Following Bannockburn, Robert Bruce systematically extorted protection payments from the northern English counties — the original meaning of the word blackmail, from the Scots black meaning tribute and mail meaning payment. Durham was required to pay enormous sums to avoid devastation. The priory and city paid thousands of pounds over the years 1315 to 1318 to secure truces with Bruce's raiding captains. The systematic nature of these payments and their documentation in Durham Priory records makes this one of the best-evidenced examples of medieval border extortion.
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