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Victims of Scotland Witchcraft Trials

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Persons Affected by the Scotland Witch Trials

This is an ongoing activity of the Scotland Project Witchcraft Team. Our goal is to promote research among Scotland Project members to identify individuals impacted by the Scotland witch trials, with the aim of creating new profiles and enhancing existing ones. Some potential beginning points are suggested below.

Victims with Known Profiles

Review and improve profiles.

Victims with Wikipedia Pages

Reseach and create profiles.

Scotland Witch Trials

The exact timeline and intensity of Scotland's witch trials varied across different regions within Scotland, but the broader period of witch trials spans roughly from the late 1500s to the early 1600s. Documentation on the witch trials and persecution is limited and fragmented. The available records pose challenges for researchers seeking detailed information. Factors like lost or destroyed records, gaps in documentation, and the secretive nature of accusations contribute to the complexity. Despite these limitations, historians strive to uncover Scotland's witchcraft history through careful analysis of existing sources.

Research and create profiles.

North Berwick Witch Trials (1590) [2][3]

  • Margaret Acheson, wife of George Mott
  • Lennit Bandilandis
  • Geillis Duncan
  • Doctor Fian (John Cunningham)
  • Robert Grierson
  • Euphame MacCalzean
  • Alanis Muir
  • Barbara Napier, wife of Archibald Douglas of Carshogle
  • Agnes Sampson
  • Francis Stewart, Earl of Bothwell
  • The Porter's wife of Seaton
  • The Smith of bridge Hallis

Great Scottish Witch Hunt of 1597 (also, Aberdeen Witches). [4][5]

  • Margaret Aitken
  • Isobel Cockie
  • Helen Fraser
  • Marion Grant
  • John Leis
  • Thomas Leis
  • Elspet Leis
  • Violet Leis
  • Janet Leis
  • Andrew Man
  • Marjorie Mutche
  • Christian Stewart
  • Janet Wishart

Trial of Janet Barker and Margaret Lauder at Edinburgh (1643) [6]

  • Janet Barker
  • Margaret Lauder

The Penston Witch Trials of 1649 [7]

  • Margaret Dickson
  • Agnes Hunter
  • Isobel Murray
  • Helen Fairlie
  • Barbara Purdie
  • Helen Lawson
  • John Weir
  • Margaret Robertson
  • Margaret Bartilman
  • Agnes Broun
  • Janet Burgane
  • Margaret Paterson
  • Jean Hunter
  • Marjorie Nisbet
  • John Dickson
  • Marion Richieson

Alloa witches (1658) [2]

Paisley witches (1697) [2][8]

  • Margaret Lang
  • John Lindsay
  • James Lindsay
  • John Reid
  • Catherine Campbell
  • Margaret Fulton
  • Agnes Naismuth

Pittenweem witches (1704) [2][9][10]

  • Agnes Adamson
  • Isobel Adamson
  • Thomas Brown
  • Janet Cornfoot
  • Jean Durkie
  • Margaret Greenhorn
  • Janet Horseburgh
  • Margaret Jack
  • Nicholas Lawson
  • Beatrix Layng
  • Lillie Wallace

The Survey of Scottish Witchcraft [11]

  • Nearly 4,000 Scotland Witchcraft Victims

Others

Sources

  1. Willumsen, Liv Helene. The voices of women in witchcraft trials: Northern Europe. London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group (2022), pps. 142-156.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Wikipedia contributors, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, (see individual links.)
  3. Golden, Richard M. (ed). Encyclopedia of Witchcraft: The Western Tradition. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, (2006), p. 833-835.
  4. Wikipedia contributors, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Scottish_Witch_Hunt_of_1597
  5. Golden, Richard M. (ed). Encyclopedia of Witchcraft: The Western Tradition. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, (2006), p. 1.
  6. Levack, Brian P., The Witchcraft Sourcebook. Second Edition. Kindle Edition. London and New York: Routledge (2015).
  7. Research by Amy Gilpin
  8. As You Carve Your Pumpkins, Think of the Hanged Witches of Paisley, the Last Witch Trial of Western Europe. The Scotsman, October 30, 2020. Paisley, the Last Witch Trial of Western Europe
  9. Ibrahim, Alia. Murder, Malice and Misogyny – The Pittenweem Witch Hunt. Edinburgh: Historic Environment Scotland (Larainneachd Eachdraidheil Alba) (2023), https://blog.historicenvironment.scot/2023/03/pittenweem-witch-hunt/.
  10. Golden, Richard M. (ed). Encyclopedia of Witchcraft: The Western Tradition. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, (2006), p. 902-903
  11. Goodare, Julian et al. Survey of Scottish Witchcraft. Revised by Brewster, Kaye. Edinburgh: The University of Edinburgh (2003), Survey of Scottish Witchcraft.




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