Editing Border reivers (section)

==Law and order==
{{see also|March law (Anglo-Scottish border)}}
[[File:Late-medieval jack, National Museum of Scotland collection.jpg|thumb|upright|A leather jack of the kind worn by reivers in the 16th century]]

A special body of law, known as [[March law (Anglo-Scottish border)|March law]] or Border law, developed in the region.<ref>Neville, Cynthia J. (1998). Violence, custom and law : the Anglo-Scottish border lands in the later Middle Ages. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. pp. xiv, 1–226. {{ISBN|0-7486-1073-1}}.</ref> Under border law, a person who had been raided had the right to mount a counter-raid within six days, even across the border, to recover his goods. This "hot trod" had to proceed with "hound and horne, hew and cry",<ref>Durham & McBride, p. 20.</ref><ref name="Summerson, Henry 1500">Summerson, Henry. "Peacekeepers and Lawbreakers in Medieval Northumberland, c.1200–c.1500." In Liberties and Identities in the Medieval British Isles, edited by Michael C. Prestwich, Alexander Grant, and Keith J. Stringer, 61. Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2008.</ref> making a racket and carrying a piece of burning turf on a spear point to openly announce their purpose, to distinguish themselves from unlawful raiders proceeding covertly. They might use a [[sleuth hound]] (also known as a "slew dogge") to follow raiders' tracks.<ref name="Summerson, Henry 1500"/> These dogs were valuable, and part of the established forces (on the English side of the border, at least).<ref>George McDonald Fraser, ''The Steel Bonnets'' (London: Harvill, 1989), pp. 95–96</ref> Any person meeting this counter-raid was required to ride along and offer such help as he could, on pain of being considered complicit with the raiders. The "cold trod" mounted after six days required official sanction. Officers such as the Deputy Warden of the English West March had the specific duty of "following the trod".<ref>George McDonald Fraser, ''The Steel Bonnets'' (London: Harvill, 1989), p. 215 fn.</ref>

Both sides of the border were divided into [[Scottish Marches|Marches]], each under a [[Lord Warden of the Marches|march warden]]. The march wardens' various duties included the maintenance of patrols, watches and garrisons to deter raiding from the other kingdom. The role of the Warden evolved over time. By the late 14th century, it had become a formalized, salaried position, held both in times of peace and war.<ref>Etty, Claire (2005). Tudor Revolution? Royal Control of the Anglo-Scottish Border, 1483-1530. pp6</ref> This was very much reliant on the ability of the warden's personal strength in men or ''[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/manred manraed]'', loyalty of local gentry and personal wealth.<ref>Ellis, Steven G. "A Border Baron and the Tudor State: The Rise and Fall of Lord Dacre of the North." The Historical Journal, vol. 35, no. 2, 1992, pp. 260. {{JSTOR|2639668}}</ref> On occasion, march wardens could make ''warden roades'' to recover loot, and to make a point to raiders and officials. A degree of reiving and banditry among the gentry was tolerated in return for their service on the frontier.<ref>Palmer, William. "Scenes from Provincial Life: History, Honor, and Meaning in the Tudor North." Renaissance Quarterly, vol. 53, no. 2, 2000, pp. 433. {{doi|10.2307/2901874}}</ref> Summary executions, referred to in the Borderlands as 'Jeddart Justice,' were occasionally employed for suspected thieves and murderers.<ref>Fraser, George MacDonald. The Steel Bonnets: The Story of the Anglo-Scottish Border Reivers. HarperCollins, 1995, pp154, 369</ref>

The march wardens also had the duty of maintaining such justice and equity as was possible. The respective kingdoms' march wardens would meet at appointed times along the border itself to settle claims against people on their side of the border by people from the other kingdom. These occasions, known as "Days of Truce", were much like fairs, with entertainment and much socialising. For reivers it was an opportunity to meet (lawfully) with relatives or friends normally separated by the border. It was not unknown for violence to break out even at such truce days. It was not until the 1450s that the March Day courts were formalised in a manner resembling their operation in the Tudor period.<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): 20. {{doi|10.2307/743658}}.</ref>

March wardens (and the lesser officers such as keepers of fortified places) were rarely effective at maintaining the law. The Scottish wardens were usually borderers themselves, and were complicit in raiding. They almost invariably showed favour to their own kindred, which caused jealousy and even hatred among other Scottish border families. Many English officers were from southern counties in England and often could not command the loyalty or respect of their locally recruited subordinates or the local population. Local officers such as [[Sir John Forster]], who was Warden of the Middle March for almost 35 years, became quite as well known for venality as his most notorious Scottish counterparts.<ref>George McDonald Fraser, ''The Steel Bonnets'' (London: Harvill, 1989), pp.139–140</ref> Feuds could also form between Wardens on the same side of the Border, like between [[Thomas Scrope, 10th Baron Scrope of Bolton|Thomas Scrope]],  Warden of the English West March, and [[Ralph Eure, 3rd Baron Eure|Ralph Eure]],  Warden of the English Middle March.<ref>Fraser, George MacDonald. The Steel Bonnets: The Story of the Anglo-Scottish Border Reivers. HarperCollins, 1995., pp350</ref>

===Legislation===
In 1606 an act ([[4 Jas. 1]]. c. 1) to assist the recent [[Union of the Crowns]] was enacted; it was [[long title]]d ''An act for the utter abolition of all memory of hostility, and the dependence thereof, between England and Scotland, and for repressing of occasions of disorders, and disorders in time to come''. The act repealed nine English laws enacted over the previous centuries and considered hostile to Scotland; the repeal became effective when 13 Scottish laws considered hostile to England had been repealed.<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/statutesatlarge50britgoog#page/n226/mode/2up Statutes at Large – Volume 7 – 39 Elizabeth to 12 Charles II – 1597–8 to 1660], p.195</ref> Three years later an act ([[7 Jas. 1]]. c. 1) dealing with criminal law in the border region was enacted; it was long titled ''An act for the better execution of justice, and suppressing of criminal offenders, in the north parts of the kingdom of England.'' To deal with cross-border flight, the act allowed the trial of an Englishman in Scotland if the felony was committed there, and he was later arrested in England; it became effective after a similar act had been passed in Scotland.<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/statutesatlarge50britgoog#page/n248/mode/2up] Statutes at Large – Volume 7 – 39 Elizabeth to 12 Charles II – 1597–8 to 1660], p.216</ref>

Following the [[Restoration (England)|Restoration]] and long-running lawlessness by [[Moss-trooper|Moss troopers]] nearly six decades later, parliament passed the [[Moss Troopers Act 1662]] ([[14 Cha. 2]]. c. 22) for the border area; it was [[long title]]d ''An Act for preventing of Theft and Rapine upon the Northern Borders of England.'' Section seven of the act revives both previous acts passed under James I.<ref>[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/statutes-realm/vol5/pp417-418 Statutes of the Realm: Volume 5, 1628–80], p.417</ref> With the 1662 act about to expire, the sixth session of [[Cavalier Parliament]] passed the [[Moss Troopers Act 1666]] ([[18 & 19 Cha. 2]]. c. 3), long titled ''An Act to continue a former Act for preventing of Thefte and Rapine upon the Northerne Borders of England.'' Under section two of the act, the [[benefit of clergy]] was taken away from those convicted (generally meaning a death sentence), or otherwise, the notorious thieves and spoil-takers in Northumberland or Cumberland were to be [[penal transportation|transported]] to America, "there to remaine and not to returne".<ref>[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/statutes-realm/vol5/p598 Statutes of the Realm: Volume 5, 1628–80], p.598</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/stream/statutesatlarge20unkngoog#page/n587/mode/2up Statutes at Large, Volume 24, Index for acts passed before 1 Geo. 3] p.&nbsp;581</ref>

Generally associated with several historic events of the period, as well as continuing lawlessness, or the consideration of insufficient government control to prevent "theft and rapine upon the northern borders of England", these acts were repeatedly continued over the next 80 years. The initial acts include the Moss Trooper Act 1677 ([[29 & 30 Cha. 2]]. c. 2),<ref name="auto28">{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/statutesatlarge29britgoog?view=theater|title=Statutes at large ..|date=10 December 1762|publisher=Cambridge [London]|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> the Moss Trooper Act 1685 ([[1 Ja. 2]]. c. 14),<ref name="auto28"/> the Moss Trooper Act 1695 ([[7 & 8 Will. 3]]. c. 17),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/statutesatlarge38britgoog?view=theater|title=Statutes at large ..|date=10 December 1762|publisher=Cambridge [London]|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> the Moss Trooper Act 1700 ([[12 & 13 Will. 3]]. c. 6),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/statutesatlarge31britgoog?view=theater|title=Statutes at large ..|date=10 December 1762|publisher=Cambridge [London]|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> and the Moss Trooper Act 1712 ([[12 Ann.]] c. 10).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/statutesatlarge69britgoog?view=theater|title=Statutes at large ..|date=10 December 1762|publisher=Cambridge [London]|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> Starting in 1732, although the 'Moss trooper' [[short title]] was dropped, the enforcement acts were continued by other variously named acts, most of which continued the established descriptive phrase "for preventing theft and rapine upon the northern borders of England", as the first item included. These later acts include the Perpetuation of Various Laws Act 1732 ([[6 Geo. 2]]. c. 37),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/statutesatlarge03britgoog?view=theater|title=The statutes at large, from Magna Charta to ... 1869 ..|date=10 December 1762|publisher=Cambridge, Printed by Joseph Bentham|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> the Universities (Wine Licences) Act 1743 ([[17 Geo. 2]]. c. 40),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/statutesatlarge01britgoog?view=theater|title=The statutes at large, from Magna Charta to ... 1869 ..|date=10 December 1762|publisher=Cambridge, Printed by Joseph Bentham|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> and the Continuance of Laws Act 1750 ([[24 Geo. 2]]. c. 57),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/statutesatlarge67britgoog?view=theater|title=The Statutes at Large from the Magna Charta, to the End of the Eleventh Parliament of Great ...|date=10 December 1765|publisher=Printed by J. Bentham|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> which continued previous acts until 1 September 1757 "and from thence to the end of the then next session of parliament".