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The Border Reivers |
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The end of the Reivers came about following the accession of James VI to the English throne. Almost as soon as he came to power, he acted to suppress illegal activity in the Borders, dissolving the Marches and rounding up the most notorious criminals. Those not on the receiving end of ‘Jethart Justice’, which amounted to hanging without trial, were deported or sent to fight in the Low Countries.
The Border Ballads are an example of the tendency to create heroes by glorifying particular aspects of history. This phenomenon is found in many societies. The Reivers have been compared to the outlaws of the American West or to 20th Century gangsters. In common with the Reivers, these groups have also inspired romantic tales of bravery and heroism, with the less palatable aspects of their behaviour being glossed over.
Smailholm Tower, near Kelso , close to the farm where Walter Scott spent time as a child
© Scran |
In perpetuating the myth of the Revier hero, Sir Walter Scott was not altering the spirit of the existing Ballads. However, in emphasising the national rivalry along the Border, he was imposing his own ‘cultural patriotism’ on history. As Moffat points out, it was at this time that ‘The Borders’ came to mean the Scottish Borders rather than the Marches, and it is to Scott that we owe much of the popular perception of the romantic past of the Borders.
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