The Reivers: The Story of the Border Reivers

by Alistair Moffat

Only one period in history is immediately, indelibly and uniquely linked to the whole area of the Scottish and English Border country, and that is the time of the Reivers. Whenever anyone mentions 'Reiver', no-one hesitates to add 'Border'. It is an inextricable association, and rightly so. Nowhere else in Britain in the modern era, or indeed in Europe, did civil order break down over such a wide area, or for such a long time. For more than a century the hoof-beats of countless raiding parties drummed over the border. From Dumfriesshire to the high wastes of East Cumbria, from Roxburghshire to Redesdale, from the lonely valley of Liddesdale to the fortress city of Carlisle, swords and spears spoke while the law remained silent. Fierce family loyalty counted for everything while the rules of nationality counted for nothing.The whole range of the Cheviot Hills, its watershed ridges and the river valleys which flowed out of them became the landscape of larceny while Maxwells, Grahams, Fenwicks, Carletons, Armstrongs and Elliots rode hard and often for plunder. These were the Riding Times and in modern European history, they have no parallel. This book tells the remarkable story of the Reivers and how they made the Borders.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Scotland, Audiobook, Elizabethan Period

272 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2011

About the author

Alistair Moffat is an award winning writer, historian and former Director of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Director of Programmes at Scottish Television.

Moffat was educated at the University of St Andrews, graduating in 1972 with a degree in Medieval History. He is the founder of the Borders Book Festival and Co-Chairman of The Great Tapestry of Scotland.

Reviews

[Fiona · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Border Reivers have been romanticised over the centuries. Most Border ballads laud them as heroes or, at the very least, cheeky chappies, but the simple truth is that they were the OCGs of their time. Moffat’s account of their history is detailed and quite exhausting to read. The focus is on the 16th century, the height of reiver activity and a particularly turbulent time across the Scottish-English Border.

What was a reiver? Someone who stole cattle, sheep, horses, grain, corn, and so on, from others, often wounding or killing, often burning down houses and farms as they went. Many ran a protection racket, blackmailing people and torching the farms of those who wouldn’t or couldn’t pay.

On both sides of the border, nationality was less important than family. Your surname was your allegiance as all who held it were related in some way. Famous surnames include Armstrong, Graham, Elliot, Maxwell, Hume/Home, Douglas, Kerr, Johnstone, Heron, Scott and Storey. The heidsman (head) could command an army of thousands of men, ready at a moment’s notice to fight and die for their family. Loyalty to the family name was everything. Nationality meant little as evidenced by the fluidity of allegiance to England or Scotland, whoever paid the piper called the tune!

There were times when reading this became a bit of a chore but I found it interesting on the whole and was reminded of a great deal of Scottish history that I’d forgotten. The structure isn’t great. Random information appears in boxes on every other page, some pieces more relevant than others, and the timeline is often quite erratic, jumping back and forth between years. The map at the front is not very useful as most of the strategic locations mentioned by Moffat aren’t on it and the same can be said of the photographs.

In 1603, when Elizabeth died, Mary, Queen of Scots’ son, James VI of Scotland also became James I of England and that sounded the death knell for the Reivers. James united Britain and he made it his business to erase reiving and bring peace to the Borders. This largely meant hanging hundreds of men from trees and the occasional beheading. Tough times indeed!

3 stars because in many ways this book is unsatisfactory. Overall, I really enjoyed it though.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agree with the other reviews that this needs a lot of editing, but listened to as an audiobook the errors went unnoticed. It's rambling order didn't make much difference as I rambled myself and attention waxed and waned. It is really fascinating though I was lost among the various names and the quick backandforth succession of raids. It could have done with a Scottish narrator but this guy's Scottish accent was okay when put on. Overall: enjoyable!

[A.M. Steiner · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried hard, but in the end I couldn't bring myself to struggle through to the end. It's an interesting topic, and Moffat writes with enthusiasm and charisma, but either he didn't have an editor or wouldn't listen to one. The Reivers is rambling, frequently repetitive, and full of mistakes (grammatical and historical). Between patches of real interest it veers off topic and presents folk-etymology hearsay and conjecture as fact. There's a good book in there somewhere; but it's buried deep.

[KA · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a chaotic book, with little to no organization and scanty references. Don't read this book if you want well-documented history. Read it only if you want a sort of impressionist picture of Anglo-Scot border culture.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Packed full of interesting information but told in the most disorganized and schitzophrenic manner possible, it was at times a joy to read and at times a chore.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a valuable addition to the less than extensive catalogue of popular books on the Border Reivers. For me a real plus was a focus on how political developments both south and north of the border impacted the exploits of those involved in reiving.
I enjoyed the various panels of information that run through the book. Some were quirky, some genuinely revealing. I also found the appendices helpful. For Moffat, this is his terrain and that shows. He writes with enthusiasm and a firm grasp of the subject.
If you only read one book on the Border Reivers, you could do worse than read this one. (Just putting my steel bonnet on!!)

[Joleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book, but I love almost all things history. The author did a great job of helping the reader understand the reiving history and tradition in The Borders of Scotland. His knowledge of the area, its history, and Great Britain history really created the framework for all of the facts, details, and word pictures he provided in the text. WAY too much to remember without being able to refer to the book, so I may have to own it. Highly recommend to those with Scottish heritage, or a particular interest in Scottish history.

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

The reiver history is a history of the events of the towns and rivers I hope to be seeing including Newcastle, Berwick, Carlisle, Alnwick, and Durham.

What a brutal, cruel era from time of the Normans to the ascension of James to the combined throne, six hundred years of feuds, revenge, and crimes of devastation.

Whyte was one of the names given to the MacGregors after they were un-named. They were notorious reivers, and James was so angry when a MacGregor killed one of his officials, that he banned the name. So, that was interesting.

[William Guerrant · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title of this book is somewhat misleading. More accurately, this is a history of the Borders region during the time of the reivers, with an emphasis on the 16th century.

The author's enthusiasm and his deep and broad knowledge of the history is admirable. But, while crammed with fascinating historical detail, the text is not well organized and is at times repetitive. Despite its flaws, I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the history of the Borders.

[Janhmmn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like many people I love the physical wildness of the border between England and Scotland and tales of its historical wildness have always fascinated me.
One day, in more leisurely times, I will trace my maternal grandmother's line back to see where they fit in to the story. For now, I can continue to mentally claim kinship with whatever outrageous Armstrongs I choose.

[William Weir · Rating 2 out of 5]

Confused structure in part 1 that consistently breaks the flow. This ultimately detracts from the telling of an interesting aspect of UK history. Part 2 is better, with less distraction and some interesting threads, albeit they never fully weave the story before jumping to another incident.

[Laura Jenkinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I live in Northern Cumbria and find the subject interesting and wanted to learn more about the social history of the area. I have friends with a lot of the surnames in the book and it was fascinating to put those names within the regional and historical context.

[Nick Hazlewood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Big History Easy Reading

Intriguing and informative easy read about the Border Reivers and history and how it was affected and interfered with.

Even the affects of Elizabethian climate change are gone into !!!

Recommended!!

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read, but not very consistent. Some of it is fantastic, while other sections really drag and are a bit of a slog to get through. But worth a go.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started off very well, very interesting and lively, but then it dragged and felt quite repetitive and I struggled to finish it.

[J.U. Flint · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of interesting information, but a very muddled layout and lots of typographical errors marred my enjoyment of this book.

[Carol Aldred · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too repetitive

[Michael M · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book tells what to me is the little known tale of the Border Reivers who working in family type gangs opporated like the Mafia,operating protection and blackmailing, raiding, robbing, raping (and anything else nasty beginning with "r") across the English/Scottish border in the 15th and 16th centuries with virtual impunity, whilst the Scottish and English Monarchies repeatedly tried to curtail their excesses, except in times of war between the two countries when they encouraged them as much as possible.

The author gives a verry good beckgound history leading up to the period of the reivers and obvoiusly has a great love for the subject and knowledge of the countryside in which the book is set.

I particularly liked the little notes the author has placed in the text which makes one realise just how many words and expressions we still use originated in this turbulent period.

Certianly worth a read and it is interesting to see in the Appendices at the end of the book how well some of the descendants of the Reiver families have done. who says crime doesn't pay!

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

So the Reivers weren't Scottish clans but surnames and you were loyal to your name and that name's allies. If you didn't obey your name's heidsman you could be stripped of your name, hunted down, and killed. Of course, many such "broken" men formed gangs and operated outside the law in the open. It was the common folk that suffered with their crops and homes, such as they were, being burned and what little livestock they had being stolen. The Riding Times ended only when the King James VI of Scotland became King of England as well, by which time some of the people being ridden over would harvest their crops, pull the thatch off their homes and burn it, and head for the hills if they heard that the surnames were riding. Sir Walter Scott recorded and romanticised a number of the Reiver ballads before they became forgotten with the deaths of reivers themselves. They weren't Robin Hood and his merry men though. These were hard men who had longstanding feuds with other reiver surnames on both sides of the Border. Very interesting and well written book.

[Rik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting enough in its own way but the story drags, the history is questionable and the whole book is entirely without citation. Moffat regards bibliographies as "showing off" (his actual words) rather than as sources of information. This, combined with the fact that some things he writes are patently wrong - he says, for example, that Henry VIII was seeking divorce from Catherine of Aragon in 1534 (he'd actually already married Anne Boleyn by this point) and that "trunk roads" are so named because, in the 16th century, they were lined by water pipes made out of tree trunks (in fact, the OED has no record of the term before 1822) - meant I found it difficult to believe anything he writes. Moffat clearly has a passion for his subject and I suspect much of what he says would stand up to historical examination but I'm afraid that, even in a pop history book, I need a little more evidence than 'just take my word for it'.

[Blythe Gifford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again, I rate this five stars because it was "required reading" for me to seriously research the Border Reivers. From Moffat in particular, I gained a sense of the "love of the land" the Borderers had. For them, it really was a separate country and that was very helpful to me in developing my characters.
Moffat also wrote The Borders, a longer view of the history of that part of the island, as well as doing a few DVDs. Peppered with anecdotes set off from the chronological text. Again, I read the parts that applied to my period, which meant I had to resist the urge to read about 1565 and the worst winter anyone could remember...

[David Newell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A concise and poetic overview of border reivers, this book grabs the attention and really excels at illustrating this unique period.

The writing is excellent, informative while at the same time portraying that noble romanticism that is so often associated with the reivers.

The only real problem this book has is that its not Steel Bonnets, its not as long, or as detailed, and doesn't carry the same impact. But for all that its evident that Moffat is passionate about the subject, and that really comes across throughout.

[Jean Blackwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

First rate historical account of the cattle rustlers known as Reivers who made life hell along the Scottish-English border for a century. Explains clearly who they were, the economic and social conditions that led to this lawless class, and the political and economic changes that ended their reign.

Moffat is a terrific writer of popular history and a true expert on the history of the Scottish Borders.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great history and very readable... If you want a good history to read regarding the Border Reivers this is the recommendation, better than 'Steel Bonnets' which can be difficult to digest if you're not already a Reiver fan

[Betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

My classroom was filled with Grahams, Armstrongs, Maxwells and Johnstones etc. so it was fascinating and quite emotional to read all about their shady pasts. I wish all historians could write this engagingly and wittily; a potentially dry subject brought to vivid life.

[Jose Vidal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesante, aunque cae demasiado en la pura anécdota y carece de una estructura cronológica clara.

[Andrew Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wanted to give it four stars but it jumps around do much it was hard to follow although it's packed with the history and insights of the Reivers