Editing Border reivers (section)

==The Years of Truces==
===From 1357 to the Wars of the Roses===
Between the end of the [[Wars of Scottish Independence]] (1357) and the [[Battle of Flodden|Battle of Flodden (1513)]]<ref name="auto11"/> there were intermittent peace agreements and an uneasy balance of power between England and Scotland.<ref>Ellis, Steven G. Tudor Frontiers and Noble Power: The Making of the British State. Oxford University Press, 1995, p. 37.</ref> While no major wars erupted, the Anglo-Scottish border remained a hotspot for raiding, feuding, and political tensions.<ref name="auto23"/><ref>Ellis, Steven G. "A Border Baron and the Tudor State: The Rise and Fall of Lord Dacre of the North." The Historical Journal 35, no. 2 (1992): 254. {{JSTOR|2639668}}</ref> Barely had the ink dried in 1357 before the [[Lord Warden of the Marches|Warden of the West March]] Thomas [[de Lucy]] was accused of imprisoning Scots for the purpose of ransom. Later he was accused of collusion with the men of [[Eskdale, Cumbria|Eskdale]], there was a theft of several thousand animals and £20,{{sfn|Neville|1998|p=47}} in excess of £16,792 today.<ref>(UK Inflation Calculator, accessed [30/11/2024])</ref>

The 1370s on the Borders are recorded as particularly lawless and violent, with raiders sacking and burning houses, farms, and monasteries, while the people were either carried away or slaughtered.<ref>Neville, C. J. "The Law of Treason in the English Border Counties in the Later Middle Ages." Law and History Review 9, no. 1 (1991): 10. {{doi|10.2307/743658}}.</ref>

Although there were long-term truces after the [[Wars of Scottish Independence]] and relatively few official cross-border raids, the proliferation of more humble fortified structures such as bastle houses and pele towers across the Anglo-Scottish borderland underscores the enduring instability of the region; they responded to persistent threats of raiding and violence, which continued even during periods of nominal peace.<ref>Steingraber, Aubrey Maria. Landscape and the Making of the Medieval Anglo-Scottish Border: Power, Place, and Perspective c.1200-c.1500. PhD Thesis, University of York, 2022., passim.</ref>

Raiding continued as a persistent feature of the borderlands, punctuating periods of truce. These ranged from smaller skirmishes to occasional large-scale raids, such as the [[Battle of Otterburn]] (1388) and [[Battle of Homildon Hill|Homildon Hill]] (1402), which occasionally escalated into significant but localised conflicts. Both kingdoms sought to maintain periods of relative calm through truce agreements and diplomatic efforts, though these efforts were often fragile and difficult to enforce in the contested border regions.<ref name="auto14"/>

It was during this time we see the emergence of English border magnates like the [[House of Neville|Nevilles]], [[Cliffords family|Cliffords]], and [[Baron Dacre|Dacres]], as well as an emergent lower gentry such as the [[Musgraves of Northern England|Musgraves]], Herons, [[Scrope]]s, and later still, the [[Baron Eure|Eures]], [[Mitford family|Mitfords]], [[Ogles]], and [[Moresby (surname)|Moresbys]], who would come to fill key positions along the English Borders, including [[Sheriff of Northumberland|Sheriff]], [[Justice of the peace|Justice of the Peace]], [[Lord Warden of the Marches|March Wardens]], Keepers of [[Tynedale]] and [[Redesdale]], Captains of [[Berwick Castle|Berwick]] and [[Carlisle Castle|Carlisle]], and other vital military and administrative roles responsible for the defence and governance of this volatile frontier region.<ref>Neville, Cynthia J., Violence, Custom and Law: The Anglo-Scottish Border Lands in the Later Middle Ages (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1998).</ref> It's important to note the Border gentry were few in number and much poorer compared with other parts of England<ref name="auto6"/> and having about the same income as a southern yeoman in the early Tudor period.<ref>Ellis, Steven G. Tudor Frontiers and Noble Power: The Making of the British State. Oxford University Press, 1995, p.53</ref>

The [[Percy family]], [[Earl of Northumberland|Earls of Northumberland]], played a significant role in the conflicts that destabilised England. The Percys first rebelled against King Henry IV during the early 15th century, joining forces with [[Owain Glyndŵr]] and [[Edmund Mortimer (rebel)|Edmund Mortimer]] in the [[Tripartite Indenture]], a plan to divide England and Wales between them. Led by [[Henry Percy (Hotspur)|Sir Henry "Hotspur" Percy]], the rebellion culminated in the [[Battle of Shrewsbury|Battle of Shrewsbury (1403)]], where Hotspur was killed.<ref name="auto23"/>

Despite two further rebellions, the [[Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland|2nd Earl of Northumberland]] was restored as Warden of the Marches by Henry V. During this period, the Percy family consolidated their power in the north, notably absorbing the liberty of Redesdale from the [[Umfraville]] to [[Tailboys]] vassals in 1436, following the extinction of the Umfraville line.<ref>Ellis, Steven G. Tudor Frontiers and Noble Power: The Making of the British State. Oxford University Press, 1995, p.55</ref> Despite this growing authority and the responsibilities of the Wardenship, reports of "numerous robbers and felons called [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/intaker Intakers] [receivers of stolen goods] and Outputters [smugglers]" continued to trouble the region.<ref>Robson, Ralph. The English Highland Clans: Tudor Responses to a Mediaeval Problem. Edinburgh: John Donald, 1989. p56</ref>

===The Wars of the Roses===
During the [[Wars of the Roses]], the [[Percy family|Percy]] family expanded their influence in the eastern regions, while the Neville family grew in power in Cumbria, fostering a bitter rivalry. The two families supported opposing factions in the conflict, with the [[House of Neville|Nevilles]] aligning more successfully with the [[House of York|Yorkist]] cause. This strategic advantage allowed the Nevilles to claim the Percy earldom in 1463 following the Percys’ poor choice of allegiance.

During the Wars of the Roses, southern English communities viewed northern Borderers as a constant threat. The [[Battle of Towton|campaigns of 1460–61]] were seen by figures like [[John Whethamstede|Abbot Whethamstede]] as a northern rebellion, with chroniclers describing northerners as a "plague of locusts" feared for robbery and devastation, particularly in London.<ref>Whethamstede, J. Register, in H.T. Riley (ed.), Registra quorundam Abbatum Monasterii S. Albani, Vol. I. London: Longman & Co., 1872, pp. 171ff, 386ff.</ref> This perception of the north as a militarized and hostile frontier region reinforced southern anxieties about the Borderers.<ref name="auto6"/>

Despite the ongoing civil war between the houses of Lancaster and York, truces with Scotland were maintained and periodically renewed. A 40-year truce was agreed upon in 1479.<ref name="auto20">Cynthia J. Neville, ''Violence, Custom and Law'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1998).</ref>

However, despite the agreement, raiding resumed the following year. During the so-called ''Gloucester's War'', The [[Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus|Earl of Angus]] led a deep raid into the East March, prompting a retaliatory campaign by Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who launched a raid into Scotland.<ref>Armstrong, Jackson W. "Local Society and the Defence of the English Frontier in Fifteenth-Century Scotland: The War Measures of 1482." The Scottish Historical Review, Vol. 87, No. 1 (2008), pp. 1–26.</ref> This outbreak of violence was short-lived, concluding by 1484.<ref name="auto20"/> Nevertheless, the devastation was so extensive that the Barony of Gilsland, held by Lord Dacre, was assessed at only 15% of its previous value in the aftermath of ''Gloucester’s War''.<ref>Ellis, Steven G. Tudor Frontiers and Noble Power: The Making of the British State. Oxford University Press, 1995, p.90.</ref> To note, [[Richard III of England|Richard, Duke of Gloucester]], was the only individual to be granted a Wardenry as a hereditary title, having been appointed hereditary Warden of the West March by his brother, [[Edward IV]].<ref name="Neville, Cynthia J. 1998, p. 173">Neville, Cynthia J. ''Violence, Custom and Law: The Anglo-Scottish Border Lands in the Later Middle Ages''. Edinburgh University Press, 1998, p. 173.</ref>

This brief conflict was significant for one key reason: it marked the final time [[Berwick-upon-Tweed]] changed hands, solidifying English control over the strategic town. Additionally, it saw the Duke of Albany cede control over much of South West Scotland, although this concession proved short-lived, with the territory returning to Scottish hands not long after.<ref name="auto20"/>