The borderers - people forged and hardened by endemic warfare over
generations, whether by raids and skirmishes or set piece battles - are
marked even today as a distinct group. For three savage centuries
England and Scotland, both dynamic races, slogged it out upon this arena
of nations. John Sadler knows this ground and its people; he is one of
them. For half a century he has traversed the borderland, and has
taught, enacted and written about them. The feuds were pursued with
increasing savagery and even when not in outright conflict, the names on
both sides continued their 'feids' or vendettas in crazy bloodletting
for decades, with cycles of escalating violence creating a dizzying maze
of interlocking enmities that was beyond all reason. Here is a book that
weighs the evidence from a plethora of sources to provide a compelling
history of this border conflict. In the modern political scene, with the
issue of a second referendum pending, the theme of a cultural identity,
forged in the fury of those Border wars, forms a pivotal theme in the
debate.
