Throughout the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the border country was ravaged by lawless Reiver families in a vicious cycle of raid, repirisal and blood feud.
Their allegiance was first to the family, the surname, not the crown, whether English or Scottish. "They are a people that will be Scottish when they will and English at their pleasure...."
Divided up into three Marches on each side of the border, each with its own warden, the crown made some attempt to control the volatile region. Strongpoints were castles and Pele towers, hundreds are still to be found, some even in use today.
The map gives a general idea of where the main pockets of activity were. Much overspill of families and intermarrying resulted in complex allegiances.
The history and drama is left to us in the famous 'Border Ballads', many of which were collected by Sir Walter Scott.
To buy the Map of the Borders please go to the shopping page.
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The most common seaches are for:
Campbell, Macdonald, Robertson, Allen, Dunn, Gordon
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