Bessie Dunlop
Bessie Dunlop, Elizabeth Dunlop or Elizabeth Jack (died 1576), was an Ayrshire farmer's wife who was 'burned at the stake' at Edinburgh for the crime of sorcery, witchcraft, incantations, etc. Her case was unusual in the amount of fine detail related in her testimony and the lack of anything but positive or neutral outcomes of her recorded ministrations and actions. Her admission to the use of a 'familiar spirit' and association with the fairies were the main cause of her conviction and her death sentence. For consistency the name 'Bessie Dunlop' is used throughout. Life and character Bessie was the wife of Andrew Jack of Lynn, Lyne, Lin, or Linn, a hamlet and the name of a glen through which the Caaf Water runs, lying in the Barony of Lynn, then owned by Robert, Master of Boyd, eldest son of Lord Boyd. It seems therefore that their farm lay near or at the bottom of the Lynn Glen on the Caaf Water, near Dalry in North Ayrshire, Scotland. She was married to Andrew Jack and her su ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, the North Sea to the northeast and east, and the Irish Sea to the south. It also contains more than 790 islands, principally in the archipelagos of the Hebrides and the Northern Isles. Most of the population, including the capital Edinburgh, is concentrated in the Central Belt—the plain between the Scottish Highlands and the Southern Uplands—in the Scottish Lowlands. Scotland is divided into 32 administrative subdivisions or local authorities, known as council areas. Glasgow City is the largest council area in terms of population, with Highland being the largest in terms of area. Limited self-governing power, covering matters such as education, social services and roads and transportation, is devolved from the Scott ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cleeves Cove
Cleeves Cove or Blair Cove is a solutional cave system on the Dusk Water in North Ayrshire, Scotland, close to the town of Dalry. Cave system The Cleeves, or Cleaves Cove (Scots) cave system is situated in the lower beds of Carboniferous limestone. It has a total passage length of around . The caves are now well above the level of the Dusk Water and lie close to Cleeves Farm and Blair Mill on the Blair Estate. Many of the stalactites and stalagmites have been damaged by visitors. The cave has three practical entrances facing onto the Dusk Water. A number of older books refer to ''the romantic sylvan dell of Auchenskeigh,'' now Auchenskeith, derived from ''Achadh-na-sgitheach'' - the field of thorns.Dobie, James D. (ed Dobie, J.S.) (1876). ''Cunninghame, Topographized by Timothy Pont'' 1604–1608, with continuations and illustrative notices. Pub. Glasgow : John Tweed. p. 49. The calcareous incrustations in these caves were compared with Gothic fretwork. A number of old limesto ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1576 Deaths
Year 1576 ( MDLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 20 – Viceroy Martín Enríquez de Almanza founds the settlement of León, Guanajuato, in New Spain (modern-day Mexico). * January 25 – Portuguese explorer Paulo Dias de Novais founds the settlement of ''São Paulo da Assumpção de Loanda'' on the south western coast of Africa, which becomes Luanda. * 1st May – Hungarian Transylvanian Prince Stephen Báthory is crowned king of Poland. * May 5 – The Edict of Beaulieu or Peace of Monsieur (after "Monsieur", the Duke of Anjou, brother of the King, Henry III of France, who negotiated it) ends the Fifth War of Religion in France. Protestants are again granted freedom of worship. * June 18 – Battle of Haldighati: Mughal forces, led by Man Singh I of Amer, decisively defeat the Mewar Kingdom led by Maharana Pratap. July–December * ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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16th-century Scottish People
The 16th century begins with the Julian year 1501 ( MDI) and ends with either the Julian or the Gregorian year 1600 ( MDC) (depending on the reckoning used; the Gregorian calendar introduced a lapse of 10 days in October 1582). The 16th century is regarded by historians as the century which saw the rise of Western civilization and the Islamic gunpowder empires. The Renaissance in Italy and Europe saw the emergence of important artists, authors and scientists, and led to the foundation of important subjects which include accounting and political science. Copernicus proposed the heliocentric universe, which was met with strong resistance, and Tycho Brahe refuted the theory of celestial spheres through observational measurement of the 1572 appearance of a Milky Way supernova. These events directly challenged the long-held notion of an immutable universe supported by Ptolemy and Aristotle, and led to major revolutions in astronomy and science. Galileo Galilei became a champion o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Letters On Demonology And Witchcraft
''Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft Addressed to J. G. Lockhart, Esq.'' (1830) was a study of witchcraft and the supernatural by Sir Walter Scott. A lifelong student of folklore, Scott was able to draw on a wide-ranging collection of primary and secondary sources. His book found many readers throughout the 19th century, and exercised a significant influence in promoting the Victorian vogue for Gothic and ghostly fiction. Though on first publication it met with mixed reviews, it is now recognised as a pioneering work of scientific anthropology, treating of its subject in an acute and analytical way which prefigures later scholarship on the subject, as well as presenting a highly readable collection of supernatural anecdotes. Content The book is divided into ten parts, each taking the form of a letter from the author to his son-in-law, J. G. Lockhart. This format allows Scott to write in an informal, discursive manner, enhancing the book's readability. He presents a wi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sleep Deprivation
Sleep deprivation, also known as sleep insufficiency or sleeplessness, is the condition of not having adequate duration and/or quality of sleep to support decent alertness, performance, and health. It can be either chronic or acute and may vary widely in severity. Acute sleep deprivation is when an individual sleeps less than usual or does not sleep at all for a short period of time – usually lasting one to two days. Chronic sleep deprivation means when an individual routinely sleeps less than an optimal amount for ideal functioning. Chronic sleep deficiency is often confused with the term insomnia. Although both chronic sleep deficiency and insomnia share decreased quantity and/or quality of sleep as well as impaired function, their difference lies in the ability to fall asleep. Sleep deprived individuals are able to fall asleep rapidly when allowed but those with insomnia have difficulty falling asleep. The average adult needs seven or more hours of sleep per night to mainta ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kirtle
A kirtle (sometimes called cotte, cotehardie) is a garment that was worn by men and women in the Middle Ages. It eventually became a one-piece garment worn by women from the late Middle Ages into the Baroque period. The kirtle was typically worn over a chemise or smock, which acted as a slip, and under the formal outer garment, a gown or surcoat. History Kirtles were part of fashionable attire into the middle of the 16th century, and remained part of country or middle-class clothing into the 17th century. Kirtles began as loose garments without a waist seam, changing to tightly fitted supportive garments in the 14th century. Later, kirtles could be constructed by combining a fitted bodice with a skirt gathered or pleated into the waist seam. Kirtles could lace up the front, back or side-back, with some rare cases of side lacing, all dependent upon the fashion of the day and place and upon the type of gown worn over it. Kirtles could be embellished with a variety of decorati ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Witches' Mark
A witch's mark or devil's mark was a bodily mark that witch-hunters believed indicated that an individual was a witch, during the height of the witch trials. The beliefs about the mark differ depending on the trial location and the accusation made against the witch. Evidence of the witch's mark is found earliest in the 16th century, and reached its peak in 1645, then essentially disappeared by 1700. The Witch or Devil's mark was believed to be the permanent marking of the Devil on his initiates to seal their obedience and service to him. He created the mark by raking his claw across their flesh, or by making a blue or red brand using a hot iron. Sometimes, the mark was believed to have been left by the Devil licking the individual leaving a death skull pattern in the skin. The Devil was thought to mark the individual at the end of nocturnal initiation rites. [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Covenanter
Covenanters ( gd, Cùmhnantaich) were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. The name is derived from ''Covenant'', a biblical term for a bond or agreement with God. The origins of the movement lay in disputes with James VI, and his son Charles I over church structure and doctrine. In 1638, thousands of Scots signed the National Covenant, pledging to resist changes imposed by Charles on the kirk; following victory in the 1639 and 1640 Bishops' Wars, the Covenanters took control of Scotland and the 1643 Solemn League and Covenant brought them into the First English Civil War on the side of Parliament. Following his defeat in May 1646 Charles I surrendered to the Scots Covenanters, rather than Parliament. By doing so, he hoped to exploit divisions between Presbyterians, and English Independents. As a result, the Scots supported Charles in the 16 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Shaw (woodland)
A shaw is a strip of woodland usually between 5 and 15 metres (15 and 50 feet) wide. Shaws commonly form boundaries between fields or line a road. They are usually composed of natural woodland (rather than being a planted avenue) and often have diverse woodland ground vegetation similar to other natural woodlands in the area. They should not be confused with hedges, even when these are made of mature trees. Like other woodland, shaws may be managed as high forest or as coppice. In some areas, such as the Weald of south-eastern England, shaws may be the remnants of larger woods out of which fields were cleared many centuries ago, or they may have developed from narrower hedgerows which have become unmanaged. Place names using this form include Roundshaw Roundshaw is a housing estate and park in south Wallington and Beddington on the eastern edge of the London Borough of Sutton. Grid Ref . History Roundshaw was built on the site of the former Croydon Airport which on ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Quaich
A quaich , archaically quaigh or quoich, is a special kind of shallow two-handled drinking cup or bowl of a type traditional in Scotland. It derives from the Scottish Gaelic (), meaning a cup. History According to the 1911 ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', the quaich was inspired by the low silver bowls with two flat handles frequently used as bleeding vessels in England and the Netherlands in the 17th century. Another popular theory suggests that the shape is derived from scallop shells. However, this seems to have had its origins in the poems of James Macpherson which were once thought to be translations of poems by Ossian, son of Fionn mac Cumhaill. In his 1955 monograph ''Some Scottish Quaichs'', Richard L. McClenahan, an American collector, suggests that the quaich evolved directly from the medieval mazer. This seems unlikely as the form and material (burr maple for mazers) are quite different. There were small stave-built drinking vessels common in the medieval period fo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |