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| Welcome to my Blog! Wander through wonderful worlds real and fictional, meet interesting people, visit exciting places and find a few good books to enjoy along the way! |
Ride with the Moonlight is set in the sixteenth century on the Anglo-Scottish Border. At that time the area was wild and lawless, ruled by men known as the Border Reivers. After years of warfare between their respective countries, the inhabitants were left to fend for themselves and eek a living out of what was left to them. As a result, the borderers became closer to one another in many ways than they were to their fellow countryman in the Highlands of Scotland or the South of England. They understood and respected each other and would ride for whichever side suited them at the moment. Family ties and a shared experience bound them together, and yet, blood feuds caused rifts between them that could last for centuries.
Into this world, comes Maggie Armstrong, a twentieth century American college student, whose father just happens to be a sixteenth century Border Reiver. When he finds a way to return to his sixteenth century home, Maggie is off on the trip of a lifetime to the wild and untamed Borderland of sixteenth century Scotland and England.
In 1538, the Borders were divided into Marches, three English and three Scottish: the West, East, and Middle Marches. England and Scotland were still two distinct nations at the time, each with its own king. Scotland was ruled by James V and England by Henry VIII, but that’s a discussion for another time
As Maggie is an Armstrong, her family resides on the Scottish side of the border in Eskdale, which today is located in the county of Dumfriesshire, but in 1538, it stands firmly in an area known as the Scottish West March. Her uncle’s peel tower sits just to the northwest of Langholm, atop one of the steep, grassy slopes that overlooks the moors, grasslands and forests of the Esk River Valley. A brook gurgles past the tower, while off in the distance, the sound of the Esk can be heard rushing toward its destination in the Solway Firth.
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| Eskdale (James Denham Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 2.0 Wikimedia Commons) |
Will is a Foster, whose kin are
situated in the modern county of Northumberland, England, though in 1538, his
father’s tower sits amongst the rolling hills of the English Middle March. It
stands guard over the infamous Tynedale, with its moorland, fertile valleys,
forests, and streams. Not far from his father’s tower is Blacka Burn, an
estuary of the North Tyne River, where Will and Maggie build their own cottage
and his brother Walt has his bastle house.
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| Tynedale (Peter McDermott Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Wikimedia Commons) |
The heads of both families possess
impressive strongholds: four story towers of stone, each with beacons on its
crenelated roof to warn of an imminent attack. Within each tower is the great
hall, where feasts are held, and on the upper floors, bedrooms are located for
the family in case of attack. The ground floor has a storage area and room for
cattle, as well as a dungeon of sorts. When peace reigns, however, both Maggie's kin and Will’s family live in a two story stone cottage with a thatched roof.
Along with outbuildings such as a stable, storeroom, and chapel, the entire
compound is surrounded by a fifteen foot barmekin wall, which is two feet thick
and includes a fifteen foot high crenelated walkway.
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| Peel Tower (User: Dave Souza Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Wikimedia Commons) |
The rest of the family, such as Maggie’s
uncle, Andy, and Will’s brother, Walt live in bastle houses. These are smaller two-story
edifices, built of stone. The family lives on the upper floor, while the bottom
floor is for storage and the housing of cattle. The upper floor can only be
reached by a ladder or wooden forestair, much the same as the peel towers.
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| Bastle House (Steve M Creative Commonns Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Wikimedia Commons) |
Finally, those starting out, like Will
and Maggie, as well as the local villagers, might only have small cottages,
generally constructed of stone, with thatched rooves. But they’re never too far
from the peel tower, where they will go for protection and to aid in the fray
during times of attack.
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| Thatched Cottage (Motacilla Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Wikimedia Commons) |
Much of the second book in the series,
however, takes place in the wild and barren hills of the Cheviots to the
northeast of Will’s home. Will and Maggie hide among the rugged passes and
windswept hills of the Cheviots, roaming along winding tracks that can easily
swallow up a man’s trail. Beautiful and desolate, the hills provide coverage
for our pair of fugitives.
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| Cheviots (Eileen Henderson Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0) |
Another important site in book 2 is
the town of Hexham. The market town is located about twelve to fourteen miles
to the southeast of the Foster peel tower, just north of the ruins of Hadrian’s
Wall. It lies in the fertile Tyne Valley and is home to the first purpose-built
gaol in England, a place Will and Maggie are destined to become intimately acquainted
with. It is also the home of Hexham Abbey, which was dissolved the previous
year by Henry VIII, its church given to the parish and some of its buildings
disbursed to Reynold Carnaby, the Keeper of Tynedale. The men of the Tyne
Valley were so wild, the area needed its own governing official in addition to
the warden and his sergeants.
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| Hexham (Rick Macneill Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0) |
There are additional places named in
passing, such as the Bewcastle Wastes and Liddesdale; wild, lawless areas where
a man could get lost or lose his life just as easily. Bewcastle was a town
sitting in the English West March on the edge of the Wastes in what is now the
English County of Cumbria. Liddesdale was much the same, known for its
outlaw inhabitants, but it was located on the Scottish side of the Border, just
north of Will’s home in the English Middle March. Only about twenty miles long,
it made up a valley of the Liddel Water, but its treacherous reputation lay in
its undulating countryside and hidden trails that followed gurgling brooks, as
well as the notorious men who resided there.
To keep my readers from getting lost,
I’ve included a roughly etched map in Book 2, so you can follow Will, Maggie
and company in their travels. Keep an eye out and don’t get caught unaware. You
never know who’s wandering the tranquil valleys and windswept hills.
To find out more about the locations in Ride with the Moonlight, check out my website at www.andrea-matthews.com
You might Also like
Books By Helen Hollick
Website: https://helenhollick.net/
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| Amazon Author Page: https://viewauthor.at/HelenHollick |
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