Scottish Borders

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The Border Reivers

From the thirteenth to the early seventeenth centuries, the wild, inhospitable border country stretching from the Solway Firth in the west to the Tweed Valley in the east, well away from the power bases of both the Scottish and English monarchs, was overrun by outlaws known as the Border Reivers, reive being a Scots word for plunder. This, was no cross-border dispute, but an open struggle for power among the tribes of the region. Cattle-rustling, blackmail and kidnapping led to an anarchical mindset, where feuding families would wreak havoc and devastation on each other almost as a way of life.

The source of this behaviour was the destruction and devastation wrought upon the region by virtually continual warfare between England and Scotland, and the "slash and burn" policy of the era. With many residents no longer able to find sustenance from the land, crime became the only way to survive. Those who "shook loose the Border" included people from all walks of life - agricultural labourers, gentleman farmers, small-holders, even peers of the realm - for whom theft, raiding, tracking and ambush became second nature.

The legacy of the Border Reivers can still be seen today in the fortified farms and churches of the region's architecture; in the Common Riding traditions of many border towns; in the language - the words "blackmail" and "bereaved" have their roots in the destructive behaviour that was so characteristic of this period; and in the great family names such as Armstrong, Graham, Kerr and Nixon, which once filled the hearts of Borderers with dread.