- Scottish Marches
The Scottish Marches is a term for the
border country on both sides of the border betweenScotland andEngland . From theNorman conquest of England until the reign of James VI of Scotland, who also becameJames I of England , border clashes were common and the monarchs of both countries relied on March Lords to defend the frontier areas known as theMarches .On both sides of the border there were the West March, the Middle March and the East March. These regions nearly mirrored each other but there was some overlap between the Scottish and English regions.
Berwick-upon-Tweed a strategic town on the north bank of theRiver Tweed , (the traditional border in the East March), is slightly closer toEdinburgh than Newcastle. It was fought over many times (between 1147 and 1482 the town changed hands between the two nations more than 13 times), as late as the reign ofElizabeth I of England , the English considered it worth spending a fortune on the latest style offortification s (trace italienne ) to secure the town against Scottish attack. [ [http://www.berwick.org.uk/berwick/berwick.htm Berwick upon Tweed: The Historical Walled Town] ]ee also
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Border Reivers
*Debatable Lands , land lying between England and Scotland, formerly in question to which it belonged, when they were distinct kingdoms.
* TheScots' Dike which was dug in 1552 to divide up the Debatable lands.
*Welsh Marches , betweenEngland andWales References
* [http://www.theborderers.info/index.html The Borders] website: [http://www.theborderers.info/laws1.html Border Laws]
Further reading
* [http://www.battlefieldstrust.com/index.asp The Battlefields Trust] [http://www.battlefieldstrust.com/media/315%2Epdf Map of the fortified sites in the Scottish Marches] 1415 and additions by 1541
* The Middle March of Scotland (2007) by Dr. Anna GroundwaterFootnotes
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