The Reivers view of religion was the result of a number of factors. To begin with the church had little presence on the border. Due to the state of the border there were few members of the clergy who would wish to take up residence and the challenge of converting cattle rustlers, theifs and murderers.

In the year 1296, Edward I of England launched a series of vicious raids across the Anglo-Scottish Border in his attempt to annexe Scotland. The Scots retaliated and the two countries were plunged into 300 years of war in which the Borderland became the frontline and raiding, or ‘reiving,’ encouraged by both sides, became a […]

The one indisputable fact concerning the Border Reivers was their supreme ability in the art of theft and guerilla warfare. A lifestyle which required specialist equipment. The fully equipped Reiver represented an elite light cavalryman, capable of navigating rough terrain at night with practiced stealth, and when required implementing deadly force.

Carey himself was a very capable Warden, not only did the assessment of his character show this, but also his actions. Carey seems to have been of strong character who both knew his job and how to go about it. On entering the March Carey quickly realised that the reivers would only be contained by a firm hand, where hanging and strict rule were the only measures they would respond to. This is not because Carey enjoyed capturing outlaws in order to execute them, merely that he recognised the only thing that would work was for the reivers to see justice done.

In this chapter Sir Robert Carey’s Middle March Wardenship of 1598-1603 will be examined, in an attempt to assess the effectiveness of his rule. This will be achieved by looking at the main events which occurred during his time as Warden, and then relating Carey’s actions to the laws covered in the previous chapter. When […]

This chapter will now outline the laws by which Sir Robert Carey would rule, and then say something of the Commission of 1597. ((The Commission of 1597 was the last of the Commissions to be set up before the Union of the Crowns, and the 36 clauses printed in W. Nicolson, (1747), Leges Marchiarum, have […]

Part II – Sir Robert CareyBefore looking at the powers and effectiveness of Sir Robert Carey, his background and personality will be examined. The reason for looking at Carey’s character is that no matter what laws there were, the effectiveness of his rule cannot be examined without assessing whether he himself was capable of being […]