by Stuart William Bird (BA (Hons) History)
Webmaster http://www.borderreivers.org.uk

An example of the dangers the Borderers faced was after Bannockburn in 1314 when the Scots after years of repression, and victorious under Robert the Bruce, turned and systematically savaged the Northern Marches of England. These same Marches now became a buffer zone, absorbing successive raids and attacks, and by the sixteenth century, the area had become an impoverished wasteland. The constant raids that were to become a way of life for many also changed their outlook.

The Borderers of both England and Scotland by the 16th century realised that their respective government could no longer provide justice nor protection. This is not to say the Borderers even remembered the events of 1296, but with the conflicts of the 16th century there was no need to.

In 1542 Henry VIII went to war with Scotland creating great destruction, and in 1547 there was the battle of Pinkie, an English victory, and further retaliation by Scotland. In 1570 there was the Rising of the North, and although this was under the leadership of two Earls, many Borderers joined with them. This meant there was again the opportunity for mass reprisals from the English government against the English Borderers for treason. By now the Borderers must have felt that they were surrounded by enemies on all sides. This meant that their allegiance was not always placed primarily in the state, and it resulted in the growth of ties to clan and family. Thoughts of ‘Nation’ had now become secondary.

It was this allegiance to clan and family, that saw the growth of the great riding surnames of the Border regions. Within the Borders ‘to ride’ became synonymous with ‘to raid’, so the great riding families were those most involved in raiding.

Examples of such Surnames are Elliot, Maxwell, Armstrong and Graham, just a few of the notorious names of the Borders who would often meet for raids, or could be found joining with one another to increase their numbers. As nation had become secondary one surname was not confined to only one side of the Border, for example the Grahams were found principally within the English West March, but could also be found in the opposite Scottish March. Readily willing to raid either side of the Border, they were not alone in their split loyalty.

The emergence of the surnames and the weak sense of nationality was directly related to the wars and policies of the governments of the opposing countries. As early as the 13th century, the people living there were encouraged to raid the opposite kingdom during times of peace. With the many atrocities that occurred on the Borders during warfare little encouragement was needed. Though with the loss of national feeling the Borderers were often content in aiding in foray’s from the opposite realm.

The emergence of these strong family ties brought about serious problems for peace keeping. The ‘names’ would not just join together for raids, but could also be found fighting each other. This saw the emergence of a bewildering number of feuds which would often prove very bloody affairs, where matters were made worse when different surnames joined together creating alliances, as they so often did for raiding. Each name in the alliance would bring with it their own feud and through association alone the feuds could spread creating a complicated lattice work of conflicting names, as can be clearly seen in the Feud Table (above left).

It was not unknown for the Warden and others whose job it was to keep the peace, to become deeply involved within these feuds. The Feud Table gives some idea of the number of feuds that existed, and as can be seen by the colour key, feuds were not restricted by each names nationality, for example the Scotts are feuding with both the English Charltons, and the Scottish Elliots.

The Wardens of the Borders who have been mentioned were established soon after Edward I began the war with Scotland, and before this time the law and defence of the Border was oversaw by the Sheriffs. They were working under what was known as the Laws of the Marches which was an agreement reached in 1248 between the governments of both England and Scotland in an attempt to regulate the Borders.

By 1296 the hostilities between England and Scotland had meant that there was a need for an office with military powers to be placed in defence of the Border. Edward I issued a commission to appoint captains and keepers for the peace, and to split the Border into Marches. At first this post was temporary and only instigated when the need arose, but by 1309 the position had become permanent, with one person in charge of each country, and became known as the Warden of the March.

Up until 1381 there were two Marches, the East March and the West March, where one Warden would take control of both Marches. This practice continued after 1381 even with the introduction of the Middle March. Eventually each of the six Marches, three on the English side and three on the Scottish side, had a Warden. These Marches can be seen on the map which shows the Border of each March and a smaller region known as the Debatable Land, where many of the worst of the outlaws could be found. Each of these Wardens would choose some of their own men to act as keepers of the respective Marches.

By the sixteenth century the Warden, upon entering office, would be backed by Deputies, Keepers, Captains, Land Sergeants and Troopers. During the late sixteenth century the Wardens of England tended to be given to gentlemen from the southern counties. This was an attempt to avoid appointing any who had connections with the feuding factions, though with relatively little pay, many still fell foul to temptation, and became deeply involved within the corruption that was rife within the area.

On the Scottish side the post was usually given to one of the great family names resident to the area itself. This was due to the lack of authority the Scottish government had within their Marches, and because there were advantages to be had. The great surnames knew the area and people well, and the Scottish government probably followed the rule of setting a thief to catch a thief. The disadvantage was that they were deeply embroiled within Border politics, for example within feuds and various alliances. Due to this the great riding surnames often held little respect for central authority. The post, however, was often vital to the Scottish government especially during times of domestic upheaval, and was given as inducement to a strong family, for example the Humes or the Johnstones, to obtain their loyalty.

This, then, is briefly how the Border reivers came into existence. By the time of Robert Carey, the Borders of England and Scotland were in considerable turmoil. Constant raiding and murder were everyday affairs throughout the Marches. The Middle March, at the time Carey was appointed Warden in 1598, had long since been in a bad state of affairs, and had suffered for reasons other than the problems outlined above, under two successive Wardens, Sir John Forster and Lord Eure.

This article was printed with the permission of the author, Stuart Bird. Stuart can be reached by email at swbird@borderreivers.org.uk

To read more about the fascinating world of the Border Reivers, go to Stuart's amazing website The Border Reivers at http://www.borderreivers.org.uk/

Links:

More Border Reivers on GOTC

Great Hall of the Clans on GOTC

Clan Armstrong Museum on GOTC