Borders and boundaries, frequently of a contested political nature, are a recurring location of outlaw hero traditions. As far back as the ninth century the epic hero of Byzantine culture, Digenis Akritis, was known as the ‘twiceborn border lord’, a reference to his dual Arabic and Byzantine parentage. His warrior deeds along the often-troubled borders of his part of the world, real and not so, have been celebrated in Middle Eastern and Greek epics ever since. The Ottoman Empire's uneasy lapping at the borders of what is now Greece also produced endemic and long-lasting forms of brigandage, within which a number of outlaw heroes were born.

Further north, years of war turned the French–German borders of the late eighteenth century into poorly policed zones of brigandry. Local mafias practiced extortion, abduction and a form of torture known as ‘chaufferage’ in which the soles of unfortunate hostage's feet were burned to make them reveal where their goods were hidden. Like Chinese bandits, these gangs had their own secret language and were adept at disguise and deception. The most notorious leader was Johann Buckler (1779–1802), known as ‘Schinderhannes’, or ‘John the Scorcher’. He was a great escaper around whom the usual tales of outlaw heroes swirled, including his alleged befriending of the poor.