I found this story on the internet and thought it was very interesting. Many of you may have read this but might want to read it again. I just saw the movie "The other Boylen Girl". It was good and reminded me of how the Tudor's came into power. Malcolm III, the 85th King of Scotland greeted Siward Barn the White (his cousin) with great kindness, and together they fought against William the Conqueror, driving him out of Northumbria. An interesting story apparently involves Siward the White Fairbeorn during a battle against England. During this battle, King Malcolm's horse was killed under him partially crippling him and young Siward fought his way to the King's side. Passing his left arm around the King's body under his arms, he reportedly fought his way with a great Sword through the enemy to a place of safety. For his courageous act he was knighted by the King, given land and a castle on the Scottish border, and from that time on was referred to as the Sword of the Strong Arm (or Armstrong). This was how he and his descendants came to inherit the lands of Mangerton in Liddesdale. These lands, known as the Debateable Land, were disputed for centuries by both Scotland and England. As time went on they were protected by neither nation and, as the Armstrongs were of both Anglo and Danish descent, they were entirely different from the Celtic Clans of Northern Scotland. As a result of blood ties and loyalties not unlike those of the Mafia in Sicily some centuries later, these Clans avenged blood for blood for centuries. In this environment it is not hard to understand how a reputation for plundering, bloodshed, and violence came to be tied to these marauders of the border lands. Little is said about the Armstrongs after the building of the Mangerton Tower, probably in 1135. Apparently no Chief was immediately recognized until 1300 when Alexander became the first Lord of Mangerton. Stories abound of the enmity between the Armstrongs and their neighbors the Lords of Soulis. For example, Alexander, the second Lord of Mangerton, was treacherously killed by William, Lord Soulis, after being invited to a feast at his castle. The Armstrong Clan flourished, however, and by the early 1500s, the Laird of Mangerton was able to gather 3,000 mounted fighters. One Scottish king said that while there were Armstrong and Elliots on the Border, Scotland was safe. The Armstrongs were ambassadors, earls, knights, farmers and above all, fighters. For example, Gilbert Armstrong, third son of Alexander, the second Lord of Mangerton, a distinguished clergyman and diplomat was the Canon of Moray from 1361 to 1375. In 1363 he served as a Commissioner to England for the ransom of King David II of Scotland who was held as a prisoner in England. In all there were ten Lords of Mangerton from Alexander through Archibald Armstrong who was denounced as a rebel in 1603, deprived of his lands in 1610, and executed at Edinburgh. What happened to change our fortunes so greatly? James IV of Scotland was on good terms with the Scottish Border chiefs and he regularly visited and was entertained by them. His son, James V of Scotland, on the other hand, ruled by decree from distant Edinburgh and did little to protect his Border subjects or support them against repeated English incursions. In fact, in 1530, James V, with some 8000 men at arms surged into the borderlands and the betrayal of the Armstrongs began. Johnnie Armstrong, Laird of Gilknockie, was a much beloved and highly respected member of the Armstrong Clan, who James V invited to parlay. Accepting the King's invitation, he and 50 of his men went to meet with the King in good faith. Instead, they were seized and summarily executed. This incendiary act outraged the Armstrongs and their allies and set the Borders ablaze with rage and indignation-- increasing the violence and bloodshed it was intended to suppress. At the prodding of the King, the Church also entered the fray and the Armstrong's and other Border reivers were cursed by the Church excommunicated enmasse. The Armstrongs, with other Borderers, were thus left to their own devices so far as mutual self-defense was concerned. Receiving neither aid nor comfort from the Scottish or from the English Crowns, the Armstrongs and other Border clans were forced to become makers of their own laws and protection. After Edward I of England slaughtered thousand of Scots at Berwick, self-defense and preservation became their paramount endeavor. The Borderers were forced to become the best in what had become a profession - a greater thief (raider) did never ride was one complimentary description of an Armstrong, Jock O'Syde, in Liddesdale. They would raid by night and attend Carlisle Market by day, greeted by all who knew them. Unable to do more than bare subsistence farming, the cupboard was frequently bare. When the lady of the house served her Laird a pair of spurs on a plate, this meant it was time to ride and raid the other side of the Border yet again. The bloodshed and violence continued. In 1603, Elizabeth I died and James VI of Scotland (James I of England) was declared her heir. After a splendid coronation at Westminister Abbey, James settled down to life at the English Court. One of his highest priorities was the suppression of the Border families like the Armstrongs, as he was afraid that their incursions would make him unpopular in England. As a result, he established powerful landlords in the Debateable Land around Liddesdale and Eskdale, and appointed Sir William Cranston to put to death all within two miles of the Border. A large number of Armstrong reivers were tortured and hung at the Market Cross in Edinburgh, at Carlisle and no doubt on a number of local gibbets. The last Armstrong raid of any importance took place in 1611 and for it, Lance Armstrong of Whithaugh - along with others - was executed a year later. Cranston generated the first forced migrations to Ireland and the subsequent Undertaking of the Plantation of Ulster in 1608. In the 18th century, farms were merged and more migrations followed. The Armstrong lands of Mangerton passed into the hands of the Buccleuchs. Many members of the once powerful Armstrong Clan were shipped off to Ireland, including Johnnie Armstrong's grandson, William who settled in Fermanagh. Thus, many who had survived found themselves on the Solway shore waiting for emigrant ships to take them from an inhospitable homeland. Homeless, leaderless, and sometimes penniless, they went westward to Ireland and North America, and south to Australia and New Zealand in search of new beginnings. Perhaps the most famous descendent of the Fermanagh Armstrongs was Neil Armstrong, the American astronaut and the first human to set foot on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. The dissolution and dispersal of the Armstrongs followed some two hundred years of Border brigandage and treachery, ending in the depopulated areas and vast estates of the present day Whithaugh, Mangerton and Gilknockie, which had at one time been the Clan's greatest strongholds. A proud and courageous family had been reduced to a smattering of broken men. The Armstrongs have been scattered and now have neither chief nor recognized leader. However, as individuals the Armstrongs have survived and have lived up to their clan motto of "Invictus Maneo" or "We Remain Unvanquished." Phyllis Murphy Home Interiors & Gifts Accessory Specialist IF IT IS TO BE IT IS UP TO ME.