Fierceness and the Reivers

For centuries, reiving families terrorized the border between England and Scotland, stealing livestock, goods, and people. They were fiercely clannish, territorial, and violent. Their disregard for law and monarchy caused much trepidation for the authorities, and in 1535 the Archbishop of Glasgow issued the Monition of Cursing, a 1000-plus-word Curse on the heads of the reiving families and all they called theirs. 

The original curse includes the following words:

"I curse their heid and all the hairs of thair heid; I curse thair face, thair ene, thair mouth, thair neise, thair tongue, thair teeth, thair crag, thair shoulderis, thair breist, thair hert, thair stomok, thair bak, thair wame, thair armes, thais leggis, thair handis, thair feit, and everilk part of thair body, frae the top of their heid to the soill of thair feet, befoir and behind, within and without.I curse thaim gangand, and I curse them rydland; I curse thaim standand, and I curse thaim sittand; I curse thaim etand, I curse thaim drinkand; I curse thaim walkand, I curse thaim sleepand; I curse thaim risand, I curse thaim lyand; I curse thaim at hame, I curse thaim fra hame; I curse thaim within the house, I curse thaim without the house; I curse thair wiffis, thair barnis, and thair servandis participand with thaim in their deides. I way thair cornys, thair catales, thair woll, thair scheip, thair horse, thair swyne, thair geise, thair hennes, and all thair quyk gude. I wary their hallis, thair chalmeris, thair kechingis, thair stanillis, thair barnys, thair biris, thair bernyardis, thair cailyardis thair plewis, thair harrowis, and the gudis and housis that is necessair for their sustentatioun and weilfair."

"And all the vengeance that evir was takin sen the warlde began for oppin synnys, and all the plagis and pestilence that ever fell on man or beist, mot fall on thaim for thair oppin reiff, saiklesse slauchter and schedding of innocent blude. I disserver and pairtis thaim fra the kirk of God, and deliveris thaim quyk to the devill of hell, as the Apostill Sanct Paull deliverit Corinthion. I interdite the places thay cum in fra divine service, minitracioun of the sacramentis of halykirk, except the sacrament of baptissing allenerlie; and forbiddis all kirkmen to schriffe or absolbe thim of theire synnys, quhill they be firs abolyeit of this cursing."

The Curse ends with these words:


"And, finally, I condemn them perpetually to the deep pit of hell, to remain with Lucifer and all his kind, and their bodies to the gallows of the town hill, first to be hanged, then rent and torn with dogs and swine and other wild beasts, an abomination to all the world.  And their candles go from your sight, just as their souls go from the vision of God and their good fame from the world, until they forbear their open sins, before mentioned, and arise from this terrible cursing and make satisfaction and penance.”

The nature of the warlike Reivers continues on in the blood of the people of Appalachia, many of whom bear the surnames of reiving families. 

Indeed, there may be Reiver's blood running somewhere in my own veins, and I can feel the wild ridiculing laughter of defiance that the reiving families would have expressed when they heard that the Cursing was read in every Scottish church in the borderlands. To those poor, those fierce, those half-wild Reivers, the unfairness of too little land and too much pride and punishment would have been enough of a curse that the Bishop's paltry words would stand disregarded. 

There is poor, fierce, wild, prideful blood in us all, but I feel it in myself most strongly when I witness unfair treatment of the innocent, or when a storm is coming on and the sky is swirling half-light, half-dark. I feel it when I look at what is mine, and what I want for my own. I feel it when my palm is wrapped around a weapon, and when I understand arguments for the use of violence.

I think of the Reiver women. 

A Reiver's woman looks at doors in a different way. She knows that she may have to go through them, and figures the quickest and quietest way to do so. 

A Reiver knows the price of cattle is a hard ride in the night and a short struggle with swords.

A Reiver's woman knows the price of cattle is loneliness in the night and watchfulness in the day.

Reiver women are sharp and warm and mean and expansive to those that are theirs. To all others they show stone faces.

A Reiver's woman carries her curse in the hardness of her knuckles, and she carries her freedom in the softness of her palm. A Reiver's woman has the wide eyes that come from constant watching of the horizon.

A Reiver's woman has desperation in her voice that comes from trying to keep her man's hand-touch in her remembrance. 

Reiver women watch their children with fondness and hope and a fierceness that knows their future is fire and flame. Reiver women glare at the moon as if they have been given something that they have found to be half-rotted. 

A Reiver's wife sings softly to her stolen calves, and wears her stolen gold with ragged pride. She bides her time, and strikes with love and pride in the same intense way that her man strikes with fear and fire.