The Debatable Land Read online

  See plate 14. The names in square brackets are those of features depicted but not named on the map. The lines tracing the proposed divisions of the Debatable Land are reproduced separately (fig. 5).

  On the map’s orientation, see here. The scale is impressively consistent within the shaded area (one of Bullock’s miles is equivalent to about one-and-a-half modern miles). Beyond the Debatable Land, the scale varies and distances are slightly telescoped. The accuracy of the plotting makes it possible to identify most of the unnamed places, from Lochmaben (top left) to Bewcastle (bottom right). The lines indicating cardinal points of the compass are less accurate than the map itself, which correctly shows Liddel Moat as the centre of lines drawn between Tinnis Hill and Arthuret Knoll and between Tower of Sark and Harper Hill. These triangulation points are all visible from the summit of Tinnis Hill.

  Fig. 5: The partition of the Debatable Land on Bullock’s ‘platt’

  The four straight lines on Bullock’s map show the Scottish proposal (1), the English proposal (2), the French ambassador’s compromise (3) and ‘the last and fynal Lyne of the particion concluded xxiiii Septembris 1552’ (4). The dotted line represents the Scots’ Dike or March Bank which marked the new Anglo-Scottish border (here).

  Fig. 6: The colonization of the Debatable Land

  A. From the end of the Bronze Age to the first reiver settlements in the 1510s, the only permanent human habitation in the Debatable Land was in the religious enclave of Canonbie Holm (see here and here). The rectangles are the two temporary Roman camps; the crosses are the medieval perimeter chapels. Inset: settlements and traces of settlement in the surrounding area in the same period. (See here.)

  B. Farmsteads and pele towers in the Debatable Land on Henry Bullock’s ‘platt’, immediately before the partition of 1552.

  C. On the ‘Platt of the opposite Border of Scotland to ye West Marches of England’ produced for Lord Burghley (William Cecil) in December 1590.

  D. On William Roy’s Military Survey of Scotland (1752–5).

  Fig. 7: Ptolemy’s map of Albion and Hibernia (Britain and Ireland), with parts of Gaul and Germany

  The towns, headlands, bays, estuaries, river mouths and islands are plotted on the graticules specified by Ptolemy (11 x 20 for the British Isles, 2 x 3 for Gaul, 3 x 5 for Germany): see here. The graticules determined the relative positions of places and features, not the scale. I have sized the three maps to produce a reasonable cross-Channel fit.

  The coordinates are those of the Codex Vaticanus Graecus 191. This manuscript (referred to as ‘X’) can now be treated as the most authoritative. It was produced in about 1296 and evidently escaped the tampering known as ‘the Byzantine revision’ which corrupted all the other descendants of the lost original. The scribes of ‘X’ gave up copying the tedious numerical coordinates, but fortunately only after reaching Book 5. (Britain and Ireland are at the start of Book 1.)

  Fig. 8: Ptolemy’s atlas of the British Isles

  The lines on fig. 8 represent Roman roads.

  Ptolemy’s map of the British Isles was assembled from several different maps, each of which observed its own conventions (here). The coastal data was faulty, but, plotted on the correct graticule, the coordinates of poleis (towns) – including those of the three ports, Magnus, Novus and Setantiorum – are astonishingly accurate. The area between dotted lines is unrepresented in the data, perhaps because that section of the map of southern Britannia never reached the Library of Alexandria.

  The incorrect latitude and longitude degrees are, in effect, arbitrary and imposed by Ptolemy on the original maps. Any system showing vertical and horizontal positions would have served (e.g. A1, B2, etc.) or, since the triangulated positions on the 4 by 3 graticule turn out to have been calculated by whole-number ratios based on Londinium, 4:1, 5:3, etc., with a cardinal point and an indication of distance.

  The approximate foundation dates of Roman forts and towns suggest that each map corresponds to a stage in the Roman conquest of Britain. Ireland was never invaded, but Roman finds indicate trade and, at Iernis (Stoneyford), civilian settlement: 1) AD 43–50 (lower section), AD 50s (upper section). 2) AD 50–65. 3) AD 70–78. 4) AD 78–81 (lower section), c. AD 83 (upper section). 5) c. AD 90–110.

  Fig. 9: Ptolemy’s atlas of the British Isles

  Fig. 10: Ptolemy’s map of Southern and South-Western England

  The squares are towns on Ptolemy’s map; the circles are the places in their actual locations.

  On the functioning of this unique map, see here. Distances are approximate but bearings from Londinium are remarkably precise, with an average deviation of only 1.8° for the south-west and 1.7° for the rest of the map. In fact, since the survey was based, not on degrees, but on right-angled triangles with whole-number sides, most of the deviations are consistent with the inevitable margin of error. The blatant exception is Rutupiae (Richborough), which deviates from the true bearing by 13.5°. Its coordinates may belong to the faulty coastal data (here) or, since this was the landing site of the invasion of AD 43, to military measurements using water clocks.

  The coordinates of Corinnium (or Corinium) and Calcua (or Caleva) clearly define the positions of Gloucester and Dorchester-on-Thames. Bearings from these two places to the other towns are almost as accurate as they are from Londinium. The only evidence for the Roman name of Cirencester (probably a later, Anglo-Saxon name) is Ptolemy’s misinterpreted map and the muddled Ravenna Cosmography of the seventh century (Coates). Cirencester itself became an important Roman town only about twenty years after the production of the map.

  The map of the far south-west uses a different graticule and takes Isca (Exeter) rather than Londinium as its focal point.

  A section or panel of the original map appears to be missing. Logically, it would have included several other major sites at road junctions: Kenchester, Towcester, Water Newton, etc. The original may have been engraved on metal plates or on stone tablets, like the Roman cadastral map of Orange (second century AD). To fill the gap, Ptolemy or Marinus of Tyre shifted the upper section of the map, which reflects a slightly later stage of the Roman conquest, to the south and west. The seven places in this section are mutually coherent and share the same directional accuracy relative to Londinium.

  Fig. 11a: Ptolemy’s map of Northern England

  On the graticule and orientation of the map, see here and here. In contrast to the previous map (fig. 10), distances are impressively exact. Bearings are slightly less accurate, with an average deviation of 2.5°, excluding the obviously misplaced Isurium (34.5°) and Caturactonium (19.4°). Caturactonium is one of the places for which Ptolemy had ‘modern’ data expressed in length of day, which would explain the inaccuracy (see here). He may have known that Isurium stood on Dere Street between Caturactonium and Eboracum and so inserted it in what seemed the logical position. This exception proves the usual refinement of the mapping since a correct positioning of Caturactonium would have required only a small adjustment: 58° 10', 19° 50' instead of 58° 00', 20° 00'.

  Fig. 11b: Ptolemy’s map of Northern England

  The convergent lines show the process of identifying unknown places:

  1. On Ptolemy’s map (11b), lines were drawn from each town to the place labelled ‘Trimontium’. 2. These lines were transferred – preserving the exact trajectories and relative distances – to a modern, rhumb-line map (11a) on which the known places are correctly positioned. 3. The convergence of lines indicates an area in which the only significant Roman site is the fort of Whitley Castle near Alston (currently assumed to be Epiacum). Conclusion: this ‘Trimontium’, listed among the towns of the Selgovae, cannot possibly have been the fort of Newstead, which lies far to the north and well inside the territory of a different tribe.

  Fig. 12a: Ptolemy’s map of Caledonia

  The lines connecting towns are intended only to facilitate comparison.

  Both sections of Ptolemy’s map (12b) use a 4 by 1 graticule. On a modern scale map, the upper
section would be magnified by one-third. It shows forts established only after Agricola’s advance into northern Caledonia in c. AD 83 and was probably acquired separately.

  Fig. 12b: Ptolemy’s map of Caledonia

  The distension of the map to the south-west suggests that the coordinates for Rerigonium belonged to the less accurate coastal data. Vindogara would be a site near Patna on the supposed Roman road from Ayr if the map is accurate; the bay called Vindogara would suggest Ayr itself.

  Fig. 13: An Iron Age buffer zone in the region of the Debatable Land

  Three tribal territories met in the area of the Debatable Land. A sixteen-mile stretch of the north-south border route was controlled by three different tribes: Damnonii (Colanica/Broomholm), Votadini (Curia/Netherby) and Selgovae (Uxellum/Stanwix, Carlisle). (See here.)

  Fig. 14: The Great Caledonian Invasion (1)

  The sequence of battles fought by ‘British kings’ and ‘Arthur’ according to the Historia Brittonum, identified with the aid of Ptolemy’s restored maps.

  More detailed identifications are given here, here and here.

  1. Mouth of the Glein: Irvine. 2, 3, 4, 5. On the river Dubglas in the Linnuis region: the river Douglas near Castledykes. 6. On the river Bassas: Tassies Height? 7. Celidon Wood: Liddesdale. 8. Guinnion: Lancaster. 9. City of the Legion: York. 10. The shore of the river called Tribruit: Arbeia/South Shields, or Tweedmouth. 11. Bregion/Bregomion: Bremenium (High Rochester). 12. Camlann: Camboglanna (Castlesteads).

  Fig. 15: The Great Caledonian Invasion (2)

  The presumed route of the invaders follows the second-century Roman road network, though the prevalence of maritime and inland ports might suggest a coincident series of raids on the western and eastern seaboards.

  Chronology

  43

  Roman invasion of southern Britannia.

  83 or 84

  Agricola invades Caledonia.

  122 – c. 126

  Building of Hadrian’s Wall.

  142 – c. 154

  Building of Antonine Wall.

  c. 150

  Maps of the British Isles collated by Ptolemy.

  c. 183–4

  Invasion of Scottish lowlands and northern England by Caledonian tribes.

  208–11

  Punitive campaigns of Septimius Severus against tribes north of Hadrian’s Wall.

  400s

  Roman withdrawal from Britannia.

  573

  Battle of Arfderydd.

  600s

  Formation of kingdom (later, earldom) of Northumbria.

  603

  Battle of Daegsastan (Dawstane Rig, Liddesdale?): Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata (Argyll and Antrim) defeated by Æthelfrith, King of Bernicia and Deira (Northumbria).

  c. 828

  Historia Brittonum.

  843–58

  Kenneth MacAlpin, king of the Picts, claims land between Forth and Tweed.

  900s

  Expansion of kingdom of Strathclyde into Cumbria; earliest Viking settlements in Cumbria.

  1018

  Battle of Carham confirms Scottish possession of lands north of the Tweed; Carlisle and Cumbria under Scottish rule.

  1092

  Capture of Carlisle by William II, son of the Conqueror; Anglo-Scottish border set by English but unrecognized by Scots.

  1136

  David I of Scotland takes Carlisle and Cumberland (retaken by England in 1157).

  c. 1153

  Foundation of Canonbie Priory.

  1216

  Alexander II of Scotland takes Carlisle (retaken by England in 1217).

  1237

  Treaty of York confirms Esk–Solway border.

  1245

  October 13 – Scottish and English knights meet at confluence of Reddenburn and Tweed to establish the ‘true and ancient marches and divisions between the two kingdoms’.

  1295

  October 23 – Franco-Scottish Treaty of Paris (‘the Auld Alliance’).

  1296

  March – Edward I sacks Berwick. First War of Scottish Independence (to 1306).

  1297

  September 11 – William Wallace defeats English at Battle of Stirling Bridge and invades Cumberland and Northumbria.

  c. 1300

  First English and Scottish Wardens of the Marches.

  1307

  July 7 – Death of Edward I.

  1314

  June 24 – Battle of Bannockburn: defeat of Edward II by Robert the Bruce.

  1315

  July 22–31 – Siege of Carlisle by Robert the Bruce.

  1328

  March – Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton: confirmation of border.

  1332–57

  Second War of Scottish Independence: Battle of Annan, 1332; Battle of Dornock, 1333.

  1388

  August 5 or 19 – Battle of Otterburn.

  1448

  October 23 – Battle of Sark / Lochmaben Stone.

  1449–57

  Anglo-Scottish treaties confirm ancient neutrality of Debatable Land.

  1474

  Esk fish garth discussed at Westminster (here).

  1482

  Berwick captured by English.

  1485

  August – Accession of Henry VII of England.

  1488

  June – Accession of James IV of Scotland.

  1494

  First survey of Debatable Land boundaries by Scottish and English commissioners.

  1502

  January – Treaty of Perpetual Peace between Scotland and England.

  1509

  April – Accession of Henry VIII.

  1510

  Second survey of Debatable Land boundaries.

  1513

  September 9 – Battle of Flodden Field; death of James IV; accession of James V.

  c. 1516

  Armstrongs and Grahams settle in the Debatable Land.

  1517

  First government raids on the Debatable Land.

  1525

  October – ‘Monition of Cursing’ against the Border reivers by Gavin Dunbar, Archbishop of Glasgow.

  1528

  Before April 2 – William Dacre, English warden of the West March, lays waste to Debatable Land and destroys Armstrong pele tower at Hollows; December 14 – Treaty of Berwick: reconfirmation of neutrality of Debatable Land, to be inhabited ‘neither with stub, stake, nor otherwise, but with bit of mouth for pasturing of cattle between sunrise and sunset’.

  1530

  May – Capture and execution of Johnnie Armstrong by James V.

  1534

  November – Act of Supremacy: Henry VIII ‘the only supreme head in earth of the Church of England’.

  1537

  Legalization of murder, arson, theft, etc. in the Debatable Land. (Proclamation renewed in 1551.)

  1542

  Survey of Anglo-Scottish border by Robert Bowes (also 1551); November 24 – Battle of Solway Moss; December 8 – Birth of Mary Stuart; December 14 – Death of James V; accession of Mary Stuart; Scottish regency.

  1544

  Henry VIII orders devastation of the Scottish lowlands (start of ‘The Rough Wooing’); May 3 – Sack and burning of Edinburgh.

  1545

  February 27 – Battle of Ancrum Moor.

  1547

  January – Death of Henry VIII; accession of Edward VI.

  1548

  August 7 – Mary Stuart sails for France.

  1551

  June – Treaty of Norham: English troops to leave Scotland; Debatable Land to be depopulated.

  1552

  Before June – Map of the Debatable Land by Henry Bullock; September 24 – Decree of the Border Commissioners: Debatable Land to be divided between England and Scotland.

  1553

  After March – Construction of Scots’ Dike / March Bank; July – Death of Edward VI; accession of Mary I of England (Mary Tudor).

  1558

  April – Mary Stuart marries the Da
uphin, son of Henri II; November 17 – Death of Mary Tudor; accession of Elizabeth I.

  1559

  July – Mary Stuart Queen consort of France.

  1560

  August – Scottish Reformation Parliament: abrogation of the authority of ‘the bishop of Rome called the pope’.

  1561

  August – Mary Stuart returns to Scotland after the death of her husband, François II.

  1566

  October 16 – Mary Stuart visits Earl of Bothwell, Keeper of Liddesdale, at Hermitage Castle.

  1567

  July 24 – Forced abdication of Mary Stuart; accession of James VI.

  1569

  December 24 – Roman Catholic ‘Rising of the North’; betrayal of Thomas Percy, Earl of Northumberland, by Hector of Harelaw.

  1575

  July 7 – Redeswire Fray: skirmish between English and Scottish wardens of the Middle Marches at Redeswire (Carter Bar).