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Mary Queen of Scots

THE ANGLO-SCOTTISH BORDERS IN THE REIGN OF MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS

Originaly prepared by: Rouji Choudhury, Emma Forletta, Clara Graham, Claire Harden, Carla Holden, Mary Jefferson, Lucy Johnson, Stephen McCann, Natalie Porch and Sheila Small.

and Edited by

Anna Murray and Barry Harden of Cowdenknowes, Baron of Cowdenknowes

The Border area between Scotland and England runs from the Lammermuir Hills through the Southern Uplands west to Galloway, and on the English side from Northumberland to Cumberland in the west. These areas encompass some of the most delightful yet desolate countryside in the United Kingdom. On the whole the Border country is mountainous and hilly. Winding rivers, webs of valleys and gullies and sporadic hills dominate the horizon.

The Tweed Basin is one of the major physical constituents of the whole area. The River Tweed's ninety seven mile course flows west to east winding through to Berwick and also encompasses some of the most important features of the Border region including the Cheviots, Lammermuirs and even parts of Liddesdale.

The physical development of the Border area has developed over the course of four or five million years. Violent earth movements shifted and compressed upwards, moving strata into a ridge and valley system. The rolling hills on both sides of the Border offer a glimpse into how difficult it was to maintain law and order in such an area, where it was both easy to penetrate and difficult to control in times of peace and war.

Understanding the Borderers is no simple task of unravelling neatly interwoven threads. The Borderline was constantly crossed by the tangled strands of blood kinship, marriage, vendetta and alliance.

Borderers survived at each other’s expense. The vast majority lived in poverty and by the sixteenth century the Borderland was considerably overpopulated. With both finance and provision in short supply it is far from surprising that men took to reiving, which is thieving and plundering each other merely to survive. This was the foundation that the sixteenth-century Border way of life was built upon and all aspects of life was affected and altered by it. The houses were simple because of the likelihood of destruction, and they contained little furniture. Clothing was simple and food was extremely basic.

Central government, especially in Scotland was weak and decentralised. Consequently it exerted little authority over the Borderers. However, society did have a structure and the family name was everything. The nobility, particularly in England, were capable of exerting some feudal authority. The family was the key organisation in society and they joined together for mutual protection, thus establishing a ‘one for all and all for one’ mentality. Any Borderer who was discovered without the backing or support of a chief clansman was sentenced to become a ‘broken man’, an outlaw. If an entire surname was outlawed they became a ‘broken clan’ and often passed into the other kingdom for sanctuary, or sought the ‘Debatable Land’ where they could exist as professional thieves.

There were three Wardens of the Marches on each side of the Border responsible for capturing criminals, administering justice, and collecting intelligence on behalf on the government. Political and social matters between Scotland and England came together in special meetings known as ‘days of truce’. These were supposed to be at regular intervals to attend to the grievances of the other. The dates were craftily manipulated to suit, but rough justice was, in one way or another, eventually reached. Verdicts were passed on the common complaints of murder, kidnapping, wounding, robbery and arson. Relations between the English and Scottish Wardens were often erratic, to say the least, since each was seen as an agent of the traditional enemy – they were always ready to cause trouble in each other’s marches; in fact it was often national policy to do so.

On the Scottish Borders it was the same families who usually took up office – the Maxwell’s, the Kerr’s, and the Cessford's. With few exceptions, the appointed Wardens were local men. The government had little choice in this matter because no outside man was capable of exerting sufficient order over the Scots Borderers.
The Sheriffdom was the basic local sententious and administrative unit of medieval Scotland. The Sheriffs were the most effective representatives of the Crown. Their efficiency depended though on effective royal control, which the crown, weakened by continuous war with England, frequent minorities and the prevalence of faction rule, could but infrequently provide. In England, the Council of the North had considerable jurisdiction in the Borders. There were four sessions held each year lasting a month at a time. However, its business was only partly judicial since it also had the job of supervising the Wardens and ensuring the Acts were properly carried out. Similarly, In Scotland, the Privy Council sought to enforce co-operation in the first place by summoning the most important and powerful Borderers. These men were summoned to discuss various aspects of the frontier problems, and to give the council the benefit of their advice.
There were two main methods of keeping order on the Border – the taking of bands and the submission of pledges. By subscribing to a ‘general band’ the Borderer undertook to ‘keep good rule’, each being accountable for the good behaviour of his own tenants and adherents.The Borderer in question placed his lands and goods in legal jeopardy; as material security guaranteeing his promise. If no landowner would accept responsibility for a clan or group then human pledges were used. The principle was really much the same as the general band.Responsibility to bring a clansman accused of a crime was given to the pledger, and should this fail to happen then the pledger would himself be punished according to the nature of the crime.

Tower houses were a vital aspect of the Border warfare, since they were fortified homes and bases used to fend off invaders from attack. These buildings were scattered across the Anglo-Scottish Border.
For obvious reasons, tower houses had to be impregnable structures. This is why they were mainly tall, imposing buildings with thick walls. Defensive features that were common included gun loops, a moat, machicolations, portcullis slots and chambers, shovel-ended arrow slits and guardrooms. Their function was to withstand attack, while also being able to counter-attack.
It is important to remember that although tower houses were fortified structures and represented the physical base of the power of the important Borderers, they were still homes in which people lived. They also functioned as the administrative centre for the area.

 

The year 1542 saw the reopening of hostilities between England and Scotland. The English army, under Norfolk, entered Scotland in October. They caused a large amount of damage; Roxburgh, Kelso and its abbey were just a few of the casualties. However, a lack of supplies caused the English to retreat. The force devastated a large area of the Borders, yet it was hardly victorious.
It was now the turn of the Scots to revenge the devastation wrought on their Borders. Yet the attempt ended in disaster for the Scots at Solway Moss. The lack of unity among the Scots had made Wharton’s job all the more easy and over a thousand prisoners were taken.
James added to the already precarious state of the nation by dying 19 days after the battle. He left his daughter Mary, the week-old infant as his heir. Henry, inspired by the victory decided to seek the marriage of his son Edward to the infant Queen of Scots. However, after long negotiations and some progress with the Treaty of Greenwich in July 1543, it became clear that he was unlikely to achieve his aim through negotiation. The Scottish Parliament annulled the Treaty in December.
Throughout the summer of 1544 some 192 towns were destroyed and hundreds were killed. The campaign was carried into 1545, but the Scots were not totally despondent as Angus proved in February with the Scottish victory at Ancrum Moor. Towards the end of Henry’s reign warfare between England and Scotland tailed off.

Border Warfare 1547-1550

With Somerset as Lord Protector, the period 1547-1550 saw a renewed and intensified effort by the English to achieve control of Scotland. But, the goal of union through the marriage of Mary and Edward was tackled with quite a different approach. Previous invasions had been of limited success as they retreated so soon after their destruction had been wrought. Instead, his programme consisted of the establishment and subsequent maintenance of military bases that would create a ‘pale’ of English control within Scotland and bring to heel inhabitants within their reach.
The commencement of Somerset’s long-term plans was a crushing defeat of the Scots at the Battle of Pinkie. Preparations had been operative for months beforehand and included the strengthening of existing Border forts namely Berwick, Holy Island, and Wark. Following the victory, Somerset and his army established a series of garrisons in southern and eastern parts of the country. English forces were stationed at Hume Castle, Roxburgh Castle and Eyemouth on the Scottish Borders. In the same weeks, Wharton, aided by Lennox, was battering areas of the West March.
Garrisons had a multi-purpose nature. They were intended to dominate

the traffic and hinterlands of Scotland’s great coastal rivers; act as bases from which new holds could offer aid and protection to troops; extend the line of border; attack the property of Scots who refused to support the English, protecting those who did assure and employing them to harry their fellow countrymen.
If Somerset’s initial success had held he might have won, however, French intervention on the side of the Scots soon swung back the balance and introduced a new element of conflict upon the Borders. Henri II was anxious to restore and extend French influence in Scotland. Fearing considerable French intervention, the English effected a frantic yet relatively well-organised escalation of their position in the winter of 1547-48. The style of fortification employed by Somerset dramatically transformed the situation that the French forces encountered upon their arrival. This was the ‘trace italienne’ method. However, within little more than a year the French had firmly entrenched themselves in Scotland. Somerset’s grip on the Scottish Borders was gradually loosened. The English garrisoning of Scotland became unworkable. Some of the strongholds were abandoned due to economical, manning and victualling problems. Others fell to the enemy at the end of 1548 and during 1549. Using Jedburgh as his subsequent base, D’Esse made some successful expeditions across the English Borders.

Scots Dyke and the French on the Borders

Along the Border, Northwest of the River Esk and east as far as the River Sark, lay a strip of land no more than 12 miles long and 4 miles wide, which was referred to as the ‘Debatable Land’. The area was a cause of great concern to the governments of both realms, for it was a lawless district in which no crown jurisdiction operated. The trouble was that the ownership of the territory was a matter of dispute between the two crowns and consequently neither side could be held responsible for the activities of the people there. Prior to 1552, the government’s solution had been to devastate the land. It was an ineffective solution however, for it had no long-term effect.
By 1552 it was established that ‘the redyst and most convenyent way to further and advaunce the contynaunce of the amytie and peace betwixt the realmes…is…the devysion equally of the said Debatable Landes’. The overseer of the whole affair was the French ambassador to Scotland, Monsieur D’Oysel. Effectively a line was drawn from the River Sark to the River Esk. The western segment was given to England, while the east belonged to the Scots. Not only did this verdict finally solve the issue of land ownership, but the division also served to separate the two great families of the Debatable Land; the Armstrong’s and the Grahams. Although the area still harboured the worst elements of the frontier, the division made it possible for the Wardens to maintain at least a semblance of order, a distinct improvement. The line drawn on the map soon became a ditch, which is now referred to as Scots Dyke: the first man-made border in Europe.

For the English it was Berwick that was the focus of their re-fortification works in the 1550’s, whilst the French built a large fort near Langholme posing a threat to England.
The conflict that broke out towards the end of the decade stemmed from the war that had resumed between France and Spain in 1556. The English, tied to Spain through the marriage of Mary Tudor to Philip of Spain, were pressured to show support and formally declared war on France in June 1557. The Scots followed suit by launching half-hearted attacks into England in September.
The restoration of the fort at Eyemouth by the French was the major accomplishment of the war of 1557. The French saw Eyemouth as the ideal location for fortification – for storing artillery close to the Border, and as an immediate threat on the English stronghold at Berwick.
 

In 1569 the Borders were still the central point of Anglo-Scottish disagreement, accentuated by the problems in Scotland between those nobles that represented the young King, and those who were still trying to restore Mary to the throne. In April 1570 the English launched a three-pronged attack on the Scottish Borders. The English forces ravaged and burnt the Scottish countryside, destroying 50 castles.
Yet in 1571, events in Scotland changed dramatically, affecting the position of the Borders forever. Civil war broke out in Scotland, with the Queen’s party lead by William Kirkcaldy of Grange entrenched in Edinburgh castle. Elizabeth wanted to be seen as a mediator between the two warring parties and the leading men on the Borders became crucial agents for Elizabeth in Scotland and as mediators in the civil war. After the conclusion of the war and the supremacy of the young king James established in Scotland a new alliance between the Scots and the English became possible. It resulted in the essential change of the Borders, from a disordered, troublesome ‘no-mans land’, to a gateway between the new English-Scottish alliance. And although they were not by any means peaceful, the crucial divide between the two countries had changed forever.

To a certain extent the years 1543-1568 were characterised by the Crown’s struggle to obtain a close control of the Borders. Consequently, numerous attempts (not all successful) to change and improve the existing machinery of Border administration were made by Arran, Mary of Guise, and Mary Stuart. Such reforms generally involved personal input from the regent or monarch and a commitment to visiting the region, in the form of military and judicial expeditions to ensure the effective administration of justice. Such expeditions generally consisted of the holding of a ‘justice ayre’ and a ‘muster’. The justice ayre was a kind of royal law court in the localities to deal with felons that the local authorities were unable or not allowed to deal with. It was often accompanied by a royal force to ensure that punishments were carried out, and justice prevailed. Musters were usually proclaimed in the localities in advance and were designed to search out particular criminals or outlaws. Council meetings were also often attended on these visits.
As Governor, Arran’s first significant expedition to the Borders took place in February 1545, when, at the head of a military force, he attacked the English near Jedburgh and Kelso. Later, in July 1547 Arran drove deep into the south-west and recaptured Langholme from the English. But after this Arran spent little time on the Borders. The last important Border expedition of his political career occurred between October and November 1552. He led his final muster, which met at Jedburgh, and subsequently attended council meetings there. The administrative situation in the Borders was in a somewhat stronger state at Arran’s fall from power than it had been preceding his rise. This was due mainly to the decline of the international threat from England.

Mary of Guise’s period of regency was dominated by Franco-centric policies that inspired her to attempt various reforms of Border administration. She particularly advocated the increased use of general bands and pledges. Mary also instigated and controlled much of the negotiation between English, Scottish and French over the division of the Debatable land. Rather than enforcing punishments on lesser criminals, Mary attempted to use remissions to compel them to reveal the whereabouts of other known criminals. In spite of promising initiatives for the improvement of administration in the localities, most reforms implemented under Mary were ineffective or unable to be consistently sustained. Moreover, due to the French domination of Scottish politics there developed a steadily increasing dislike of Frenchmen and central authorities. This particularly worked against Mary as she had tried to infiltrate the Border administration system with central officials (some of whom were French) to keep a tighter control over affairs there.

Overall, Mary of Guise probably spent less time on the Borders the either her daughter or Arran. The Borders at the end of her period of rule had pretty much reverted back to the turbulent situation they had been in at the advent of her rise to power.

From the time she returned to Scotland on 19th August 1561, Mary, Queen of Scots involved herself in all aspects of government, forming and following moderate policies that generally took into account the needs and desires of her people. This is somewhat reflected in her policies towards the Borders. When possible she liked to travel around her country and she managed to do so in most of the years of her reign. This helped her strengthen ties and loyalties with the Scottish people, especially in places like the Borders, which were usually isolated from the central authorities and, just as importantly, afforded her an insight into their ways of life. As far as can be ascertained these personal visits, conducted to the Borders in 1562-3, 1564-5 and 1566-8, instilled in the inhabitants something resembling an allegiance to their monarch. Furthermore, personal visits enabled Mary to work out for herself the particular problems in the Borders.

However, in a military or judicial role she did not spend a great deal of time in the region. Her first important visit in this capacity was proposed for January 1564, when she intended to hold council at Jedburgh. But due to bad weather and the Queen’s illness this journey was postponed. It eventually took place in October 1565 when the Queen led an expedition to Dumfries. In October of the following year Mary held Justice Ayres at Jedburgh and Kelso and also held a muster at Melrose. Between October and November Mary also attendant with the Council on the Borders. It was during this visit that she embarked on a perilous journey to Bothwell’s castle at Hermitage on 16th October, giving rise to speculations over the nature of their relationship.

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