Editing Border reivers (section)

==='The ancient laws and customs of the land'===
[[March law (Anglo-Scottish border)|Laws of the Marches]], or ''Leges Marchiarum'', first formally codified in [[1249]], offers a significant insight into the long-standing legal and social structures designed to manage the unique challenges of the Anglo-Scottish Border.<ref name="Leeson2009"/> This legal framework addressed not only diplomatic relations between England and Scotland but also sought to regulate banditry, cross-border smuggling, and feuding. Its provisions included the return of fugitives, the recovery of debts, and the production of accused parties at designated trysting places along the border, such as Reddenburn near Kelso.<ref name="auto23"/> These trysting places served as neutral meeting points for resolving disputes under the framework of March law.<ref name="auto19"/>

The formulation of March law followed a meeting in 1248 between six English knights and six Scottish knights, and the resulting code was formally promulgated the following year.{{sfn|Neville|1998|p=5}} Between 1249 and 1596, the laws of the marches were reviewed and recodified on at least eight occasions, reflecting their enduring importance in managing Border relations.<ref name="auto23"/> The legal traditions referenced in these codes draw upon "the ancient laws and customs of the land," and some of the language, such as "handwasil" and "manbote," suggests Anglo-Saxon origins. The document itself refers to the laws as originating "from a time which memory does not exist," implying that aspects of March law may predate the Norman Conquest. However, the extent to which these laws derive from pre-Norman customs remains a topic of scholarly debate.{{sfn|Neville|1998|p=1–2}}