Reiving Season – A Hallowed Contract

On the Scottish Borders, harvest season has always been a time to settle the score, not only with neighbors, but with nature herself. As a descendants of Border Reiver families we still honor this season as a time to renew bonds and keep the spirit of our ancestors alive – but without stealing.

Illustration from Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1587 ed.) depicting forays led by Henry Percy (Hotspur) and his father, the Earle of Northumberland.

The Lawful Season

Reiving season stretches from the feast of Lammas to November Eve [1] on the Anglo‑Scottish Borders. Marked by the first reaping of corn, it is a season of fairs, kinship, and sharing when communities could replenish their provisions by rustling livestock and goods from neighboring clangs without recrimination. Riders demonstrated feats of prowess and bravery, protecting and procuring herds as they were driven from summer pastures to winter grounds.

Beyond its theatre, Reiving was a game with an important goal - to ensure their population had adequate supplies for the following season. Yet, despite a partiality for stealing, cunning and wit, the Reiving season was far from unruly. It was subject to strict Border laws which protected the sovereignty of individuals, our ancestors and the land.

 [2]

The Bon Accord

For those of the Old Faith, the Reiving season is more than history. It is a tradition shrouded in myth. We celebrate the Good Law, the sacred bond between our people, our gods and the cycles of nature, recognizing we all subject to one universal law to which we all adhere. This accord is the center of our beliefs and informs our ethics.

The custom of Reiving is a manifestation of the Good Law, teaching our ancestors to live favorably with each other - to manage fluctuating resources, settle property disputes without bloodshed and train warriors in the non-conventional tactics for which they became famed.

It also reminds us to act with courage and generosity, to be accountable and keep our word. When we uphold the Good Law, our families flourish. Breaking our oaths will bring hardship and discord.

Settling the Score

Reiving season calls us to balance debts and renew bonds. Debts can be paid with open-handed generosity and bounty claimed. Traditionally it was a time when property boundaries were reinforced by walking or riding around their perimeter, treaties were renewed, truces were declared and couples betrothed. We still follow this practice in a modern sense. By season’s end, it is up to us to be in good standing with family, neighbors, law and land.

Divine Patrons

These contracts are witnessed by a higher power - a thrice-born mystic figure who oversees covenants, who sees all and speaks truth. In polite company he is simply called ‘The Son’ or Mabon from the old Cumbraic tongue – a title which bridged Christians and adherents of the Old Faith and allowed his presence to endure. [3]

A less prominent, but equally important divinity associated with the Reiving season is the Mother, the Madron. Her modest title, ascribed to several crumbling chapels in western Galloway, hides her complex nature. We recognize her as the white goddess of Dawn, patron of horses and riders who led the first raid. A formidable goddess, she is as equally gentle as she is fierce like the Border women she represents. [4]

These two deities, Mother and Son, represent the importance of tribal relationships between whom no debt can exist.

The Final Raid

The Reiving season traditionally closes on Hallows Eve with saining rites and feasting. [5] Livestock unlikely to survive the winter would be butchered at this time of year, bounty apportioned and provisions stored for winter.

To ensure the magical prosperity of the community, the final raid of the season belongs to the mischievous guisers who function as agents of equilibrium. Rob’s mother recalled visiting door-to-door, performing tricks to earn treats. In other regions, households would leave an array of food out for guisers to gather for a communal feast. Both customs underly a worldview of our ancestors - Spirits of calamity seek out the miserly. Charity will bring prosperity and protection.

Coming Home

As the veils between worlds become thin, our thoughts naturally turn to the chthonic realms. Lamps placed at windows and crossroads to call our Reiving kin home, still guide wandering souls. These spirits will be our guests on Hallows ‘eve, celebrating among our honored ancestors and divinities, who promise us care in the afterlife and the opportunity to be reborn among our loved ones.

A Living Tradition

Although we have put aside our spurs, the tradition endures in our family.  We strive to embody the Border philosophy: to live with integrity, courage, and generosity and hold fast to what is right.

Meanwhile our fairy brethren – the good people – continue their raids in the mists between realms. We look forward to the next Reiving season when our hearts will ride with them again, and the company of our ancestors.

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[1] Considered to be Aug 1 to October 31, subject to regional variation.

[2] To learn more see Border Reiving - An Iron-Age-Relic

[3] The god of contracts is also called Esus and Belinus in Celtic languages. His character is likened to the Prussian deity Picoulas and the Indo-European Mitra / Mithra / Mithras, which is different to modern interpretations of Mabon as he appears in the Mabinogion. In his Christian form, he is represented as the Christ-child and Son on God.

[4] A local variant associated with Rigantona, Macha or Epona who gives birth to the tribe. She is known locally as Saint Madrine or St Modron - although these are seen as different saints in Celtic Christian hagiography the similarity of names affords some cross-over. See Reins, Rapture and Rigantona: Exploring the Gift of Awen.

[5] Sine - spells and prayers of protection, equivalent to the Gaelic Sain and old Scots Sane or Sin.