The reivers

"From the early fourteenth century to the end of the sixteenth, the Anglo-Scottish borderlands witnessed one of the most intense periods of warfare and disorder ever seen in modern Europe. As a consequence of near-constant conflict between England and Scotland, Borderers suffered unimaginably at the bands of marauding armies, who ravaged the land, destroying crops, slaughtering cattle, burning whole settlements and killing indiscriminately. Forced by extreme circumstances, many Borderers took in reiving to ensure the survival of their families and communities. For the best part of 300 years, countless raiding parties made their way 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. Often they returned under cover of darkness, leading their precious cargo of stolen livestock through desolate landscapes in order to avoid detection." "The story of the Reivers is one of survival, stealth, treachery, ingenuity and deceit, and is brought to life in Alistair Moffat's new book."--Jacket.