button to main menu  Clarke's Survey of the Lakes, 1787

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Page 162:-
Mr Bell says, at a muster taken by the Earl of Huntington in 1584, there were 468 light horsemen, 1100 archers, 1200 billmen, and 1340 able men unfurnished, in Cumberland, but this was probably a general muster of all between 16 and 60.
  border laws
'* The border-laws agreed upon by Commissioners for prevention of such great enormities and mischiefs as have frequently almost undone the borders, and disquieted the peace between the realms.
'The sovereigns on either side shall in all humility be intreated, to choose and establish a council in every march, of the most discreet borderers inhabiting the bounds thereof, who shall convene twice in the year, for such effect and at such time and place as by the particular commissioners shall be appointed unto them. Which border-council, as aforesaid, at their conveenings and meetings, shall make diligent inquiry and trial of all notorious thieves and robbers within their wardenry; and such as they find to be of that quality, they shall inrol them under their hands, and deliver a copy of the same into their Warden; who shall, upon the first attempt that shall be truly tried and fouled upon any of them hereafter, put the said offender immediately to death; or in case he be a fugitive, shall cause him to be proclaimed such, according to the order and custom of the borders, and his house immediately to be demolished and destroyed.'
I shall next insert a code of border laws, may by the Scots borderers only, for the regulation of their own men in making inroads, &c. which is near about the same as those made by the English, mentioned by Mr Bell.
Be it remembered, that on the 18th day of December 1468, Earl William Douglas assembled the whole lords, freeholders, and eldest borderers, that best knowledge had, at the college of Linclouden: and there he caused those lords and borderers bodily to be sworn, the holy gospel touched, that they justly and truly, after their cunning, should decrete, decern, deliver, and put in order and writing, the statutes, ordinances, and uses of marches that were ordained in † Black Archibald of Douglas's days, and Archibal his son's days, in time of warfare; and they came again to him advisedly with these statutes and ordinances, which were in time of warfare before. The said Earl William, seeing the statutes in writing decreed and delivered by the said lords and borderers, thought them right speedful and profitable to the borderers: the which statutes, ordinances, and points of warfare he took; and the whole lords and borderers he caused bodily to be sworn, that they should maintain and supply him, at their goodly power, to do the law upon those that should break the statutes underwritten. Also, the said Earl William, and Lords, and eldest borderers, made certain points to be treason in time of warfare to be used, which were not treason before his time; but to be treason in his time, and in all time coming.
I.
IT is founded and ordained by the law of Marches, that no manner of person, man nor woman, of any degree, shall intercommon with any English man or woman, either in Scotland or England, except the prisoners shall come into Scotland; without special licence of the Warden or his deputy, asked and obtained in time of warfare, under the pain of treason ‡.
II.
IT is statute and ordained, that when it happens that the Warden or Lieutenant, with any fellowship, do pass in England; that what person, for covetise of goods, or singular profit to himself, departs and passes from his fellowship; all the goods that he happens
to
* Bell.
† The same Dougal who settled the days of trewes with Percie, Earl Northumbr', mentioned before.
‡ It is evident from this, how careful they were of their breed. A stout man would not have married a little woman, (be she ever so rich,) and an Englishman was forbid, by the law of Marche, to marry a Scotch woman (be she ever so honest,) so of a Scotchman marrying an Englishwoman. So that dress then was of little signification. What is it now? It has indeed an end in view, as a person lately observed, who says, "That religion and morality are not affected!"
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