Editing Border reivers (section)

====Disputed territory====
Efforts to define the Anglo-Scottish border often proved contentious and inconclusive. By 1245, territorial disputes remained unresolved, as demonstrated in a case involving Hugh de Bolbec, a Northumbrian knight.<ref name="Robb, Graham 2021. p23">Robb, Graham. The Debatable Land: The Lost World Between Scotland and England. W. W. Norton & Company, 2021., p23</ref> A meeting near Carham on the Tweed attempted to establish "the true and ancient marches between the two kingdoms". Six knights from each side were appointed to walk the border line, but the Scottish and English representatives disagreed at every step.<ref name="Robb, Graham 2021. p23"/> A second attempt expanded the parties to twelve knights per side, with additional servants and men-at-arms processing through the Tweed Valley, but it too ended without agreement.<ref name="auto21"/><ref name="auto23"/>

A third effort involved 48 knights, who swore an oath to trace the border. The English knights proposed a line running from the confluence of Reddenburn and the Tweed, south to Tres Karras and Hopperichlawe (now lost), and then to Whitelaw Hill in the Cheviot Hills. However, the Scottish knights opposed this perambulation with threats, and tensions escalated. Lacking further resources to continue, the English knights unilaterally declared the defined line to be "the true and ancient marches and divisions", despite the lack of mutual agreement.<ref name="Robb, Graham 2021. p23"/>

[[File:Debatable Map.png|thumb|Anglo-Scottish Borderland: (De)batable Land and threiplands]]

Throughout the period, various territories remained disputed due to unresolved claims, particularly lands referred to as ''threiplands'' ([[Scots (language)|Scots]] for "disputed lands").<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/threap|title=Dictionaries of the Scots Language:: SND :: threap}}</ref> There were five such lesser threiplands alongside the larger and more notorious [[Debatable Lands|Debatable Land]],<ref>Ellis, Steven G. Tudor Frontiers and Noble Power: The Making of the British State. Oxford University Press, 1995, pp27-28</ref> as illustrated in the accompanying image. The Debatable Land was an expansive area, which lay between the rivers [[River Esk (Solway Firth)|Esk]] and [[River Sark|Sark]], was the subject of contention until 1552, when its status was finally settled.<ref name="auto23"/><ref name="auto21"/><ref>Todd, John M. (2006). "The West March on the Anglo-Scottish Border in the Twelfth Century, and the Origins of the Western Debatable Land." Northern History, 43(1), University of Leeds., pp19</ref> Originally referred to as the "Batable Land"—a term derived from its use as fertile grazing ground—the territory was notable for an agreement allowing both English and Scottish borderers to graze cattle during the day, despite prohibitions on permanent settlement.<ref name="auto21"/><ref name="Robb, Graham 2021. p23"/><ref name="auto23"/>

[[Berwick-upon-Tweed]], a strategically important town on the Anglo-Scottish border, changed hands multiple times during the medieval period, reflecting its contested status between England and Scotland. The town was alternately controlled by each kingdom, with significant captures in 1174, 1296, and 1318, among others. Its turbulent history culminated in 1482 when it was seized by Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later Richard III), and thereafter remained under English administration. Berwick's frequent exchanges highlight its role as both a prize of war and a continued focal point of Anglo-Scottish tensions.<ref>Porter, Linda. Crown of Thistles: The Fatal Inheritance of Mary, Queen of Scots. Pan Macmillan, London, 2013. {{ISBN|978-0-230-75321-1}}.</ref>

The Anglo-Scottish border was not fully demarcated until the mid-19th century, when the [[Ordnance Survey]] mapped the area in detail. Even as late as this period, some lands, such as Kirkholm Common, were still considered by locals to be threipland. Locals regarded it as shared communal ground, with its historical status as contested land lingering in local tradition.<ref>Anon. The Land of Scott, or Abbotsford, the Country of the Tweed and its Tributaries and St Mary's Loch. Adam & Charles Black, Edinburgh, 1856.</ref>

Other disputed areas were resolved through less formal means. The Ba Green (or Ba' Green or Ball Green) near [[Wark on Tweed|Wark]] and [[Coldstream]], a Scottish tract of land that curiously lies on the English side of the [[River Tweed]], is one such example. This threipland became the subject of an annual game of football, whose result determined temporary control of the land. Over time, Coldstream's growing population allowed it to field far more players than Wark, leading to the land being informally absorbed into Scotland.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/tiny-part-scotland-thats-in-32959342 | title=The tiny part of Scotland that's 'in England' thanks to medieval football match | date=4 June 2024 }}</ref><ref>Moffat, Alistair. The Reivers: The Story of the Border Reivers. Birlinn, 2011., pp89</ref>