- Pronouns
- he/him
Discuss this article by @David Flin here
One thing worth mentioning is that with the notable exception of nomads, a motivation (beyond profit) for counter raiding is that professional raiders especially with mounts are very hard to catch in the act in days before standing armies so stopping raiding could often be futile, its hard to defend everywhere and hard to catch people on the move. But their own homestead is generally stationary and a deal easier to find and a deal more burnable. Even if the individual in question and their family is not present when you arrive, if they're spending the next few weeks or months rebuilding their shelter so they don't freeze to death over winter they're probably less likely to be a bother in the near future.
And, of course, as an expansion of this, raiders can be bought off. That was, apparently, the origin of the term "blackmail", or "black meal." From the Border Reivers (inevitably); a riding family would offer protection to a settlement in return for payment. That payment meant that the riding family wouldn't burn down the houses of those who paid it. Quite often, the riding family would "settle scores" from any others who did.
The English and Scottish governments both outlawed the paying of such protection money (but curiously, demanding such payment was quite legal). The law was, as usual, completely ignored in the Borders, which continued with their habits.
You mention societies shape the armies that fight, but to an extent the armies fighting often shaped societies as periods of intense violence and lawlessness (I repeat myself) generate reactions that echo down the centuries.
[Insert Here] minds think alike?Huh. You're almost quoting from my last chapter.