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Authors: Jim Eldridge
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Borneo, but in other parts of south-east Asia …’
‘I was thinking more of it being found in Britain,’ said Georgiou gently. ‘Historically speaking, that is.’
‘Of course.’ Moody nodded. ‘Forgive me. I tend to get carried away. Well, it did happen here, obviously. Mainly among the Celts.’
‘The Celts?’ asked Georgiou.
Moody nodded again.
‘As I’m sure you know, Inspector, at the time the Romans arrived to occupy Britain, the dominant peoples here were the Celts. It is generally reckoned they had come here fromcontinental Europe, particularly Gaul. Now, of course, France.’
Georgiou nodded to show that he was following her.
‘The Celts spread across Britain, into Wales, up into Scotland and, of course, Ireland, the three countries that still retain a great deal of Celtic culture. Not least in their language. Gaelic in Ireland and Gallic, spelt Gaelic but pronounced Gallic, in Scotland.’
Georgiou nodded again.
‘And the heads?’ he asked gently, before this developed into a full-blown history of the Gaelic-speaking peoples of the world.
‘You know that this area was settled by the Brigante tribe of Celts when the Romans arrived?’ she said.
I do now, thought Georgiou. He decided if he said ‘No’, he and Tennyson would just get a big lecture on the sub-cultures of the Celtic tribes in northern Britain, so instead he just nodded and gestured for Moody to continue.
‘The Brigantes, along with the other Celtic tribes, believed that if they took the heads of their enemy, they would at the same time be taking their power. So, the more heads they collected, the more powerful they became.’
‘What did they do with the heads once they’d collected them?’ asked Tennyson.
‘They built them into the walls of their encampments. Again, the same phenomena can be found in parts of south-east Asia. Walls built of human skulls. I find it fascinating that cultures so far apart geographically are so close culturally. Don’t you, Inspector?’
‘I do indeed, Ms Moody,’ agreed Georgiou. ‘What aboutthe Border Reivers?’
‘Ah.’ Moody beamed happily. ‘Now that’s a different topic altogether, and one on which Tullie House has an enormous amount of material. Another fascinating phenomenon: a culture of family lawlessness which has echoes on the other side of the globe, notably in Canada and parts of middle America. Although that could be, of course, because so many Scots were exiled to North America, either through poverty or punishment. Did you know that when the Americans landed on the moon in 1969, the three men who stood on the podium at the big celebrations were all from Reiver families? Neil Armstrong, the astronaut, Richard Nixon, the President, and Billy Graham, the church leader. History follows us through time!’
‘But did they collect heads?’
Moody looked at him and frowned.
‘Heads?’ she repeated. ‘The Border Reivers?’
‘Yes,’ said Georgiou.
Moody shook her head.
‘Good heavens, no,’ she said. ‘Head collecting is associated with pagan religions. The Reivers were Christians. Well, at least nominally. The image of the Christian religion is the Hanged God, not the beheaded one. Are you familiar with Frazer?’
‘Which Frazer would that be?’ asked Tennyson.
‘Sir James George Frazer,’ said Moody. ‘The Golden Bough.’
Georgiou shot a quick glance at Tennyson and saw that his sergeant looked as bewildered as he did. Moody spotted this and went on to explain.
‘The first volume was published in 1890 and it’s never been out of print. It is the classic study of magic and religion.’
‘I see,’ murmured Georgiou. ‘When were the Reivers operating again?’
‘I think I can safely say the organized lawlessness that one associates with the Reiver families first came to notice in the middle of the thirteenth century,’ said Moody. ‘The Law of the Marches was introduced in 1249 to try and bring order to the region. These attempts failed,
‘I was thinking more of it being found in Britain,’ said Georgiou gently. ‘Historically speaking, that is.’
‘Of course.’ Moody nodded. ‘Forgive me. I tend to get carried away. Well, it did happen here, obviously. Mainly among the Celts.’
‘The Celts?’ asked Georgiou.
Moody nodded again.
‘As I’m sure you know, Inspector, at the time the Romans arrived to occupy Britain, the dominant peoples here were the Celts. It is generally reckoned they had come here fromcontinental Europe, particularly Gaul. Now, of course, France.’
Georgiou nodded to show that he was following her.
‘The Celts spread across Britain, into Wales, up into Scotland and, of course, Ireland, the three countries that still retain a great deal of Celtic culture. Not least in their language. Gaelic in Ireland and Gallic, spelt Gaelic but pronounced Gallic, in Scotland.’
Georgiou nodded again.
‘And the heads?’ he asked gently, before this developed into a full-blown history of the Gaelic-speaking peoples of the world.
‘You know that this area was settled by the Brigante tribe of Celts when the Romans arrived?’ she said.
I do now, thought Georgiou. He decided if he said ‘No’, he and Tennyson would just get a big lecture on the sub-cultures of the Celtic tribes in northern Britain, so instead he just nodded and gestured for Moody to continue.
‘The Brigantes, along with the other Celtic tribes, believed that if they took the heads of their enemy, they would at the same time be taking their power. So, the more heads they collected, the more powerful they became.’
‘What did they do with the heads once they’d collected them?’ asked Tennyson.
‘They built them into the walls of their encampments. Again, the same phenomena can be found in parts of south-east Asia. Walls built of human skulls. I find it fascinating that cultures so far apart geographically are so close culturally. Don’t you, Inspector?’
‘I do indeed, Ms Moody,’ agreed Georgiou. ‘What aboutthe Border Reivers?’
‘Ah.’ Moody beamed happily. ‘Now that’s a different topic altogether, and one on which Tullie House has an enormous amount of material. Another fascinating phenomenon: a culture of family lawlessness which has echoes on the other side of the globe, notably in Canada and parts of middle America. Although that could be, of course, because so many Scots were exiled to North America, either through poverty or punishment. Did you know that when the Americans landed on the moon in 1969, the three men who stood on the podium at the big celebrations were all from Reiver families? Neil Armstrong, the astronaut, Richard Nixon, the President, and Billy Graham, the church leader. History follows us through time!’
‘But did they collect heads?’
Moody looked at him and frowned.
‘Heads?’ she repeated. ‘The Border Reivers?’
‘Yes,’ said Georgiou.
Moody shook her head.
‘Good heavens, no,’ she said. ‘Head collecting is associated with pagan religions. The Reivers were Christians. Well, at least nominally. The image of the Christian religion is the Hanged God, not the beheaded one. Are you familiar with Frazer?’
‘Which Frazer would that be?’ asked Tennyson.
‘Sir James George Frazer,’ said Moody. ‘The Golden Bough.’
Georgiou shot a quick glance at Tennyson and saw that his sergeant looked as bewildered as he did. Moody spotted this and went on to explain.
‘The first volume was published in 1890 and it’s never been out of print. It is the classic study of magic and religion.’
‘I see,’ murmured Georgiou. ‘When were the Reivers operating again?’
‘I think I can safely say the organized lawlessness that one associates with the Reiver families first came to notice in the middle of the thirteenth century,’ said Moody. ‘The Law of the Marches was introduced in 1249 to try and bring order to the region. These attempts failed,
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