Border Reiver

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. English raiders were reported to have hit the outskirts of Edinburgh, and Scottish raids were known as far south as Yorkshire.

The largest of these was The Great Raid of 1322, during the Scottish Wars of Independence, where it reached as far south as Chorley.

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.

For further information contact Clive Simpson at clive@border-reiver.co.uk

2022