The Steel Bonnets: The Story of the Anglo-Scottish Border Reivers
"A remarkably successful book on a fascinating subject, well organized and well written." —Time's Literary Supplement

From the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries, outlaws reigned supreme on the contentious frontier between England and Scotland. Feud and terror, raid and reprisal were the ordinary stuff of life—and a way of survival. Power was held by the notorious border reivers (the “steel bonnets,” named for their flashy helmets), clan-loyal raiders, freebooters, plunderers, and rustlers who robbed and murdered in the name of family: the famous clans—like Elliot, Armstrong, Charlton, and Robson—romanticized by Sir Walter Scott. They were the last opponents to the Acts of Union of 1707, and fought fiercely and fancifully to the end.

In The Steel Bonnets, George MacDonald Fraser, author of the bestselling Flashman novels and himself a borderer, takes us back through three centuries of conflict, telling the fascinating and bloody story of the reivers. He relates their rise to power as ferocious soldiers on horseback, their important roles in the battles at Flodden and Solway Moss, and their surprisingly sudden fall from grace. The Steel Bonnets is a superb work of serious history and scholarship that is as irresistibly compelling as any novel.

Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history—books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
1100071437
The Steel Bonnets: The Story of the Anglo-Scottish Border Reivers
"A remarkably successful book on a fascinating subject, well organized and well written." —Time's Literary Supplement

From the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries, outlaws reigned supreme on the contentious frontier between England and Scotland. Feud and terror, raid and reprisal were the ordinary stuff of life—and a way of survival. Power was held by the notorious border reivers (the “steel bonnets,” named for their flashy helmets), clan-loyal raiders, freebooters, plunderers, and rustlers who robbed and murdered in the name of family: the famous clans—like Elliot, Armstrong, Charlton, and Robson—romanticized by Sir Walter Scott. They were the last opponents to the Acts of Union of 1707, and fought fiercely and fancifully to the end.

In The Steel Bonnets, George MacDonald Fraser, author of the bestselling Flashman novels and himself a borderer, takes us back through three centuries of conflict, telling the fascinating and bloody story of the reivers. He relates their rise to power as ferocious soldiers on horseback, their important roles in the battles at Flodden and Solway Moss, and their surprisingly sudden fall from grace. The Steel Bonnets is a superb work of serious history and scholarship that is as irresistibly compelling as any novel.

Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history—books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
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The Steel Bonnets: The Story of the Anglo-Scottish Border Reivers

The Steel Bonnets: The Story of the Anglo-Scottish Border Reivers

by George MacDonald Fraser
The Steel Bonnets: The Story of the Anglo-Scottish Border Reivers

The Steel Bonnets: The Story of the Anglo-Scottish Border Reivers

by George MacDonald Fraser

Paperback(Reprint)

$14.99 
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Overview

"A remarkably successful book on a fascinating subject, well organized and well written." —Time's Literary Supplement

From the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries, outlaws reigned supreme on the contentious frontier between England and Scotland. Feud and terror, raid and reprisal were the ordinary stuff of life—and a way of survival. Power was held by the notorious border reivers (the “steel bonnets,” named for their flashy helmets), clan-loyal raiders, freebooters, plunderers, and rustlers who robbed and murdered in the name of family: the famous clans—like Elliot, Armstrong, Charlton, and Robson—romanticized by Sir Walter Scott. They were the last opponents to the Acts of Union of 1707, and fought fiercely and fancifully to the end.

In The Steel Bonnets, George MacDonald Fraser, author of the bestselling Flashman novels and himself a borderer, takes us back through three centuries of conflict, telling the fascinating and bloody story of the reivers. He relates their rise to power as ferocious soldiers on horseback, their important roles in the battles at Flodden and Solway Moss, and their surprisingly sudden fall from grace. The Steel Bonnets is a superb work of serious history and scholarship that is as irresistibly compelling as any novel.

Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history—books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781632204561
Publisher: Skyhorse
Publication date: 05/19/2015
Edition description: Reprint
Pages: 432
Sales rank: 356,917
Product dimensions: 8.20(w) x 5.20(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Geroge MacDonneld Fraser was the author of the famous Flashman Papers series and the Private McAuslan stories. He worked on newspapers in Britain and Canada. In addition to his novels he also wrote numerous films, most notably The Three Musketeers, The Four Musketeers, and the James Bond film Octopussy. George Macdonald Fraser died in January 2008 at the age of eighty-two.

Table of Contents


Introduction: The Border Reivers     1
The Making of a Frontier     11
Hadrian draws the line
The moving boundaries
England v. Scotland, 1286-1500
People of the Marches     31
Border country
"A martial kind of men"
Food and shelter
The riding surnames
Hands across the Border
Bangtail and company
The game and the song
"Shake Loose the Border"     83
Lance and steel bonnet
How the reivers rode
Nothing too hot or too heavy
A parcel of rogues
Carleton's Raid
Hot trod and red hand
The ability to kill
The Wardens of the Marches
Leges Marchiarum
Days of truce
The unblessed hand
Terror, blackmail, kidnapping and "decaie"
"Fyre and sword upon Tuesday next"
The Long Good-night, 1503-1603     209
Flodden and after
The Devil, and Lord Angus
Armstrongs in action
A rope for Black Jock
The violent peace
The road to Solway Moss
The rough wooing
Wharton and Maxwell
England's grip broken
The Debateable Land
The women's touch
Queen on the Marches
The Countess and the reivers
The last armies
Reidswire and Windygyle
The stirring world of Robert Carey
"Fyrebrande"
Lances to Carlisle
The Carleton Brothers
The Middle Shires     353
Carey's ride
Breaking the Border
Malefactors of the name of Graham
The thieves dauntoned
After the riding
Afterword   Thomas Meagher     381
The Archbishop of Glasgow's "Monition of Cursing" against the Border reivers
The ballad ofKinmont Willie
Bibliography
Glossary
Index
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