XVII. Whoever deserted his commander and comrades, and abode not in the field to the uttermost, his goods were forfeited, and his person liable to punishment as a traitor.
XVIII. Whoever bereft his comrade of horse, spoil, or prisoner, was liable in the pains of treason, if he did not make restitution after the right of property became known to him.”[37]
These military regulations, at once minute and comprehensive, were drawn up by William, Earl of Douglas, with the assistance of some of the most experienced Marchmen; and, with the necessary alterations, were adopted by the English—thus indicating that they were thoroughly in harmony with the military spirit of the age on both sides of the Border.
VI.
THE DAY OF TRUCE.
| “Our wardens they affixed the day, And as they promised so they met. Alas! that day I’ll ne’er forget!” |
| Old Ballad. |
he arrangements made for dealing with offences against Border law, though of a primitive, were by no means of an ineffective, character. All things considered, they were perhaps as good as could have been devised in the circumstances. During the period when Border reiving was most rampant, though the population was by no means sparse, little or no provision had been made for detaining prisoners in custody. The jails were few and far between, and such as were available were generally in such an insecure and ruinous state that, unless strongly guarded, they were almost useless for the purpose for which they existed. But imprisonment had other inconveniences which militated against its being resorted to with much frequency. Prisoners had to be provided for when under “lock and key,” and, as provisions were difficult to procure, it was generally found more advantageous to leave those who had broken the laws to “fend” for themselves until such times as they were wanted. As might be expected in such circumstances, the accused person not unfrequently took “leg-bail,” and passed into another district, or, perhaps, crossed the Border, and sought refuge among the enemies of his country and his clan. This expedient, in those lawless and disordered times, was no doubt occasionally successful—for the nonce—but sooner or later the evil-doer was either betrayed by the enemy, or, resuming his old habits—which was almost a necessity—brought himself under the special notice of the warden of the district to which he had fled. He thus placed himself, as it were, between two fires, and made further immunity from prosecution practically impossible. When it came to the knowledge of the warden that an accused person had passed into another wardenry, he at once certified the warden opposite, requiring him to apprehend and deliver the prisoner with all possible speed; and he was bound, after receiving this notice, to make proclamation throughout his wardenry “by the space of six days after of the said fugitive,” and also to certify the other two wardens of the realm “to proclaim the fugitive throughout all the bounds of their wardenries, so that none could proclaim ignorance, or excuse themselves when charged with the wilful receipt of the aforesaid fugitive so proclaimed.”