BattlefieldsJedburgh Raid and Execution of Reivers 1602
Tudor

Jedburgh Raid and Execution of Reivers 1602

1602
Roxburghshire, Scotland
Also known as: Jedhart Justice 1602 · Jedburgh justice executions
Era
Tudor
Battle Type
Skirmish
Location
Roxburghshire, Scotland
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Border reiver clans
Forces
c.100–200 reiver clansmen
VS
Victor
Scotland (James VI)
Forces
c.200–400 Crown forces
Outcome
James VI's agent Dunbar conducted summary executions of reiver leaders across the Scottish Borders; Jedburgh became synonymous with justice without trial
The Battle

History & Significance

The phrase 'Jedhart Justice' — hang first, try afterwards — became proverbial from the methods of James VI's agent George Home, Earl of Dunbar, who conducted mass executions of reiver leaders in 1602–1603 without troubling overmuch with legal niceties. The campaign was extraordinarily effective precisely because it abandoned the corruption and half-measures that had characterised previous attempts at Border governance. It marked the end of four centuries of endemic border violence.

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