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Newes from Scotland - declaring the damnable life and death of Dr. Fian, a notable sorcerer is a pamphlet printed in London in 1591, and likely written by James Carmichael, who later advised King James VI on the writing of his book Daemonologie. It describes the North Berwick witch trials in Scotland and the confessions given before the king, and was published in Daemonologie by King James in 1597.
Witchcraft in Orkney possibly has its roots in the settlement of Norsemen on the archipelago from the eighth century onwards. Until the early modern period magical powers were accepted as part of the general lifestyle, but witch-hunts began on the mainland of Scotland in about 1550, and the Scottish Witchcraft Act of 1563 made witchcraft or consultation with witches a crime punishable by death. One of the first Orcadians tried and executed for witchcraft was Allison Balfour, in 1594. Balfour, her elderly husband and two young children, were subjected to severe torture for two days to elicit a confession from her.
Elspeth Reoch was an alleged Scottish witch. She was born in Caithness but as a child spent time with relatives on an island in Lochaber prior to travelling to the mainland of Orkney.
Marie Lamont, also referred to as Mary Lawmont (1646–1662), was executed for witchcraft during the reign of Charles II just after Witchmania had peaked in the United Kingdom. Her youth at the time of her execution made her case unusual.
Beatrix Leslie was a Scottish midwife executed for witchcraft. In 1661 she was accused of causing the collapse of a coal pit through witchcraft. Little is known about her life before that, although there are reported disputes with neighbours that allude to a quarrelsome attitude.
Margaret Burges, also known as 'Lady Dalyell', was a Scottish businesswoman from Nether Cramond who was found guilty of witchcraft and executed in Edinburgh in 1629.
Bessie Wright was a healer in Perthshire who was accused of witchcraft in 1611, 1626 and then again in 1628.
Alison Pearson was executed for witchcraft. On being tried in 1588, she confessed to visions of a fairy court.
The Survey of Scottish Witchcraft is an online database of witch trials in early modern Scotland, containing details of 3,837 accused gathered from contemporary court documents covering the period from 1563 until the repeal of the Scottish Witchcraft Act in 1736. The survey was made available online in 2003 after two years of work at the University of Edinburgh by Julian Goodare, now a professor of history at the University of Edinburgh, and Louise Yeoman, ex-curator at the National Library of Scotland, now a producer/presenter at BBC Radio Scotland, with assistance from researchers Lauren Martin and Joyce Miller, and Computing Services at the University of Edinburgh. The database is available for download from the website.
The Witches of Bo'ness were a group of women accused of witchcraft in Bo'ness, Scotland in the late 17th century and ultimately executed for this crime. Among the more famous cases noted by historians, in 1679, Margaret Pringle, Bessie Vickar, Annaple Thomsone, and two women both called Margaret Hamilton were all accused of being witches, alongside "warlock" William Craw. The case of these six was "one of the last multiple trials to take place for witchcraft" in Scotland.
Margaret Barclay, was an accused witch put on trial in 1618, 'gently' tortured, confessed and was strangled and burned at the stake in Irvine, Scotland. Her case was written about with horror by the romantic novelist Sir Walter Scott, and in the 21st century, a campaign for a memorial in the town and for a pardon for Barclay and other accused witches was raised in the Scottish Parliament.
Witches of Scotland was a campaign for legal pardons and historic justice for the people, primarily women, convicted of witchcraft and executed in Scotland between 1563 and 1736. A formal apology was made on 8 March 2022. The aim was also to establish a national memorial for the convicted from the Scottish parliament.
Margaret Duchill was a Scottish woman who confessed to witchcraft at Alloa during the year 1658. She was implicated by others and she named other women. She was executed on 1 June 1658.
George and Lachlan Rattray were accused of witchcraft in Inverness. They were apprehended in 1704, allegedly guilty of "the horrid crimes of mischievous charms, by witchcraft and malefice, sorcery or necromany". They were tried locally under a commission from the Lords of the Privy Council, and sentenced to execution in the January of 1706.
Magdalene Blair was accused as a witch in Stirling in the 17th century.
Katherine Campbell was a maidservant accused of theft and witchcraft during the last major witch hunt in Scotland, the Paisley witch trials.
Issobell Fergussone or Isobel Ferguson was a Scottish woman who confessed to witchcraft in Dalkeith, Edinburgh during the year 1661.
Anna Tait or Anne Tait, also known as 'Hononni', was accused of witchcraft in Haddington, East Lothian in 1634 and executed in 1635. Her case revolved around her feelings of grief and guilt which caused her suicidal thoughts for the murder of her first husband and the death of her beloved daughter following a botched home abortion.
Beatrix Watsone was accused of witchcraft in 1649 at Corstorphine Parish Church, Edinburgh, and died of suicide before trial.
Isobel Elliot, sometimes called Isobell Eliot, was a woman accused of witchcraft from Peaston, near Ormiston in East Lothian. She was tried as a witch in Edinburgh during 1678, and executed on 20 September 1678 at Peaston by being strangled and burnt at the stake.
References
- 1 2 Harrison, John G. (1998). "Women and the Branks in Stirling, c.1600 to c.1730". Scottish Economic & Social History. 18 (2): 114–131. doi:10.3366/sesh.1998.18.2.114. ISSN 0269-5030.
- ↑ Larner, Christina; Lee, Christopher Hyde; MacLachlan, Hugh V. (1977). A source-book of Scottish witchcraft: Comp. by Christina Larner, Christopher Hyde Lee und Hugh V. M[a]cLachlan. Glasgow: SSRC Project on Accusations and Prosecutions for Witchcraft in Scotland. ISBN 978-0-85261-145-6.
- 1 2 Goodare, Julian; Yeoman, Louise; Martin, Lauren; Miller, Joyce (2010). "The trial of Bessie Stevenson". Trial Details - T/LA/1130 Bessie Stevenson. doi:10.7488/ds/100 . Retrieved 28 July 2023.
- ↑ Goodare, Julian; Yeoman, Louise; Martin, Lauren; Miller, Joyce (2010). ""the details of the accused"". The Survey of Scottish Witchcraft: Accused Details A/EGD/306. doi:10.7488/ds/100 . Retrieved 28 July 2023.