|
This page is a stub. You can help improve it.
Nearly 4,000 people are known to have been accused of
witchcraft in early modern Scotland.
Of the 3,212 named
individuals, we know the sentence of a trial in only 305 cases.
205 of these were to be executed, 52 were acquitted, 27 were
banished, 11 were declared fugitive, 6 were excommunicated, 2
were put to the horn (outlawed), 1 person was to be kept in
prison and 1 person was to be publicly humiliated. In addition,
a further 98 were recorded as having fled from prosecution. This
seems to suggest that 67%, two-thirds, were executed. 84% were
women and 15% men.
Many 'witches' were defined as witches
by their neighbours, through a process of gossip and
quarrelling. Witches were believed to be malicious and vengeful.
If someone suffered a misfortune after a quarrel, they might
conclude that the other person had bewitched them in revenge. In
trials involving neighbours' testimony, the accused witch is
often seen to have lived with their reputation for a long time —
twenty or even forty years. These witches were old when they
were tried, but they were younger when they first acquired their
reputation.
The Witchcraft Act was in force between 1563
and 1736. Between these years there were five episodes that
stand out as periods of high level accusation and prosecution of
witches: 1590-1, 1597, 1628-30, 1649 and 1661-2. These episodes
of high level accusation were not national but were the result
of a number of local or regional activities, particularly the
Lothians. Prosecution in other parts of Scotland was more varied
and many areas follow a very different chronological pattern to
that of the Lothians.
Torture was used to exact
confessions — though we don't know how often, as the records
that survive in most cases aren't the kinds that mention it. In
theory, torture was only to be used with the permission of the
state; however in reality it would seem that torture was
frequently used without any official permission. It was not
until after the 1661-2 period of high level witch accusations
that the privy council issued a declaration that torture was
only to be used with its permission. Despite this, torture
continued to be used in many cases, even as late as 1704.
The most common form of torture was sleep deprivation — a
very effective way of obtaining confessions, because it leads to
hallucination. Before 1662 this was rarely regarded officially
as torture at all. It was usually done by local authorities —
burgh bailies, or elders of the kirk session—in order to get the
evidence that they needed before they went to the privy council
to obtain a commission to hold a criminal trial.
Occasionally, physical tortures were used — particularly in the
'North Berwick' witchcraft panic of 1590-1, where the witches
were accused of treason against King James VI. The pamphlet
Newes from Scotland (1591) describes these tortures with relish.
But they were unusual.
The 'swimming test' was hardly
ever used in Scotland, though it was in some other countries.
It's often said that witches were detected by dropping them in
water. If they floated they were guilty; if they sank they were
innocent—but they drowned. This is a misunderstanding, since
ropes were tied to them to pull them out of the water. In
Scotland the swimming test was used for an unknown number of
suspects in 1597, but it seems to have been discredited on that
occasion, and we have found no evidence that it was ever used
again.
Trial details
| Accused |
Notes |
| Agnes Bouglass |
of Pencaitland; no details, listed with 5 others |
| Jean Daglas |
of Haddington; Part of the large number of people
denounced by James Welch. He was deemed too young to
stand trial so he was imprisoned. But his confession and
some of his denunciations were taken seriously by the
authorities. |
| Beatrix Douglas |
of Inverkeithing; Implicated by another witch;
ministers sent to encourage their confession; |
| Christine Douglas |
of Leith; Execution method: Strangle & Burn |
| Elspet Douglas |
of Haddington; |
| Hellen Douglas |
of Inverkeithing; |
| Issobell Douglas |
of Dowally, Dunkeld; |
| Janet Douglas |
of Canongate, Edinburgh; harged with having had a
familiar and consulting evil spirits but no specific
demonic details.
|
| Janet Douglas |
of Aberdeen; Executed |
| John Douglas |
of Tranent; played the pipes at the meetings; wore
green clothes (an elf/fairie element) |
| Jonet Douglas |
of Tranent; Implicated by another witch |
| Jonnet Douglas |
of Fisherrow, Dalkeith; Robert Douglas, a
baillie of Musselburgh, was a commissioner |
| Magaret Douglas |
of Dunfermline; |
| Margaret Douglas |
of Kirkcaldy; Witnesses reported to the presbytery
that MD had been requested to attend a woman in ?labour
or who was ill. The women recovered after MD took her by
the hand but the servant who had opened the door then
took ill and later died. A child also died. Not Proven |
| Margaret Douglas |
of Crichton, Dalkeith; Confessed to becoming a witch
after falling out with her daughter. She confessed to
being a witch for 13 years. There was dancing at the
witches meetings at which the devil was present.
Execution method: Strangle & Burn |
| Unknown Dowglass |
of Kerymuir, Angus; |
Others:
Lady Janet Douglas of
GlamisJennet Douglas, a 'dumbe girl' of Pollock and Stirling, who uncovered
witches
An apology
In 2022, Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland, marked
International Women's Day 2022 by apologising for the thousands
of women executed or convicted of being witches in Scotland
hundreds of years ago.
The First Minister insisted it was
important to acknowledge that "injustice on a colossal scale"
had taken place which she said was driven "at least in part" by
misogyny.
Opening a Holyrood debate on IWD, Ms Sturgeon
said: "At a time when women were not even allowed to speak as
witnesses in a court room, they were accused and killed because
they were poor, different, vulnerable, or in many cases just
because they were women."
She told MSPs: "Today, on
International Women’s Day, as First Minister on behalf of the
Scottish Government, I am choosing to acknowledge that egregious
historic injustice and extend a formal, posthumous apology to
all those accused, convicted, vilified or executed under the
Witchcraft Act 1563.
"Now, some will ask why this
generation should say sorry for something that happened
centuries ago – though it might actually be more pertinent to
ask why it has taken so long.
"But, for me, there are
three reasons. Firstly, acknowledging injustice, no matter how
historic, is important.
"This parliament has issued,
rightly so, formal apologies and pardons for the more recent
historic injustices suffered by gay men and by miners and we are
currently considering a request for a formal apology to women
whose children were forcibly adopted.
"Reckoning with
historic injustice is a vital part of building a better
country."
See also:
Douglas Ghosts
Black Agnes Douglas and Sawney Bean
|
