Clan Armstrong Betrayed

Johnnie Armstrong was a notorious Border Reiver from Gilnockie near Langholm. These Reivers were bands of armed men who lived and fought in the lawless area around the English border. They would ride across the border in lightning raids, stealing as much as they could before disappearing off home. They didn’t just terrorise English lands though, the Border Reivers were constantly fighting with each other.

Many Kings saw them as a necessary evil. They may have operated outside of the law, but they were a barrier to any southern neighbours creeping north. When the time came for the Scots army to fight, battle hardened men like the Reivers were badly needed. King James V took a different view. He decided that Johnnie Armstrong had grown too powerful and was now a threat to his Royal authority.

Around 1530, the King sent an invitation to Armstrong to join him on a friendly hunting expedition. The clansmen dressed in all their finery, ready to meet the King and his courtiers. Instead of a warm welcome, Armstrong found that he was the prey of this particular hunt.

A large Royal army ambushed the Armstrongs and the teenage King James prepared to dispense his Royal judgement. He had been angry before, but when James saw how richly these lowly Border Reivers were dressed, he was furious. As King, he should have been the most impressive person there.

Any ideas of a fair trial were gone now and Johnnie Armstrong’s pleas that the King had promised their safety were ignored. The men were all hanged from trees in the woods and Clan Armstrong would never be the same again. News of Armstrong’s betrayal shocked communities across Southern Scotland and King James V had damaged his reputation forever.