Seldom has an area of the British Isles been such a battleground over such a lengthy period of time. From when, in 1296, Edward I invaded Scotland to the union of the crowns in 1603 with the ascension of James I, the borders were left a wasteland. Set against this background of war between England and Scotland, the borderers themselves tried to survive; by raiding or reiving from over the borders and from their neighbours. As the raiding grew it forged men and women where might was right and their word was their bond.
The borderers knew they couldn't rely on either the English or Scottish governments or crowns, so they looked after their own, with the families banding together, the names prevalent in the borders of Armstrong, Bell, Elliot, Scott, Home, Kerr, Maxwell, Charlton, and Milburn.
The rise and end of the Border Reivers, their lifestyle, fortifications, abbeys and priories, the battles and the people and tales that took place during this time are what made the Reivers into the myths and legends in the borders. They added to the English language and gave some wonderful real life folk tales.
