Reivers - Border Laws of England and Scotland

Control of the Border Reivers across a Frontier in constant Strife.

In meetings of English and Scottish knights in 1249 the notion of the Border Laws was mooted. Their deliberations would provide a format to control the Reiving Clans.

From time out of mind prior to the creation of the Border Line men, women and children had crossed the rivers of Esk in the west of the country and Tweed in the east to pasture cattle, grow crops or cut wood. Centuries of tradition ruled their lives. Both Scots and English were happy to see their neighbours from south or north. The dictate and caprice of kings was of little concern to them in the struggle to provide a living.

The Border Line Takes on a Meaning

Within a couple of generations the outlook was to change as national identity took on a meaning. Now the same people whose forebears had lived in unity and harmony would be at odds. They resented the usurpation of their lands by those people who were now deemed to be foreigners, and strove to prevent them from using their pastures, fields and woodland.

Strife and Friction Rule in the Border Lands

The people on both sides of the Border Line, however, strove to maintain what they saw as their right to cross the rivers and hills which constituted the Line and were prepared to fight to ensure their claims on the land would not be forfeit. The strife would escalate to the point where theft or destruction of houses and crops would be commonplace; murder and maiming would not be uncommon.

Justice Cries Out for the Border Laws

The Laws of England and Scotland were unable to cope with the crime which became endemic in the Border Lands. Many a thief or murderer was sheltered by his own people north or south of the Border Line because, to them, he had committed no crime. He had merely served their purpose. They wanted no truck with the people of the opposite nation and saw nothing wrong in taking a swipe at those people who infiltrated their lands. And so the deliberations of 1249 took on a relevance. The Border laws became a necessity.

The Knights Would Set in Motion the Border Laws

The deliberations of the knights of Northumberland and Southern Scotland were to address the crime that was so prevalent in the Border Lands. The outcomes of their findings were to have a profound effect on the peoples who lived on both sides of the Border Line. The knights set in motion a code of conduct which would strive to control the Border people and bring order to a troubled land. Yet the legacy of their proposals would set the Border people at each other's throats for centuries to come.

The Border Laws

There were many amendments to the Border Laws initially brought into force after the meetings in 1249. Down the years to 1596 they would be revised many times following Border Commissions instigated by the monarchs of the two countries of England and Scotland. The crimes which were addressed in the immediate years following the formulation of the Laws were many and included:

The pasturing of cattle in the opposite realm.
Ploughing and sowing corn in the opposite realm.
Felling timber in the opposite realm.
Hunting game in the opposite realm.
Receiving stolen cattle or goods.
Fire-raising.
Wounding and maiming.
Murder.

There were seven major amendments and additions to the Border Laws throughout their existence which speaks volumes for their ability to control a hard and wayward people. Wardens of the Marches were still seeking a way to stem the crime of murder as late as 1596.