Guest Blog: Blythe Gifford

Welcome back one of our own, Blythe Gifford, who has been blogging with Unusual Historicals since 2009.  Her new trilogy from the Harlequin Historical line, The Brunson Clan, concludes this month with TAKEN BY THE BORDER REBEL.  Set on the Scottish Borders during the early Tudor era, it centers on a family of Border Reivers and in this book, Black Rob, oldest and now head of the clan, meets his match:  a woman from the family that is the clan’s blood enemy.

Here's the blurb:

TORMENTED BY HER INNOCENCE

As leader of his clan, Black Rob Brunson has earned every dark syllable of his name. But, having taken hostage his enemy’s daughter in a fierce act of rebellion, he is tormented by feelings of guilt and torn apart with the growing need to protect her—and seduce her!

Stella Storwick feels Rob’s disdain from the first. Then slowly she starts to see behind his eyes to a man in turmoil. Something he has no words for, something that can only be captured in a heart-wrenching kiss....

Lovers from warring clans.  Captor/captive.  Romeo and Juliet.  What’s unusual here?

There are many classic elements to the story.  That’s why people read romance!  But I do write unusual settings and time periods.  The Borders setting, the early Tudor time period, and the incorporation of real historical characters combine to give this story a twist.  Oh, and I talk about catching salmon in 16^th century Scotland!

Salmon fishing in Tudor Scotland?

Did you know that salmon and other “red fish” were highly regulated at that time?  There is documentation over several hundred years of Scottish laws, some forbidding the sale of salmon to England.  These fish were even the subject of some clauses of international treaties!  Yet when I tried to discover how the trade actually worked, even my academic experts didn’t know.  No, this is not a book about the salmon trade.  Fishing enters the story in a much more personal context, but I love discovering these unfamiliar parts of history.  The print here (from a much later period) is of “leistering” salmon, which was going out at night and spearing them by torchlight.

Did you have any special challenges with this book?

I’m basically a pantser, not a plotter.  I rework a book through many drafts and change every time.  Often, I go back to layer in backstory or motivation for something that changed later in the story.  I was worried that I would get to book three and need to change something that was already set in stone in books one or two.  But I had a piece of advice from a fellow writer who said, leave things as open ended as possible.  I did, and it all worked out.

What in particular did you leave open ended?

The hero’s character, for one thing!  Black Rob appeared in the first two books and so had a pretty well developed persona by this time.  I made him the strong, silent type, partly so I wouldn’t back myself into a corner.  When it came time to write his story, I had to discover what lay behind the facade.  He turned out to be a much more interesting character than I had known.

And what about the heroine?

I had briefly introduced her, seen at a distance, in the first book, RETURN OF THE BORDER WARRIOR.  I even had Black Rob keep his attention on her a little too long!  Stella Storwick is one of the more unusual characters I have written.  Something that happened to her as a child makes everyone treat her as special and different.  They give her deference and treat her with awe.  It sounds like an ideal life, until you have to live it.  And I was astounded to discover what she and Rob ultimately had in common.

You’ve got a free bonus starting this week, too, right?

Starting tomorrow, February 25, I’ll have a free, online read available on the Harlequin website (www.harlequin.com)  Wee Mary, one of the secondary characters from CAPTIVE OF THE BORDER LORD, gets her own happy ending in TEMPTED BY THE BORDER CAPTAIN.  The story will be run as a serial, in twenty installments of a couple of pages each day.  This was a writing challenge, but one I enjoyed.  In the shorter length, I write a lighter story than my full-length fiction.  “Fun and flirty,” my editor called it, but she also said “very romantic.”  If you’ve never tried my work, this might be an easy way to start.

Oh, and one more thing!  I'll have a post here on Unusual Historicals on Tuesday on the Scandalous Affairs of Queen Margaret of Scotland.  She is appears off-stage in CAPTIVE OF THE BORDER LORD and on-stage in TEMPTED BY THE BORDER CAPTAIN. She was the sister of Henry VIII of England and you can see the family resemblance!

TAKEN BY THE BORDER REBEL, was released in print in North America February 19.  Electronic and UK editions will be available March 1. 

One lucky reader who comments on today’s blog will be randomly selected to win a signed copy of RETURN OF THE BORDER WARRIOR, CAPTIVE OF THE BORDER LORD, or TAKEN BY THE BORDER REBEL.  Your choice!  

Blythe Gifford has been known for medieval romances featuring characters born on the wrong side of the royal blanket. Now, she’s written a Harlequin Historical trilogy set on the turbulent Scottish Borders of the early Tudor era.  The books are RETURN OF THE BORDER WARRIOR, November 2012, CAPTIVE OF THE BORDER LORD, January 2013, and TAKEN BY THE BORDER REBEL in March 2013.  The Chicago Tribune has called her work "the perfect balance between history and romance."  Visit her at www.blythegifford.com, www.facebook.com/BlytheGifford, www.pinterest.com/BlytheGifford or on Twitter @BlytheGifford. 

Author photo by Jennifer Girard.  Cover Art Copyright © 2013 by Harlequin Enterprises Limited.  Permission to reproduce text granted by Harlequin Books S.A. Cover art used by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises Limited. All rights reserved. ® and ™ are trademarks owned by Harlequin Enterprises Limited or its affiliated companies, used under license.

Excerpt Thursday: TAKEN BY THE BORDER REBEL by Blythe Gifford

This week, we welcome back author Blythe Gifford,  a regular Unusual Historicals contributor, whose Brunson Clan trilogy concludes with TAKEN BY THE BORDER REBEL, a March release from the Harlequin Historical line which is available in print this week.  (The series launched in November with RETURN OF THE BORDER WARRIOR and continued with the January release of CAPTIVE OF THE BORDER LORD.)

Blythe will be here Sunday to talk about the series in more detail and offer a copy to one lucky commenter.   

The Brunson Clan trilogy is set on the Scottish Borders during the early Tudor era and centers on a family of Border Reivers.  Here’s a glimpse of TAKEN BY THE BORDER REBEL:

TORMENTED BY HER INNOCENCE
As leader of his clan, Black Rob Brunson has earned every dark syllable of his name. But, having taken hostage his enemy’s daughter in a fierce act of rebellion, he is tormented by feelings of guilt and torn apart with the growing need to protect her—and seduce her!
Stella Storwick feels Rob’s disdain from the first. Then slowly she starts to see behind his eyes to a man in turmoil. Something he has no words for, something that can only be captured in a heart-wrenching kiss.... 

In the excerpt below, from Chapter One, Black Rob Brunson has been out inspecting his land, looking for signs that the family’s blood enemies, the Storwicks, may be planning a raid, and pauses at midday in the hills overlooking his valley.

Something shifted.  The wind.  A scent.  A sound.  He stiffened, alert, and turned his head.

Above him and to his left, sat a woman, silent and stiff, eyes fixed on him warily as if he were a Storwick.

He fashed himself for not looking carefully before leaving his horse.  What if he’d been surprised by the enemy?

Neither spoke, looking.

Dark hair tumbled across her shoulders, but he would not call her beautiful.  At least, not from this angle.  Eyes and lips fought for control of her face.  Her nose was too strong.  Her chin too sharp.  She looked vaguely familiar, but he had seen every far-flung Brunson at one time or another.  Still, he could not summon which branch of the family was hers.

“You’re far from home,” he began, still trying to place her.  The Tait cousin lived nearest, but he had no daughters.

She drew herself up into a crouch, like a wary animal ready to run.  “Nay so far.”

He raised and lowered his shoulders, sorry he had frightened her.  He motioned his head uphill, toward the border.  “Storwicks are no more than five miles away.”

Not taking her eyes from his, she stood slowly and took a step back, as if nearness to the enemy had just occurred to her.  The blush on her cheek paled.  “Have I crossed the border then?”

“Nay.”  He rose to his feet, uncomfortable that she stood while he stretched on the grass.  

What was the strangeness in her accent?  “It’s just over there.”

Her eyes widened.  She turned to look over her shoulder.  Then ran.

That was when he recognized her. 

Stella Storwick didn’t look back, praying for her feet to run faster.

But the Brunson kept coming, strong as a charging ram, trampling the grass behind her.  

Then he was in front of her, cutting off her escape as if she were no more than an unruly ewe.

She dodged.  Left.  Right.  Thinking she could confuse him.

He was a broad man.  She could be quicker.  More steps, her skirt and the grass holding her back.  If she crossed the border, she would be safe…

But next she knew, he grabbed her arm, whirled her around, and both of them tumbled to ground.  She on her back, pressed to earth, he straddling her legs.

She lifted a clawed hand to scratch his eyes, but he caught her wrists and held her arms tight against the dirt without effort.  Even when she shut her eyes against him, he surrounded her, warm and smelling of leather.

“You’re Storwick.”  He did not ask a question.

She opened her eyes.  His were brown.  And murderous.

“And you’re Brunson.”  Close now, she knew him, the man she had seen near half a year ago at Truce Day.  Fool she was, not to have recognized him immediately.

Not just a Brunson.  The Brunson.

A flash of heat crackled through her body.  Hatred, no doubt.

He was one of the Black Brunsons.  Broad of shoulder and brow, dark of hair and eye.  Yes, he had the brown eyes that marked all his cursed clan.

“You’ll not take me.”  She braced herself, stiff armed and legged, as if that would stop him.  “I won’t let you.”

He froze, then turned to spit in the dirt in contempt.  “Brunsons don’t treat women so.”  Disgust now, in his eyes.  “It’s your kind who do that.”

One villainous kin of hers who had done that.

She knew the truth of the whispers about him, though the man had never dared touch her. 

No one dared that.

“That’s not what I’ve heard.”  A lie, but one she hoped would keep him off guard.  She tugged against his hold.  An iron manacle would have given way more easily.

He released her hands with a look that warned her to keep them quiet.  “You’ve heard wrong.”

She pushed herself up on her elbows.  “Then let me go if you don’t mean to take me.”

He sat back on his heels and crossed his arms, his very silence ominous.

She held her breath to stop her speech.  He had not guessed which Storwick she was.  Or that she had come to the hills to spy on his precious tower.

“How far behind are the others?”  He stood, pulling her to her feet, keeping his hand on her wrist while he gazed toward the English side of the border.

“No others.”  Foolish admission.  She had told no one her plan when she left this morning.  Perhaps that had been unwise.

He turned back, sweeping her with a glance head to toe.  One that said she might be daft, but he wasn’t.  “You wander the hills alone with no horse?”

She shrugged to hide the shaking.  “Sun doesn’t often come like this.  I wandered too far.”  And had hoped to wander farther.  A horse would draw attention.  “Let me go.  I’m of no use to you.”

“Oh, you’re of use to me.  You’re going to serve as a hostage for the good behavior of the rest of your people.  If they ride to rescue Hobbes Storwick, you’ll be the one to pay.”

She blanched.  Thank God.  At least her father was alive.

They had not even been sure of that.

  

Blythe Gifford has been known for medieval romances featuring characters born on the wrong side of the royal blanket. Now, she’s launching a trilogy set on the turbulent Scottish Borders of the early Tudor era, starting with RETURN OF THE BORDER WARRIOR, November 2012, Harlequin Historical.  CAPTIVE OF THE BORDER LORD will follow in January 2013, and TAKEN BY THE BORDER REBEL in March 2013.  The Chicago Tribune has called her work "the perfect balance between history and romance."  Visit her at www.blythegifford.com, www.facebook.com/BlytheGifford, or on Twitter @BlytheGifford.  

Author photo by Jennifer Girard.  Excerpt Copyright © 2013 by Wendy B. Gifford.  Permission to reproduce text granted by Harlequin Books S.A.  Cover Art Copyright © 2013 by Harlequin Enterprises Limited.  Permission to reproduce text granted by Harlequin Books S.A. Cover art used by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises Limited. All rights reserved. ® and ™ are trademarks owned by Harlequin Enterprises Limited or its affiliated companies, used under license.

Guest Blog: Blythe Gifford

Welcome back one of our own, Blythe Gifford, who has been blogging with Unusual Historicals since 2009. Her new trilogy from the Harlequin Historical line, The Brunson Clan, continues this month with CAPTIVE OF THE BORDER LORD. Set on the Scottish Borders during the early Tudor era, it centers on a family of Border Reivers. This time, the heroine is Bessie Brunson, only sister of the clan. Here's the blurb:

TO MARRY HIM WILL BE TO BETRAY HER FAMILY

Bessie, the selfless sister of the powerful but stubborn Brunson clan, has sacrificed herself for her family’s honor and is at the mercy of the court of King James. Ill-suited to court life, she must confront their mortal enemy, Lord Thomas Carwell, dressed in nothing but borrowed finery and pride.

Underneath the relentless gaze of her captor, she’s enticed not only by him but also by the opulence of a world far removed from her own. When the furious king demands her brother’s head, Carwell is the only one to whom she can turn. But she must pay the ultimate price for his protection….

**Q & A with Blythe Gifford**

Was it easier to write the second book of a series?

“Easy” and “write” never seem to meet in the same sentence for me.  What came more smoothly this time was the historical mindset and events.  I knew the world, many of the key characters, and how they might relate to each other.  But then what did I do?  I took Bessie Brunson away from the valley she – and I – knew so well and plopped her in the middle of new corners of Scotland.  Ones I had to research all over again. 

So where does the story take place?

Like Cinderella, Bessie is whisked away from her work-a-day world, first, to a royal palace, Stirling Castle, and then, to the hero’s castle by the sea, modeled on Caerlaverock, the only triangularly shaped castle in Britain. 

Researching a castle sounds like fun!

It was!  Stirling is one of the most famous in Scotland.  It has now been restored beautifully and there’s a beautiful website that brings the castle, and the people to life.  The only problem is that many of those additions were made by the king AFTER the period of my story, so I was forever checking dates. 

I felt slightly less constrained about my hero’s castle, since he is, I must remind myself, fictional.  But Caerlaverock is well documented and now sits at the edge of a nature preserve, so the muse had lots of fodder!  Floor plans and photographs galore are available online.  

And your heroine gets to meet the king!  Just like Cinderella!

Yes, we meet King James V and see a tournament and dancing at the court.  All very glamorous, but also intimidating for a woman who’s never been so far from home.  We love the Cinderella story, but it seems to me that Cinderella was a fish out of water, just like Bessie Brunson.  That couldn’t be as easy as Walt Disney made it look!

So what about the hero?

Lord Thomas Carwell, hero of CAPTIVE OF THE BORDER LORD, appeared in RETURN OF THE BORDER WARRIOR.  He might (or might not) have betrayed the Brunsons and they certainly did not trust him.  I left the question unresolved.  In fact, I didn’t know the truth myself until I wrote this book, so the uncertainty was genuine.  He is a man of many secrets, as it turns out, prepared to adjust to shifting tides.  That made him the opposite of blunt, plainspoken Bessie Brunson and so, of course, they are perfect for each other. 

Does this book stand alone?

My intention was to make each story complete, however, the stories are tight and sequential and there’s an arc to the series as a whole which climaxes with a confrontation between the Brunsons and the king.  Harlequin scheduled them close together:  November/January/March, so readers who love to gobble up a series in order can do so!  I hope readers enjoy watching the evolving relationships among the Brunson family members, too.  Three siblings and, eventually, three spouses allowed some interesting interactions.

What’s up next?

TAKEN BY THE BORDER REBEL, will be released in print in North America February 19.  Electronic and UK editions will be available March 1.  As a bonus, starting February 25, I’ll have a free, online read available on the Harlequin website.  One of the secondary characters from CAPTIVE OF THE BORDER LORD will get her own happy ending!  (Title TBD.) 

One lucky reader who comments on today’s blog will be randomly selected to win a signed copy of RETURN OF THE BORDER WARRIOR or CAPTIVE OF THE BORDER LORD.  Your choice!  

Blythe Gifford has been known for medieval romances featuring characters born on the wrong side of the royal blanket. Now, she’s written a trilogy set on the turbulent Scottish Borders of the early Tudor era, starting with RETURN OF THE BORDER WARRIOR, November 2012, Harlequin Historical.  CAPTIVE OF THE BORDER LORD will follow in January 2013, and TAKEN BY THE BORDER REBEL in March 2013.  The Chicago Tribune has called her work "the perfect balance between history and romance."  Visit her at www.blythegifford.com, www.facebook.com/BlytheGifford, or on Twitter @BlytheGifford. 

Author photo by Jennifer Girard.  Cover Art Copyright © 2013 by Harlequin Enterprises Limited.  Permission to reproduce text granted by Harlequin Books S.A. Cover art used by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises Limited. All rights reserved. ® and ™ are trademarks owned by Harlequin Enterprises Limited or its affiliated companies, used under license.

Excerpt Thursday: Captive of the Border Lord by Blythe Gifford

This week, we’re welcoming author Blythe Gifford, a regular Unusual Historicals contributor, whose Brunson Clan trilogy continues this month with CAPTIVE OF THE BORDER LORD from the Harlequin Historical line.  (The series launched in November with RETURN OF THE BORDER WARRIOR and will conclude with the March 2013 release of TAKEN BY THE BORDER REBEL.)

Blythe will be here Sunday to talk about the series in more detail and offer a copy to one lucky commenter.

The Brunson Clan trilogy is set on the Scottish Borders during the early Tudor era and centers on a family of Border Reivers.  Here’s a glimpse of CAPTIVE OF THE BORDER LORD:

TO MARRY HIM WILL BE TO BETRAY HER FAMILY

Bessie, the selfless sister of the powerful but stubborn Brunson clan, has sacrificed herself for her family’s honor and is at the mercy of the court of King James. Ill-suited to court life, she must confront their mortal enemy, Lord Thomas Carwell, dressed in nothing but borrowed finery and pride.

Underneath the relentless gaze of her captor, she’s enticed not only by him but also by the opulence of a world far removed from her own. When the furious king demands her brother’s head, Carwell is the only one to whom she can turn. But she must pay the ultimate price for his protection….

**An Excerpt from Captive of the Border Lord**

In the excerpt below, the hero has followed the heroine to the kitchen, where she needs to replenish food and drink.  Suspicious of his reason for coming to the celebration uninvited, she has just asked him bluntly why he is there.

Carwell kept a smile clamped on his lips.  He was learning not to underestimate Bessie Brunson, but it was hard to keep that in mind when he looked at the woman.  Red hair tumbled over her shoulders, her brown eyes sparked with suspicion, and her lips were full and soft and ready…

He stopped his thoughts.  “Leave this night for celebration.  I’ll speak to your brothers tomorrow.” 

“Tomorrow?  When Rob’s head is double its size because of the wine he’s drunk this night and Johnnie is comfortably abed enjoying his new bride?”

He swallowed a sour retort.  “They’ll be ready to listen when they hear why I’ve come.  It’s a matter for men’s ears.”

She looked to Heaven before she met his eyes again.  “You’ve no women in your household.”

He blinked.  He hadn’t.  Not for years.  “No.  Not…now.”

The memory cramped his heart.  He would never take a woman for granted again.  A twinge, a weary sigh, these could signal the threat of something worse. 

He set the thought aside.  That was not to be shared with anyone, least of all with this stranger.  Yet for a moment, he had imagined she would understand.

“If you had,” she said, “you would know that we do not need to be protected from the truth.” 

Looking at this woman, he doubted that her family had protected from anything at all.  “Then you’ll know it when they do.  And it will be tomorrow.”  The king had no more patience than that.

Despite his offer of help, she asked for nothing as she moved around the room, effortlessly scooping up oat cakes and putting another batch near the hearth.  When she finished her sweep through the kitchen, she shook the girl awake and told her to watch that the fire did not burn the kitchen down.

Finally, she joined him at the door. 

“You wanted to help.”  She set down her cakes, filled two flagons with ale from the barrel, and shoved them at him, her eyes flashing with anger.  “Carry these.”

Silent, he followed her into the cold, proud that he had refrained from pouring her precious ale into the dirt.  The woman was stubborn as the rest of her kin.  Maybe more so.

But as he watched the sway of her walk, he remembered the way she had leaned toward him in the dance, following his lead through the unfamiliar steps.  For those few moments, there had been nothing but music and movement and the two of them.

Well, her hatred would be back in force tomorrow. 

Just as soon as she discovered he was here to take her brother hostage.

Blythe Gifford has been known for medieval romances featuring characters born on the wrong side of the royal blanket. Now, she’s launching a trilogy set on the turbulent Scottish Borders of the early Tudor era, starting with RETURN OF THE BORDER WARRIOR, November 2012, Harlequin Historical. CAPTIVE OF THE BORDER LORD will follow in January 2013, and TAKEN BY THE BORDER REBEL in March 2013. The Chicago Tribune has called her work "the perfect balance between history and romance.” Visit her at www.blythegifford.com, www.facebook.com/BlytheGifford, or on Twitter @BlytheGifford. 

Author photo by Jennifer Girard.  Excerpt Copyright © 2013 by Wendy B. Gifford.  Permission to reproduce text granted by Harlequin Books S.A.  Cover Art Copyright © 2013 by Harlequin Enterprises Limited.  Permission to reproduce text granted by Harlequin Books S.A. Cover art used by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises Limited. All rights reserved. ® and ™ are trademarks owned by Harlequin Enterprises Limited or its affiliated companies, used under license.

Executed: Johnnie Armstrong, King of the Borders

by Blythe Gifford

Today, RETURN OF THE BORDER WARRIOR, the first book of my new trilogy, is scheduled to hit the shelves.  Set on the Scottish-English Borders in the early Tudor era, it was actually inspired by the story of an execution of a famous Border Reiver.

The story is told, or sung, more accurately, in “The Ballad of Johnnie Armstrong.”  Now Johnnie Armstrong, or Johnnie of Gilnocke, as he was also called, was one of the most notorious reivers on the Borders.  Reivers basically stole for a living – cattle, sheep, whatever they needed.  And there were plenty of tales of arson and murder, too.  Despite the presence of special Wardens of the Borders, lawmen assigned to keep the peace, for nearly three hundred years, the only law on the Borders was that made by a sword, a dirk, or a crossbow.

Finally, King James V of Scotland came to the Borders in a desperate attempt to restore order to what was the most lawless ground on the island.  Some suggest he did it because he had something to prove to his uncle, King Henry VIII of England.  At the top of King James’ list was Johnnie Armstrong, also called the “King of the Borders.”

Of course, history is written, or rewritten, by the storytellers.  To the king and the people he preyed on, Johnnie Armstrong might be a despicable man.  But to the songwriter who penned the “Ballad of Johnnie Armstrong,” his hero was a gallant thief, protecting Scotland from the English, and just trying to make his way in the world. 



Johnnie's Gilnockie Tower, with reivers returning from a raid.

According to the balladeer, Johnnie was not lawfully tried and convicted, but basely murdered when he was lured to a meeting with the king by a “loving letter” that insisted he come unarmed.

He did exactly that, along with forty retainers, dressed in their finest splendor to honor the king, expecting to be welcomed with open arms and royal hospitality.

Instead, he and his crew were seized by the king’s men labeled traitors, and fitted with hanging nooses.  Armstrong bargained for his life, and that of his men, with everything he could think of. 

He offered the king all manner of gifts, including “four and twenty milk white steeds” if he were spared.  His final offer was that the king should receive yearly rent, more accurately, the “blackmail” from all dwellers in the area of the Borders where Johnnie held sway, from “Gilnockie to Newcastleton.”

The king had no sympathy and was not open to a bribe. 

Facing death, Johnnie made an impassioned speech, claiming he had never harmed a Scot, but only the English.  The truth of this claim might be open to dispute.  To the local people he had preyed upon, Johnnie’s death might have been a welcome relief.  Indeed, a few years after, Sir David Lindsay, King James’ in house playwright, made mention of it in one of his productions. 

But it is also hard to summon sympathy for the king in the ballad, so deceitful that he tricks his subject into a trap.  The song also suggests the king was jealous of Johnnie’s fine clothes, another less than admirable trait, and perhaps even his title of “King of the Border.” 

Finally, as he realizes he is to die, Johnnie says

“I have asked grace at a graceless face,

But there is none for my men and me.

...

I would have kept the Border side

In spite of thy peers and thee.”

So poor Johnnie and his men were hanged and lived no more.  Neither, legend has it, did the trees from which they swung.

I wanted to rewrite the story.  I wanted Johnnie Armstrong to have a happy ending.

And so began the story of the Brunson Clan.

I’ll be talking about that more, and sharing an excerpt, November 1 and 4.

Blythe Gifford has been known for medieval romances featuring characters born on the wrong side of the royal blanket. Now, she’s launching a new series set on the turbulent Scottish Borders.  The Chicago Tribune has called her work "thee perfect balance between history and romance."

Warriors: The Scottish Border Reivers

By Anita Davison

My recent research into the Massacre of Glencoe led me to delve deeper into the culture of the Scots/English relationship. Right up to the 17th Century, among the Highland Scots clans were Reivers –an old English word for a raider or looter, feared by the Scots as well as the English. Animosity has existed between the two countries for hundreds of years, illustrated by the fact the Scots are now trying to revoke the Act of Union of 1704.

Running a Foray

In 1525, the Archbishop of Glasgow put a curse on the Reivers that was read from every pulpit in the Scottish borderlands. It was hoped the raiders would be ‘swallowed down to hell’.

‘I curse thair heid and all the haris of thair heid…

I curse thaim gangand and I curse thaim rydand…

I curse thair wiffis, their barnis, their catales, their scheip…

May the erd mot oppin, riffle and swelly them quyk to hell!’

The curse continues for another 1458 words!  

The list of Reiving families is long, but the most feared were Armstrongs, Douglas, Grahams, Kerrs, Maxwells, Nixons, and Robsons – who destroyed crops, burned homesteads and murdered or dispersed families. For three hundred years, the borders of Scotland resembled the American Wild West, where the law held little influence, and robbery and blackmail were established ways of life. Regarded with no discredit amongst the Borderers, Reviers’ loyalty was not to King and country, but to his Clan or family name. If one clan member harmed another, the whole of both families would be drawn in, often with terrible consequences. 

'Steill Bonnet' dating from 1570

‘Raids’ or ‘forays’ on their victims homesteads varied from a quick moonlight plunder to forays that lasted days; the aim to take goods and chattels, destroy property and return home with as many cattle as possible. Even successful raids meant driving large numbers of stolen animals home, making riders vulnerable to attack.
Reivers wore padded jackets sewn with metal plates or rings, wore steel bonnets and carried either a lance, or bows and arrows and later on a ‘dag’ (heavy hand gun). Their horses were stockier than today's horses, good in the rough and boggy terrain.

In response to a foray, gangs of landowners and soldiers went "hot trodding" in pursuit of the reivers to reclaim their livestock and hand out summary justice to those they caught. Beacons were sited on Pele towers and hillsides; single fires signalled raiders approaching; four fires, that they rode in great numbers.

In 1249, 'Laws of the Marches' were established for maintaining peace amongst the clans and to deal with complaints.  Appointed from the local gentry, wardens, together with Deputies, Keepers, Captains, Land Sergeants and Troopers, met with their opposite numbers at monthly 'truce days', to administer the Border Laws.

When James VI of Scotland became James I of England in 1603, his first goal was to restore law and order to the borderlands. On his way to London, he paused in Newcastle and issued a proclamation abolishing the Marches and the Wardens. The term 'the Borders' was forbidden and: "no supply should be given to all rebels and disorderly persons, their wives or their bairnes (children) and that they be prosecuted with fire and sword".

Wanted men were hunted down and executed, many the subject to 'Jeddart Justice'; summary execution without trial, and 140 of the "nimblest and most powerful thieves" were executed within weeks of James' proclamation.

Borderers were forbidden to carry weapons, and could only own horses of a value up to 50 shillings. Reiving families had their land seized, their homes were and the families scattered or deported. Some clans found favour with the King, mainly by joining in the subjugation of the old reiving families, often with poacher-turned gamekeeper enthusiasm. Some were rewarded with gifts of land, and acquired the lands of their former friends and allies. 

The Elliots, Armstrongs and Grahams were singled out for special attention, due to the fact that in the days between the death of Queen Elizabeth and the proclamation of James as King, they had launched a massive raid into Cumbria where they stole nearly 5,000 sheep - known as 'Ill Week'.

Exiled to Ireland, they were forced to live amongst the moors and bogs of Roscommon and Connaught, while any who dared return to Scotland faced the death penalty.

Kinmont Willie by John Faed 1820-1902

The Reiver William Armstrong of Kinmont’s raids into Tynedale, Northumberland, resulted in murder and the loss of thousands of animals, though he always managed to evade the English.

In March 1596, at the behest of his overlord, Walter Scott of Branxholme and Buccleuch, Kinmont attended a Truce Day at the Dayholme of Kershope, on the Border between England and Scotland. Everyone who attended were untouchable from dawn of the Truce Day to the sunrise following completion of the trials of felons brought to justice.

Before sunset, as Kinmont rode down the Scottish side of the river Liddel, a party of Englishmen spotted the great Scots Reiver, forded the river and ran Kinmont down, bound him to his horse and took him to Carlisle Castle.

Walter Scott demanded Kinmont’s released as the sanctity of the Day of Truce had been abused by the English. A diplomatic wrangle ensued, with even Queen Elizabeth and King James VI involved, but nothing was settled. Buccleuch gathered a group of Border Reivers and headed for Carlisle, swam across the river Eden, made swollen and fast moving by the torrential rain, and rescued Kinmont.

Some time later, when Walter Scott was on his way to the Low Countries, he met Queen Elizabeth. She asked him how he dared to attack the castle of Carlisle in peacetime. His response:

'What, Madam, is there that a brave man may not dare?'
Elizabeth is reputed to have turned to her courtiers and said:-
'Give me a thousand such leaders and I'll shake any throne in Europe'

Walter Scott of Branxholme and Buccleuch, was made a knight in 1606, and died, apparently in his bed around 1611, having never suffered for his attack on Carlisle Castle.

“Sentence first — verdict afterwards,” says the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland; and the trial of the Knave of Hearts

Sources
http://www.bletherskite.net
http://www.reivershistory.co.uk/
http://robertpotts.co.uk/familyhistory/borderreivers.htm