Reivers - Wardens of the Border Marches
Law Enforcement on the English\Scottish Frontier
Oct 20, 2008
The Border line between England and Scotland runs from the Solway Firth in the west to the North Sea in the east. In medieval times the Line was hotly contested; its very presence as the division between two countries created hostility between the people who lived on each side of it. The hostility would escalate to the point where the law of both countries had little meaning to a people whose only allegiance was to their clan leaders. They had little or no respect for national authority or monarchy.
The Need for Control in the Borders Resulted in the Appointment of the March Wardens
Following the implementation of the Border Laws six distinct districts, three on each side of the Border Line, were formed. These were known as the East, Middle and West Marches. A person of standing was chosen to oversee each March. He was known as the March Warden. His remit was onerous as his number one priority was the organisation, control and leadership of the inhabitants of his March in time of war between the two countries. He was also required to maintain law and order at all times within his Wardenry. He needed to be chief of police, diplomat, soldier, spymaster and sound negotiator.
The Scottish March WardensIn Scotland the great warlords who controlled the local clans were invariably chosen to act as Wardens. This approach by the Scottish monarchy was never to change in the time that the Scottish Wardenries existed. It would only result in disharmony in the Scottish Borderlands as time after time friction and disunity was the result of clan leaders vying for the position. In the Scottish West March the rivalry between the Maxwells and Johnstones, as alternatively each of the heads of these clans held the role, resulted in a feud between the two clans which would reach its zenith in the 'Battle of Dryfe Sands' in 1593. Victory for the Johnstones was only achieved through the slaughter of almost all the Maxwells present at the battle. To this day it remains the biggest family feud in British history.
The English March Wardens
Prior to the reign of Elizabeth 1 a similar position existed in England. She recognised, however, that the petty feuding that existed as a result of the appointment of members of notable English Border families did little to create a harmonious working order. The fostering of such appointments was at the heart of the lack of any control and order in her fractious Border country. She followed a different approach whereby the holder of the office of Warden should come from outside the Border region, either from a family of note or from the English aristocracy. The notion might have been sound in essence but it did little to bring amity and unity to the English Borders. The local gentry resented the appointment of men who had little knowledge of the Border country, its people and their way of life.
The March Wardens in ActionThe March Wardens encountered many problems in endeavouring to control the people of the Borders. The Border clans acknowledged little allegiance to any but their own people and paid little heed to outside authority. Under Border Law marriage between people from the two countries was forbidden and classed as March Treason, punishable by death. The threat had little effect and the Wardens often found themselves embroiled in sorting crime where it was sometimes impossible to reach a conclusion which did not incur the animosity of a family which ostensibly they represented.
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