The central and southern Lowlands had been Brythonic, with the southeast coming under the Angles, then by 1034 Alba had expanded to bring the whole area under Gaelic Celtic rule. The Roman conquest of southern Britain certainly accelerated the process, and to the Cumbraes the arrival of the Angles and Saxons. As the Angles moved into Northumbria in the early middle ages, the Britons, after fierce fighting, retreated to the west. They established the Kingdom of Strathclyde, with its capital at Dumbarton; this consisted of modern Strathclyde and Galloway, and reached down into the English Lake District. From the accession King David I (1124), the traditional social patterns of much of eastern Scotland began to be altered, particularly with the growth of burghs and the settlement of French feudal families on royal demesne lands. This process was of course very slow, but its cumulative effect over many centuries was to undermine the integrity of Gaelic in the areas affected, areas which later became known collectively as the Lowlands. Many aristocratic Gaelic clans did in fact survive in form, especially in Galloway (e.g. MacDowall, MacLellan, MacCann), Carrick (e.g. Kennedy) and Fife (e.g. MacDuff). The Welsh line of kings ruled in the Isle of Man for about four centuries, having been led there by Maelgwyn, A.D. 525 and through the Celtic period, the Bishopric of the Isles was first instituted by Pope Gregory IV., in A.D. 840, and had jurisdiction over the Western Islands called the Hebrides. The diocese of Sodor and Man was founded in the Scandinavian period of 1134.
The Border folk had the odd custom of deciding on disupted ownership of land by judicial duel or combat singly or in equal groupings. The winners being accepted as lawful owners. Even the Holy Church had to abide by the unusual form of litigation for its land along the Border had to hire champions. From the time of Alexander II, Borderers offended Pope Honorious III, thereupon excommunicated the King of Scots. In England, Henry and the two kingdoms were at least in harmony on the subject of the Vatican from rebellion of the Celtic north of King Hakon of the Hebrides and the descendants of Somerled of the Isles. Alexander II could to have pacified the north and Galloway by 1235, after King John signed the Magna Carta. Alexander II's father (William the Lion) had a tribe of children from other families. Alexander's uncle David, a titular Earl would become a Lanarkshire ancestor of William Braveheart Wallace and the Annandale Bruces. Alexander II's marriage allegiance with Louis IX of France. Henry III marched north with a large army with Galloway always in revolt. By 1249, Alexander III was aged nine. The old Seven Earls had all but died, leaving most of Dunkeld to Norman lords. Only three former Celtic earldoms (Buchan, Angus, Menteith) held the great lordships of Lochaber and Badenoch and had been given much land in Galloway and was gained by the Comyns.
The roads in the Weald of Sussex, Surrey and Kent were a problem in the mid 16th century. Between 1544 and 1549, the streets of Cambridge, Chester and Calais were paved. There were four great long-distance roads in England. There was the Great North Road from London to Berwick and on across the Border into Scotland. The Watling Street from London to Chester which was used by travellers to Ireland. The Dover Road which travellers used to go from London to Dover for the crossing to Calais and the great road from London to the West to Exeter and on to Plymouth, Devon. The Great North Road left London through Bishopsgate, passed through Islaington, Enfield, Hoddesdon, Ware, Royston, Huntingdon, Stamford, Grantham, and Doncaster on the way to York and continued through Thirsk and Northallerton to Darlington which was an important military post during the campaigns against the Scots. Then on through Durham, Newcastle and Alnwick to the frontier town of Berwick-on-Tweed, the important bridgehead across the Tweed which the English had captured in 1296 and again in 1482 they regarded as the counterpart of the other bridgehead, Calais on the French side of the Channel. The Great North Road continued into Scotland for another sixty miles along the coast by Dunbar and Haddington to Edinburgh and one of only six roads existing in England north of York. The King's Street ran north from Lancaster to Penrith and Carlisle. The sixth road north of York was the road from York to the port of Scarborough where busy trade was carried on with Scandinavia. The road into Scotland from Newcastle by Otterburn across the Cheviot Hills to Jedburgh and Kelso was the nearest way to Edinburgh was the road of the moss troopers on both sides of the Border. Sir Robert Carey rode 340 miles in 12 days from London to Edinburgh to deliver the news of the death of Elizabeth I to James VI Scotland.
The Border Reivers were raiders along the Anglo-Scottish border (Border country), for nearly three hundred years from the late 13th century to the end of the 16th century, although their heyday was perhaps in the last hundred years of their existence. The reivers were both English and Scottish and raided both sides of the border impartially, so long as the people they hit had no powerful protectors and no connection to their own kin. Their activities, although usually within a day's ride of the Border, extended both north and south of their main haunts. English raiders were reported to have hit the outskirts of Edinburgh, and Scottish raids were known as far south as Yorkshire. The main raiding season ran through the winter months, when the nights were longest and the cattle and horses fat from having spent the summer grazing. As soldiers, the Border Reivers were considered the finest light cavalry in all of Europe.
Many Reivers served as mercenaries, both in the Low Countries and in Ireland; such service was often handed down to captured raiders as punishment in lieu of death. In the 1400's, the McNeill's sent heavily armed warriors to fight as mercenaries at the behest of various regional chieftains in their ongoing internecine wars. The clan would eventually split into two affiliated entities, the MacNeill of Bara, and the McNeill of Gigha/Colonsay, under Torquil MacNeil in 1427. Many took part in the plantation of Ulster becoming the people known as Ulster-Scots (Scots-Irish in America). Both Borders were divided into "Marches," under a March Warden, and the respective kingdoms' March Wardens would meet at appointed times along the border itself to settle claims against people on their side of the border by people from the other kingdom. March Wardens were rarely effective at maintaining the law. The Scottish Wardens were usually borderers themselves, and they almost invariably favoured their own clan or were complicit in raiding. Many English Wardens were from southern counties in England, and although less corruptible, could not often command the loyalty or respect of their subordinates or the local population.
The Border country is the hilly area, the Southern Uplands, of Lowland Scotland on both sides of the border between Scotland and England, comprising the modern council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and the Borders, and the English county of Northumberland. Before the two kingdoms were united, the Lowland clans would switch allegiance between the Scottish and English thrones depending on what was most favourable for the members of the clan. Well-known Border clans include the following: Armstrong, Beattie, Bell, Carr, Elliot, Graham, Kerr, Ogilvie, Robson and Scott. In addition, there were Lowland families associated with these clans, including the Ballantyne, Fraser, Jamieson, Henderson, Irvine, Jardine, Moffat, Porteous, Tweedie, and Veitch families, amongst many others. It may not be the largest burgh in the Scottish Borders, but it possesses a great amount of history, tradition and spirit. It was formerly the county town of Selkirkshire. No part of Scottish Borderland, perhaps, is more definitely associated with Wallace than the Forest of Ettrick. It was in Selkirk, supported by nobles and clergy, he was declared Guardian of the Kingdom of Scotland.
The clans emerged from the turmoil of the 12th century and 13th century when the Scottish crown pacified northern rebellions and re-conquered areas taken by the Norse, and after the fall of Macbeth the crown became increasingly Anglo-Norman. This turmoil created opportunities for Norse, Scottish and English warlords with their kin to dominate areas, and the instability of the Wars of Scottish Independence brought in warlords with Anglo-Norman, Anglian and Flemish ancestry, founding clans such as the Camerons, Chisholms, Menzies and Grants. The Scottish Highland clan system incorporated the Celtic/Norse traditions of heritage as well as Norman Feudal society. Chieftains and petty kings under the suzerainty of a High King ruled Gaelic Alba, with all such offices being filled through election by an assembly.
In the 13th century almost one third of the men in England were called either John, Richard or William. The most common surname origins are derived from actual place names. This is particularly relevant to English sur-names. People were given surnames that indicated a specific place name such as London, Ireland, England, Eaton, York or Washington. Another type of place surname described an actual residence, location or workplace such as Hall, Smith, Heath, Bridges, Brook, Castle or Woods. Last names are often derivatives of Nationalities such as English, Welsh, Scott or French. There were also the first names such as William, Phillip, Edward, and Hugh which were changed to create surnames and similar names in this category are those names beginning with Mc, Mac or Fitz. Therefore the history connected to a powerful ancestor could be passed down the generations. Gaelic ones beginning with Ó or Mac immediately identify significant family ties and the heritage of a specific nationality such as Irish or Scottish but the Scottish Gaelic surnames from the highlands were heavily influenced by the Clans while Scottish last names divide into two categories. Scottish ones from the highlands and Scottish names from the lowlands of Scotland. Most Highlanders gave their allegiance to Clans and adopted the surname used by that clan but Scottish sur-names from the lowlands of Scotland tended to be influenced by English names, thus many Scottish names such as Stewart, Cameron and Ross are now commonly used as First or middle names.