that surnames and heidsmen emerged, reflecting the region's descent into endemic warfare and banditry. These kinship groups and leaders were vital for organising defence, raids, and social order in a lawless frontier where traditional authority had broken down.

During Edward II's reign, men in the liberties of Tynedale and Redesdale received immunity from land confiscation, a deliberate policy to secure their loyalty for Scottish campaigns. These liberties often provided sanctuary for raiders and fugitives, with a formal protected status emerging through Edward's policies.

The Wars of Independence severely impacted the Borders, leading to the displacement of many local gentry families due to violence and instability. After the Battle of Bannockburn (1314), the weakened English crown effectively abandoned northern England, issuing scorched earth retreat orders that were often ignored by English borderers who joined in the plunder. Many families who did leave never to return. However, following the English victory at Halidon Hill (1333), both older and newly emergent Surnames began to re-establish themselves in the region.

In the aftermath of the Battle of Bannockburn, a new type of soldier emerged from the northern counties: the hobelar. These lightly armoured cavalrymen, mounted on hardy fell ponies and equipped with lances or bows, rose to prominence during the reign of Edward III.

Following Edward Balliol's defeat at the Battle of Halidon Hill (1333), England expanded into southern Scotland and neglected governance of the traditional border region, creating a power vacuum that fostered lawlessness. Despite the Treaty of Berwick ending the Wars of Scottish Independence after David II's return from English captivity in 1357, border raiding continued as an established way of life.

The Years of Truces

From 1357 to the Wars of the Roses

Between the end of the Wars of Scottish Independence (1357) and the Battle of Flodden (1513) there were intermittent peace agreements and an uneasy balance of power between England and Scotland. While no major wars erupted, the Anglo-Scottish border remained a hotspot for raiding, feuding, and political tensions. Barely had the ink dried in 1357 before the Warden of the West March Thomas de Lucy was accused of imprisoning Scots for the purpose of ransom. Later he was accused of collusion with the men of Eskdale, there was a theft of several thousand animals and £20, in excess of £16,792 today.

The 1370s on the Borders are recorded as particularly lawless and violent, with raiders sacking and burning houses, farms, and monasteries, while the people were either carried away or slaughtered.

Although there were long-term truces after the Wars of Scottish Independence and relatively few official cross-border raids, the proliferation of more humble fortified structures such as bastle houses and pele towers across the Anglo-Scottish borderland underscores the enduring instability of the region; they responded to persistent threats of raiding and violence, which continued even during periods of nominal peace.

Raiding continued as a persistent feature of the borderlands, punctuating periods of truce. These ranged from smaller skirmishes to occasional large-scale raids, such as the Battle of Otterburn (1388) and Homildon Hill (1402), which occasionally escalated into significant but localised conflicts. Both kingdoms sought to maintain periods of relative calm through truce agreements and diplomatic efforts, though these efforts were often fragile and difficult to enforce in the contested border regions.

It was during this time we see the emergence of English border magnates like the Nevilles, Cliffords, and Dacres, as well as an emergent lower gentry such as the Musgraves, Herons, Scropes, and later still, the Eures, Mitfords, Ogles, and Moresbys, who would come to fill key positions along the English Borders, including Sheriff, Justice of the Peace, March Wardens, Keepers of Tynedale and Redesdale, Captains of Berwick and Carlisle, and other vital military and administrative roles responsible for the defence and governance of this volatile frontier region. It's important to note the Border gentry were few in number and much poorer compared with other parts of England and having about the same income as a southern yeoman in the early Tudor period.

The Percy family, Earls of Northumberland, played a significant role in the conflicts that destabilised England. The Percys first rebelled against King Henry IV during the early 15th century, joining forces with Owain Glyndŵr and Edmund Mortimer in the Tripartite Indenture, a plan to divide England and Wales between them. Led by Sir Henry "Hotspur" Percy, the rebellion culminated in the Battle of Shrewsbury (1403), where Hotspur was killed.

Despite two further rebellions, the 2nd Earl of Northumberland was restored as Warden of the Marches by Henry V. During this period, the Percy family consolidated their power in the north, notably absorbing the liberty of Redesdale from the Umfraville to Tailboys vassals in 1436, following the extinction of the Umfraville line. Despite this growing authority and the responsibilities of the Wardenship, reports of "numerous robbers and felons calle
Intakers
eceivers of stolen goodsand Outputters mugglers continued to trouble the region.

The Wars of the Roses

During the Wars of the Roses, the Percy family expanded their influence in the eastern regions, while the Neville family grew in power in Cumbria, fostering a bitter rivalry. The two families supported opposing factions in the conflict, with the Nevilles aligning more successfully with the Yorkist cause. This strategic advantage allowed the Nevilles to claim the Percy earldom in 1463 following the Percys’ poor choice of allegiance.

During the Wars of the Roses, southern English communities viewed northern Borderers as a constant threat. The campaigns of 1460–61 were seen by figures like Abbot Whethamstede as a northern rebellion, with chroniclers describing northerners as a "plague of locusts" feared for robbery and devastation, particularly in London. This perception of the north as a militarized and hostile frontier region reinforced southern anxieties about the Borderers.

Despite the ongoing civil war between the houses of Lancaster and York, truces with Scotland were maintained and periodically renewed. A 40-year truce was agreed upon in 1479.Cynthia J. Neville, ''Violence, Custom and Law'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1998).

However, despite the agreement, raiding resumed the following year. During the so-called ''Gloucester's War'', The Earl of Angus led a deep raid into the East March, prompting a retaliatory campaign by Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who launched a raid into Scotland. This outbreak of violence was short-lived, concluding by 1484. Nevertheless, the devastation was so extensive that the Barony of Gilsland, held by Lord Dacre, was assessed at only 15% of its previous value in the aftermath of ''Gloucester’s War''. To note, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was the only individual to be granted a Wardenry as a hereditary title, having been appointed hereditary Warden of the West March by his brother, Edward IV.Neville, Cynthia J. ''Violence, Custom and Law: The Anglo-Scottish Border Lands in the Later Middle Ages''. Edinburgh University Press, 1998, p. 173.

This brief conflict was significant for one key reason: it marked the final time Berwick-upon-Tweed changed hands, solidifying English control over the strategic town. Additionally, it saw the Duke of Albany cede control over much of South West Scotland, although this concession proved short-lived, with the territory returning to Scottish hands not long after.

The Early Tudor Period

Henry VII and James IV

Henry VII and James IV were initially cordial, encouraged the Border courts and reminded the Border magnates of their obligation to maintain truce.Cynthia J. Neville, ''Violence, Custom and Law: The Anglo-Scottish Border Lands in the Later Middle Ages'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1998).

However, despite this initial cordiality and relative peace along the Borders, the period soon saw growing tensions and rivalry between the two monarchs and an increase in banditry, as the fragile truces often proved difficult to enforce.

In 1495, the pretender to the English crown, Perkin Warbeck became a guest of James IV and raids resumed on both sides of the Border with renewed intensity, disrupting the fragile peace established earlier. In the following year, Perkin Warbeck led a small-scale invasion of England, attempting to capitalise on the ongoing tensions between England and Scotland. The invasion, however, was poorly supported and ultimately failed to achieve any significant objectives.Goodwin, George. Fatal Rivalry: Flodden 1513 - Henry VIII, James IV and the Battle for Renaissance Britain. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2013.

In the same year as Perkin Warbeck's raid, Henry VII revoked Tynedale’s liberty status and incorporated it into the county of Northumberland.

Seven years later, Hob the King (Halbert Elliot) and Dand the Man (Andrew Elliot) rode out from Liddesdale and brazenly stole 180 sheep from the Lammermuir Hills—well within sight of the city of Edinburgh—demonstrating that Borderers had little hesitation in raiding their own countrymen when it suited them.

A particularly notable intra-national warfare episode occurred during just preceding the death of Henry VII in 1509, when a dispute over harbour dues between the municipality of Newcastle and the Prior of Tynemouth escalated into outright violence. The Prior, assembling a company of 500 armed men from liberties of Tynedale and Redesdale - equipped with spears, swords, bows, and arrows - ordered them to attack Newcastle. Over the course of six days, the raiders killed around 100 inhabitants and effectively laid siege to the city. The inhabitants of Newcastle, fearing for their lives, were forced to remain within the city walls, unable to retaliate.Ralph Robson, ''The English Highland Clans: The Northern Border and the Anglo-Scottish Wars'' (Edinburgh: John Donald Publishers, 1989).

During the early Tudor period, governance and expenditure on the English side of the border underwent significant changes. The Border castles were removed from the control of the Wardens, their garrisons were greatly reduced, and Warden salaries were cut. As a result, the responsibility for border defence increasingly fell to the local nobility.

Henry VIII, James IV, and the Battle of Flodden

The 1503 marriage of Margaret Tudor to James IV, under the Treaty of Perpetual Peace, aimed to stabilise Anglo-Scottish relations. However, tensions persisted, with Henry VIII antagonising James by withholding Margaret's dowry and asserting English overlordship.

The Murder of Robert Ker

Sometime between 1500 and 1511,Fraser, George MacDonald. ''The Steel Bonnets: The Story of the Anglo-Scottish Border Reivers''. HarperCollins, 1995., p173 John "the Bastard" Heron murdered Robert Ker of Cessford, Warden of the Middle March, during a March Day meeting—an extraordinary breach of protocol., The act sparked a violent feud, with reprisals including the murder of Heron's accomplice in York. James IV viewed the unresolved killing as a major insult, referencing it in a letter to Henry VIII in August 1513—weeks before Flodden.

The Ill Raid

A month before Flodden, Alexander, Lord Home, led a raid into England that ended in disaster, with 900 Scots killed or captured by Sir William Bulmer. Days before the battle, Catherine of Aragon pardoned Heron for Ker's murder; he would go on to help guide the English army and fight with a band of fifty outlaws.Sadler, John (2006). Flodden 1513: Scotland's greatest defeat. Oxford: Osprey., p?

The Battle of Flodden

On 9 September 1513, James IV and the bulk of Scotland's nobility were killed at Flodden. Losses included 21 earls, 14 lords, and as many as 8,000 men.

At Flodden, Border troops fought on both sides. Dacre's English force included feuding contingents from Tynemouthshire and Bamburghshire, alongside Heron's outlaws. On the Scottish right, Home's mixed force nearly broke the English line. When Lord Howard's flank faltered, Heron's men launched a decisive counterattack, saving the position.

Home's later withdrawal—possibly due to Dacre's influence or his brother's captivity—critically weakened the Scots. His failed attempt to retake the Scottish guns ended the campaign.

The battle also revealed the opportunism of Border society: while the armies clashed, men from Teviotdale and Tynedale looted the English baggage train. Some English Borderers were even accused of assisting the Scots and taking prisoners on both sides—allegations denied by Dacre.

By the late evening of 9 September 1513, many of Scotland's leading men lay dead on English soil, their loss devastating the kingdom's leadership. Among the few surviving magnates were aforementioned Home. The body of King James IV was discovered on the battlefield and later sent south by Dacre as proof of the catastrophic defeat.Goodwin, George. Fatal Rivalry: Flodden 1513—Henry VIII, James IV and the Battle for Renaissance Britain. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2013. .

The heyday of the 'Border reivers' (1513-1603)

The last hundred years is often regarded as the heyday of the Border reivers, characterised by persistent raiding, feuding, and lawlessness perhaps the worst the Borders had seen. However, while this period—especially its later decades—is the best recorded, with the most surviving sources,Fraser, George MacDonald. The Steel Bonnets: The Story of the Anglo-Scottish Border Reivers. HarperCollins, 1995., pp309 this does not necessarily mean it was the most severe.

It was the period we see the end of the liberties of Redesdale and Tynedale and the end of the Debatable Land. The era also saw the end of the militarised border. The Union of the Crowns in 1603, when James VI of Scotland succeeded to the English throne as James I, marked the end of centuries of conflict between the two kingdoms.

After Flodden

Almost immediately after the Battle of Flodden, riders from Scotland launched raids, burning four towns in England. In response, Dacre led punitive judicial raids, devastating towns such as Annan and razing villages and buildings across Teviotdale, Liddesdale, and Ewesdale, while seizing 4,000 head of cattle.

Dacre, reportedly acting under the direction of Cardinal Wolsey and King Henry VIII, paid Scottish surnames to conduct raids into Scotland while simultaneously entertaining factions opposed to the Angus regency. Far from attempting to control the Borders, Dacre was orchestrating chaos to undermine Scottish stability. Ironically, a joint Maxwell-Irvine force of 400 men raided the Debatable Land and lifted 700 cattle from his tenants. When Dacre lodged a complaint, the Maxwell heidsman reportedly replied that the cattle had been taken "orderly, according to the customs of the Borders."

Settling the Debatable Land

In the early 16th century, the Armstrongs and Grahams broke with Border custom by settling in the Debatable Land—a territory long regarded as neutral and lawless. This incursion was acknowledged by the Scottish government as early as 1517 or 1518. Meanwhile, Lord Dacre, permitted loyal Scottish Grahams to settle its southern end, further eroding its no-man's-land status. One account suggests that the banished Grahams first settled in 1516, with the Armstrongs following in 1518, reportedly with Lord Dacre's approval.

The policy of tolerating settlement in the Debatable Land did nothing to curb banditry in the Anglo-Scottish borderlands; criminality persisted, and the Armstrongs only grew more powerful.

'Heyday South of the Border'

Throughout the 1520s, amid persistent famine and rinderpest outbreaks, the already overpopulated Cheviot Highlands suffered further strain. The ensuing social disruption—exacerbated by war, famine, and disease—fostered the rise of large bands of plunderers operating across the Anglo-Scottish borderlands.

These groups sometimes coalesced around local minor noble or gentry figures into confederacies—known as outlawed "Surnames"—led by individuals such as Sir Nicholas Ridley in the early 1520s and later Sir William Lisle of Felton in the mid-to-late 1520s. Notably, both had previously served as lawmen, yet in a reversal of the common Border formula, those charged with maintaining order increasingly became, effectively, poachers. Some, like the then Warden and former Keeper of Redesdale, Thomas Dacre, 2nd Baron Dacre, got perilously close to being outlawed for associating too closely with known thieves.

North of the border, Lord Dacre launched two massive raids against the Armstrongs of Liddesdale and the Debatable Land. In retaliation, the Armstrongs mounted raids into Cumbria. Dacre, in turn, responded again, but this time he retaliated by burning the towers of the sons of the infamous Johnny Armstrong. It is important to note that while the Armstrong-Dacre feud raged on, it was only one of many such raids and counter-raids along the border.

Monition of Cursing

In 1525, the Archbishop of Glasgow, Gavin Dunbar, issued the extraordinary fifteen-hundred word ''Monition of Cursing'', damning all who dwelled in the Borders to hell.

''I curse thair heid and all tha haris of their head; I curse thair face, thair ene, thair mouth, thair neise, thair toung, thair teith, thair crag, thair schulderis, thair breist, thair hert, thair stomok, thair bak, thair wame, thair armes, thair leggis, thair handis, thair feit, and everilk part of thair body, frae the top of thair heaid to the soill of thair feit, befoir and behding, within and without''.

It was also during this time that the Bishop of Durham cursed the men of Tynedale.

James V's Attainment of Majority

This period was bookended in 1530 by the coming of age of James V, who sought to assert royal authority over the Borders by imprisoning, and in some cases executing, leading figures he perceived as threats to his kingdom. Among those captured was the aforemnentioned Johnny Armstrong and 35 of his followers.Magnusson, Magnus. Scotland: The Story of a Nation. London: HarperCollins, 2000, p. 303. Johnny's capture and execution was later romanticised in the ballad ''Johnnie Armstrong''. Despite James V best efforts to suppress banditry, by imprisoning and mass hangings, there was seemingly little change.

Pilgrimage of the Grace

The Pilgrimage of Grace was a large-scale rebellion in 1536 against Henry VIII's religious and political reforms, particularly the dissolution of the monasteries, drawing support from across Northern England.

The Pilgrimage of Grace had notable connections to the Border Reivers, particularly through the Percy family and their alliances in Tynedale and Redesdale. Sir Thomas Percy, brother of Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland, played a leading role in the rebellion and sought the support of prominent Border surnames. Representatives from Tynedale and Redesdale, including Edward and Cuthbert Charlton of Bellingham and John Hall of Otterburn, were present at the Pontefract meeting with the Duke of Norfolk.

Their involvement was likely facilitated by ‘Little’ John Heron of Chipchase, a key Percy ally with strong ties to the Charltons. Heron leveraged these connections to rally Border support, including resistance to the dissolution of Hexham Priory, with the Charltons and their followers pledging their loyalty in exchange for payment. The reivers' participation extended beyond the rebellion itself, as seen in their role in the occupation of Ford Castle and the assassination of Roger Fenwick, the newly appointed Keeper of Tynedale, in early 1537.

In 1536, Henry VIII abolished Redesdale’s liberty status and fully integrated it into the county of Northumberland.

Lawlessness increased with the downfall of the Dacre in the West and the disgrace of the Percies in the East, as no Border lord could unite the Surnames under a single banner.

The Borders during the 'Rough Wooing'

History may not repeat itself, but it does rhyme. Like his father, James IV, who perished at Flodden, James V suffered a decisive defeat at the Battle of Solway Moss in 1542. However, unlike his father, he did not fall in battle but succumbed to illness soon afterward. Once again, the Scottish throne passed to an infant—this time, a girl, Mary, Queen of Scots.Magnusson, Magnus. Scotland: The Story of a Nation. London: HarperCollins, 2000, p. 314. In the aftermath, Scotland descended into factional strife as rival nobles vied for the Regency. Seizing the moment, Henry VIII intervened in Scottish affairs, exploiting both political instability and the growing religious tensions of the Reformation.

The conflict known as the Rough Wooing — lasting from 1542 to 1551 — refers to Henry VIII's military and diplomatic campaign aimed at coercing the leading Scottish nobility into agreeing to a marriage between his infant son Edward and the young Mary, Queen of Scots. This led to the destruction of 192 towns, towers, and bastle-houses, as well as the capture of 20,000 cattle. This devastation only made the Borders more dangerous and lawless, with English and Scottish borderers — and even the local Scottish aristocracy — joining in the depredation.

During this period, Henry VIII and his appointed man on the Borders, Sir Richard Wharton, actively encouraged Scottish raiding. A notable instance occurred in 1543, when the Liddesdale Armstrongs were urged to raid and burn the lands and property of the Kerrs and Scotts. Despite this support, the Liddesdale Armstrongs carried out an attack on Hexham in the same year.Fraser, George MacDonald. The Steel Bonnets: The Story of the Anglo-Scottish Border Reivers. HarperCollins, 1989. p 256 A contemporary report described English villages as desolate, calling for their repopulation and for increased enforcement by local garrisons.

Included among the Scottish Surnames most actively fighting alongside the English Borderers, southern English troops and foreign mercernaries were the Olivers, Davidsons, Pringles, Taits, Youngs, Turnballs, Elliots, Crosers, Nixons, Armstrongs and Rutherfords. The principle target of these raids were the Surnames Maxwell and Kerr. In 1552, the long-standing feud between the Scotts and the Kerrs spilled into Edinburgh, where Sir Walter Scott of Buccleuch was assassinated by members of the Kerr family.

The Borders in the Age of Queens

With the accession of Mary, Queen of Scots, and Queen Mary I of England—both Catholic monarchs—peace should have returned to the Border. However, with decades, perhaps centuries, of ongoing antagonism between the two states and a deeply entrenched culture of raiding, this did not happen.

The End of the Debatable Land

At the Treaty of Norham officially ending 'the Rough Wooing', the Debatable Land was finally divided between Scotland and England. The division was decided in 1552 by a French ambassador, who drew a simple straight line to evenly split the territory between the two nations. However, this seemingly simple tale took a turn, as a slightly different boundary was ultimately chosen—one that now forms the present-day border, known as Scots Dyke.

Despite the division, the March Day courts were overwhelmed, with a five-hundred bills of complaint recorded in a single session, while an official attempt to suppress banditry in Liddesdale was forcefully repulsed.

Accession of Elizabeth I

With the accession of Queen Elizabeth I in 1558, England saw its last monarch to rule before the end of the Border as a lawless frontier. Nevertheless, the Border remained very much alive on both sides.

The Scottish Reformation, the Borders, and Mary's Downfall

In 1564, a feud erupted between the Elliots and the Scotts, marked by cycles of raids and retaliation. As tensions escalated, this conflict became entangled with the broader political and religious instability of the Scottish Reformation, where both the English and Scottish crowns vied for influence in the Borderlands. The Protestant Lord Moray, James Stewart, sought to weaken the Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots, further exacerbating the turbulence. Queen Mary's half-brother, James Stewart, led a foray into the region, capturing between twenty and thirty reivers, before seizing another forty. Amidst this unrest, James, Earl of Bothwell was involved in Border feuds, and after surviving an attack by Jock of Park, an Elliot, his political influence grew.

By 1566, Mary visited Bothwell at Hermitage Castle while he recovered from the wounds inflicted during a raid. This visit marked the beginning of a closer relationship between Mary and Bothwell, which soon became intertwined with the scandal surrounding the murder of her husband, Lord Darnley, in 1567. Bothwell was widely suspected of orchestrating Darnley's murder, and shortly after, he married Mary, sparking a political crisis. Their union, controversial due to the circumstances of Darnley's death, led to rebellion and ultimately Mary's abdication in 1567.

Rising of the North

After the rebellion, Mary fled south to England in 1568, seeking Elizabeth's protection. However, Elizabeth regarded Mary as a political threat due to her Catholic claim to the English throne, setting the stage for further unrest. In 1569, major northern Catholic magnates—such as Thomas Percy, Earl of Northumberland (recently removed from his position March Warden of the East and Middle March) and Charles Neville, Earl of Westmorland—led the Rising of the North in an attempt to restore Catholic rule and potentially install Mary on the throne. They were later joined by Leonard Dacre, a nephew of the Dacres of Gilsland (a family line that had fallen into abeyance), who felt aggrieved by Queen Elizabeth's land allocation decisions.

The failure of the Rising of the North forced the Percies and Nevilles to flee to Scotland, leaving them with no refuge but the infamous Liddesdale, where they were compelled to make peace with the many thieves and outlaws who resided there. There, in Liddesdale, the fugitive earls were received by the notorious Black Ormiston and Jock-of-the-Side, the latter was known for his participation in the killing of Lord Darnley. In the chaos of their flight, the fugitives not only had to contend with a superior royal army but also suffered the theft of horses and clothing at the hands of local outlaws. Another notorious Borderer, Hector of Harelaw, captured the Earl of Northumberland and handed him over to the Regent of Scotland. Reprisals were swift and brutal—scores of impoverished Borderers were summarily executed without trial.

After the Rising

The downfall of the leading magnates on the English frontier created greater opportunities for banditry. In one raid in the English Middle Marches alone, 140 captives were taken from one township. Following this, English Wardens of the March rode across burning and destroying property of those who had supported the Rising of the North and outlaws.

Banditry persisted for decades, necessitating continued Truce Days, some ending in violence, as seen in Reidsdale (1575) and Windgyle (1585), mirroring an earlier Truce Day in the first decade of the 1500s.

The Final Years

Although both kingdoms were united by religion and allied, the latter part of the 16th century saw a perceived deterioration in conditions along the Border, with tensions intensifying in the years leading up to the Union of the Crowns in 1603.

Kinmont Willie

It is not entirely clear how or why English warden Lord Thomas Scrope captured the infamous Kinmont Willie following a Truce Day in 1596, thus breaking customary law. This greatly enraged the Scottish warden of the West March, Walter Scott of Buccleuch, Keeper of Liddesdale, who then led a daring, but successful raid into Carlisle Castle to free Kinmont Willie. Among the known outlaws who joined the raid were several notable lawmen and landowners, including Aud Watt of Harden and the Carleton brothers—major landowners in northern Cumberland and former lawmen.
This event is remembered in the ballad ''Kinmont Willie''.

This jailbreak greatly upset Queen Elizabeth I and created a diplomatic dispute between the two kingdoms. After several months, during which he led raids into England, Bold Buccleuch eventually surrendered, travelled to London, and returned in exchange for his son, emerging from the ordeal as a changed man.

End of the Border

By the death of Elizabeth I of England, things had come to such a pitch along the border that the English government considered re-fortifying and rebuilding Hadrian's Wall. When Elizabeth died, there was an especially violent outbreak of raiding known as "Ill Week", resulting from the convenient belief that the laws of a kingdom were suspended between the death of a sovereign and the proclamation of the successor. Upon his accession to the English throne, James VI of Scotland (who became James I of England) moved hard against the reivers, abolishing border law and the very term "Borders" in favour of "Middle Shires", and dealing out stern justice to reivers.

Nature

The Anglo-Scottish Borderlands were characterised by a significant proportion of boggy terrain, poorer soils, and a harsher climate compared to southern or central England. These conditions favoured pastoralism over arable farming, encouraging dispersed settlement patterns and limiting the development of urban centres.

Borderers who dwelled in the highlands led a transhumance existence, moving their herds with the seasons—driving them up to the highland pastures in summer for lush grazing, and returning to the lowlands in winter for shelter and fodder. The practice of transhumance in the Borders appears to have predated the Norman invasion. An unusually large proportion of the land was held in common, at least on the English-side.

A system of partible inheritance is evident in some parts of the English side of the Borders in the sixteenth century.Ellis, Steven G. Tudor Frontiers and Noble Power: The Making of the British State. Oxford University Press, 1995, p68. By contrast to primogeniture, this meant that land was divided equally among all sons following a father's death; it could mean that the inheriting generation held insufficient land on which to survive.Durham & McBride, p.5 As a result of their distinctive practices of partible inheritance, cattle-rustling, and clan-nism, Elizabethan observers frequently compared the Borderers to the Irish.

It was not uncommon for tenancy agreements to stipulate that, rather than providing labor or agricultural produce, tenants were required to contribute military service, offering their fighting strength in lieu of traditional rents. As part of that arrangement, tenants were also obligated to maintain their own weapons, horses, and harnesses. This system of military tenancy may have originated on the Border as early as the Norman colonisation of the Borders, when the need for a readily available mounted force was paramount in securing and defending the frontier.

Bernard Gilpin, the early Protestant reformer, recounted visiting Redesdale and finding no minister, bell, or book. During the visit, he was reportedly approached by a horseman who, recognising him as a godly man, handed him the corpse of a dead infant and said, “Come, parson, and do the cure.”

The reivers were both English and Scottish and raided both sides of the border impartially, so long as the people they raided had no powerful protectors and no connection to their own kin. Their activities, although usually within a day's ride of the border, extended both north and south of their main haunts. Borderers were reported to have raided as far north as the outskirts of Edinburgh, while incursions reached as far south as Yorkshire. The main raiding season ran through the early winter months, when the nights were longest and the cattle and horses fat from having spent the summer grazing. The numbers involved in a raid might range from a few dozen to organised campaigns involving up to three thousand riders. Although criminal activity was widespread, highway robbery was exceptional and often noted when it occurred. Those who didn't keep their word were ritually humiliated in a practice called 'baunchling,' where the man's glove or image was held aloft on the end of a lance.

According to local tradition, some Border reivers were said to have buried their most hated enemies beneath the threshold of their tower houses or bastles, so that they might symbolically tread upon them for eternity.

When raiding, or riding, as it was termed, the reivers rode light on hardy nags or ponies renowned for the ability to pick their way over the boggy moss lands (see: Galloway pony, Hobelar). The Borderers had an extensive knowledge of the terrain, including hidden routes and river fords, which allowed them to navigate the region efficiently and evade pursuit even in rough weather.

The original dress of a shepherd's plaid was later replaced by light armour such as brigandines or jacks of plate (a type of sleeveless doublet