Reivers - The Border Ballads

The Stories About Border Reivers Were Handed Down by Word of Mouth

Feb 8, 2009 Thomas William Moss

Word, song and chant were the legacy of the Border Reivers. Sir Walter Scott would ensure that the Ballads of the English\Scottish Border were saved for posterity.

The people who lived on each side of the English\Scottish Borderline had a rich history of love,war, feud and bloodfeud. Yet it was never recorded and would have been lost to posterity but for singular forethought of one man. That man was Sir Walter Scott, one of the greatest and most popular writers of the nineteenth century.

Sir Walter Scott, author, poet and lover of the Border CountryScott's output was formidable. The Waverley novels, published between 1814 and 1831 consist of 48 books, almost all with an emphasis on Scottish history. They were among the most widely read books throughout Europe for over a century and are still popular today. He had an unbounded love of the Scottish Borders in particular.

Scott's Early ChildhoodScott was brought up under the shadow of Smailholm tower at Sandyknowe, his grandparents farm near Kelso. He was taken there by his parents to recover from the debilitating illness of polio contracted in early childhood. The forbidding sight of the tower, the remains of a fortified home of his Reiver ancestors, and the exciting tales of a bygone age related to him by his grandparents were to have a lasting effect on the young impressionable boy. He was never to forget the stories as he sat enthralled and enraptured, hanging on every word of the formidable exploits of his forbears, the Scotts, and other Border Reiver families.

Scott Determines to Document the Border LoreAs he grew and both illness and boyhood passed him by Scott was acutely aware that the tales had been embellished down the centuries, lost nothing in the telling. He was, however, determined to record the rich history of the Border glens before it was lost forever. His quest was made the more urgent by reason of the numbers of people who were leaving their native valleys to seek employment in the Border towns which were now embracing the industry resulting from the mechanisation of the textile industry. Many were leaving the plough and moving to the mill towns, enticed by a regular occupation that was not subject to the vagaries of harvest and animal welfare.

Scott visits the Border ValleysIn his late twenties and early thirties, Scott wandered through all the Border valleys such as Liddesdale, Eskdale, Ewesdale and Teviotdale and visited all of the local farmers. He was amazed at the wealth ofsong, poem, chant and anecdote that the families had at hand; all handed down by word of mouth from generation to generation for many a hundred year. He duly recorded all that was recited, sung and chanted.

The Minstrelsy of the Scottish BorderThe result of Scott's 'forays' into the Border valleys was the publication in 1802 of his 'Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border'. The book is a magnificent record of the lives and deeds of the Border people of the English\Scottish Borders from a time when men lived by their wits, were answerable to neither government or authority, and engaged with a hearty will in the clan feuds, even blood-feud.

The Dowry of Scott's MinstrelsyScott may have further embellished the Border Lore, naturally he had a vested interest in promoting anyone by the name of Scott, but his 'Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border' has ensured that today we know of the martial prowess of the Border Reivers, their lives lived under constant threat from neighbour or enemy from across the Borderline. In the 'Minstrelsy' we learn of the exploits of such notorious reivers as Kinmont Willie,Armstrong of Gilnockie, Hobbie Noble of the Crew, and the man who was the outstanding character on the English\Scottish Border, Walter Scott of Branxholme and Buccleuch.

The 'Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border ' breathes life into the times of the Border Reivers.

Sources:'Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border' by Sir Walter Scott.

The copyright of the article Reivers - The Border Ballads in UK/Irish History is owned by Thomas William Moss. Permission to republish Reivers - The Border Ballads in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

A Border Reiver Tower