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

From the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries, outlaws and "border lords" 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: clan-loyal raiders, freebooters, plunderers, and rustlers who robbed, murdered, and wreaked havoc. These "steel bonnets" (named for their helmets), both fierce and fanciful, were the last opponents of the rule of law before the Acts of Union of 1707. George MacDonald Fraser takes us back through three centuries of conflict, showing how border society was born and grew; how the region affected the tense diplomacy between England and Scotland; how the reivers became known as ferocious soldiers and played important roles at Flodden and Solway Moss; and how, with surprising suddenness, the world of the reivers disappeared. In The Steel Bonnets, Fraser has crafted a fascinating work of serious history and scholarship that is as irresistibly compelling as any novel.