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Margaret Aitken (the Great Witch Of Balwearie)
Margaret Aitken (died August 1597, Fife), known as the ''Great Witch of Balwearie'', was an important figure in the great Scottish witchcraft panic of 1597 as her actions effectively led to an end of that series of witch trials. After being accused of witchcraft Aitken confessed but then identified hundreds of women as other witches to save her own life. She was exposed as a fraud a few months later and was burnt at the stake. Background Part of the parish of Abbotshall to the south west of Raith and west of Kirkcaldy, the small hamlet of Balwearie in Fife had long been associated with supernatural events. It is recorded that King James V had a nightmare in 1539 that the laird of Balwearie's son, Thomas Scott, visited the king "in the company of devils". The 13th-century physician, Sir Michael Scott of Balwearie, had long since entered folklore as being a wizard. Great Scottish witch hunt of 1597 Margaret Aitken was accused of witchcraft and arrested on suspicion of that ...
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North Berwick Witches
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is related to the Old High German ''nord'', both descending from the Proto-Indo-European unit *''ner-'', meaning "left; below" as north is to left when facing the rising sun. Similarly, the other cardinal directions are also related to the sun's position. The Latin word ''borealis'' comes from the Greek '' boreas'' "north wind, north", which, according to Ovid, was personified as the wind-god Boreas, the father of Calais and Zetes. ''Septentrionalis'' is from ''septentriones'', "the seven plow oxen", a name of ''Ursa Major''. The Greek ἀρκτικός (''arktikós'') is named for the same constellation, and is the source of the English word ''Arctic''. Other languages have other derivations. For example, in Lezgian, ''kefer'' can mean b ...
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Falkland Palace
Falkland Palace, in Falkland, Fife, Scotland, is a royal palace of the Scottish Kings. It was one of the favourite places of Mary, Queen of Scots, providing an escape from political and religious turmoil. Today it is under the stewardship of Ninian Stuart, who delegates most of his duties to The National Trust for Scotland. The Chapel Royal in the Palace is dedicated to Thomas the Apostle, and is also open to the public and reserved for Catholic worship. History Early years A hunting lodge existed on the site in the 12th century. The lodge was expanded in the 13th century and became a castle which was owned by the Earls of Fife – the famous Clan MacDuff. The castle was built here because the site sits on a slight hill which could be defended. The surrounding land eventually became the Palace gardens. There was a great oak wood to the north between the royal stable and the River Eden, with many groves merging into the surrounding parkland. Timber was occasionally cut ...
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16th-century Scottish Women
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 ...
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People Executed By Scotland By Burning
A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of property, or legal responsibility. The defining features of personhood and, consequently, what makes a person count as a person, differ widely among cultures and contexts. In addition to the question of personhood, of what makes a being count as a person to begin with, there are further questions about personal identity and self: both about what makes any particular person that particular person instead of another, and about what makes a person at one time the same person as they were or will be at another time despite any intervening changes. The plural form "people" is often used to refer to an entire nation or ethnic group (as in "a people"), and this was the original meaning of the word; it subsequently acquired its use as a plural form of per ...
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People Executed For Witchcraft
A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of property, or legal responsibility. The defining features of personhood and, consequently, what makes a person count as a person, differ widely among cultures and contexts. In addition to the question of personhood, of what makes a being count as a person to begin with, there are further questions about personal identity and self: both about what makes any particular person that particular person instead of another, and about what makes a person at one time the same person as they were or will be at another time despite any intervening changes. The plural form "people" is often used to refer to an entire nation or ethnic group (as in "a people"), and this was the original meaning of the word; it subsequently acquired its use as a plural form of per ...
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Witch Hunters
A witch hunter is a person who seeks witches in a witch-hunt. Witch hunter or variations may also refer to: Literature * ''Witch Hunter'' (manhwa), Korean manhwa series * ''The Witch Hunter'' (novel), by Bernard Knight * ''The Witch Hunters'' (novel), by Steve Lyons Film * ''Witch Hunter Robin'', a 2002 anime series * ''El Cazador de la Bruja'' (English: ''The Hunter of the Witch''), a 2007 anime series * '' Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters'', a 2012 film * ''The Last Witch Hunter'', a 2015 American film starring Vin Diesel Music * ''Witch Hunter'' (album) (1985), by Grave Digger * ''The Witch Hunter'' (1993), album by Shinjuku Thief Other uses * '' Witch Hunter: The Invisible World'', a 2007 role-playing game See also * Witch hunt (other) * Witch trial (other) * Witchfinder (other) A Witchfinder is a person who seeks witches in a witch-hunt. Witchfinder may also refer to: * ''The Witchfinder'' (TV series), a 2022 British sitcom * "The Witchfinde ...
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1597 Deaths
Events January–June * January 24 – Battle of Turnhout: Maurice of Nassau defeats a Spanish force under Jean de Rie of Varas, in the Netherlands. * February – Bali is discovered, by Dutch explorer Cornelis Houtman. * February 5 – In Nagasaki, Japan, 26 people are martyred by crucifixion. They practiced Catholicism, and were taken captive after all forms of Christianity were outlawed the previous year. * February 8 – Sir Anthony Shirley, England's "best-educated pirate", raids Jamaica. * February 24 – The last battle of the Cudgel War was fought on the Santavuori Hill in Ilmajoki, Ostrobothnia. * March 11 – Amiens is taken by Spanish forces. * After April 10 – The Serb uprising of 1596–97 ends in defeat for the rebels, at the field of Gacko (Gatačko Polje). * April 23 – Probable first performance of William Shakespeare's ''The Merry Wives of Windsor''. * April 27 – Johannes Kepler marries Barbara Muhleck. July–December * c. July – Tho ...
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Falkland, Fife
Falkland ( gd, Fàclann), previously in the Lands of Kilgour ( 1200), is a village, parish and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, at the foot of the Lomond Hills. According to the 2008 population estimate, it has a population of 1,180. Etymology The earliest forms of this name include ''Falleland'' (c. 1128) and ''Falecklen'' (c. 1160), with the second element being the Scottish Gaelic ''lann'' (enclosure) or possibly its Pictish cognate, but the exact etymology is unclear since the first element could be the Gaelic ''falach'' (hidden), ''failc'' (wash), or ''falc'' (heavy rain). The later folk etymologies "falcon land" and "folkland" are not plausible., p. 158. In the Middle Ages, the name Falkland only applied to the Castle; the burgh and parish were known as Kilgour, which may mean "church/cell of Gabrán". History The lands of Kilgour existed at Falkland prior to the 12th century. However, this was not until the erection of Falkland Castle some time after 1160 which wa ...
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Privy Council Of Scotland
The Privy Council of Scotland ( — 1 May 1708) was a body that advised the Scottish monarch. In the range of its functions the council was often more important than the Estates in the running the country. Its registers include a wide range of material on the political, administrative, economic and social affairs of the Kingdom of Scotland. The council supervised the administration of the law, regulated trade and shipping, took emergency measures against the plague, granted licences to travel, administered oaths of allegiance, banished beggars and gypsies, dealt with witches, recusants, Covenanters and Jacobites and tackled the problem of lawlessness in the Highlands and the Borders. History Like the Parliament, the council was a development of the King's Council. The King's Council, or ''curia regis'', was the court of the monarch surrounded by his royal officers and others upon whom he relied for advice. It is known to have existed in the thirteenth century, if not earlier, ...
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John Duncan Mackie
John Duncan Mackie CBE MC (1887–1978) was a distinguished Scottish historian who wrote a one-volume history of Scotland and several works on early modern Scotland. Biography Born in Edinburgh, Mackie was educated at Middlesbrough High School and Jesus College, Oxford, where he took a first-class degree in history and won the Lothian Essay Prize. He was appointed as a lecturer in history at the University of St Andrews in 1909, aged 22. While at the university he introduced the subject of Scottish history into the curriculum.''A History of Scotland'', revised ed., Penguin, 1977 During the First World War, he served in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and was awarded a Military Cross. He was wounded in both the stomach and in the shoulder. In both cases he received innovative treatment. For the stomach wound (caused by a machine-gun) he was treated at a military hospital in Rouen. Sterilised water was dripped right through his stomach and he recovered well. The shou ...
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William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (13 September 15204 August 1598) was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State (1550–1553 and 1558–1572) and Lord High Treasurer from 1572. In his description in the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition, Albert Pollard wrote, "From 1558 for forty years the biography of Cecil is almost indistinguishable from that of Elizabeth and from the history of England." Cecil set as the main goal of English policy the creation of a united and Protestant British Isles. His methods were to complete the control of Ireland, and to forge an alliance with Scotland. Protection from invasion required a powerful Royal Navy. While he was not fully successful, his successors agreed with his goals. In 1587, Cecil persuaded the Queen to order the execution of the Roman Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots, after she was implicated in a plot to assassinate Elizabeth. He was the father of Robe ...
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Robert Bowes (ambassador)
Robert Bowes (1535?–1597) was an English diplomat, stationed as permanent ambassador to Scotland from 1577 to 1583. Family Robert Bowes was the fifth but second surviving son of Richard Bowes (d. 10 November 1558) and Elizabeth Aske. He had four elder brothers, Ralph, Francis, George (d. 20 August 1580), and Christopher, and seven sisters: Bridget, who married Thomas Hussey; Anne, who married Marmaduke Vincent; Muriel, who married John Jackson; Margery, who married the Scottish reformer John Knox; Elizabeth, who married George Bainbrigge; Margaret, who married firstly Thomas Middleton and secondly Ambrose Birkbeck; and Jane. Career He was educated at Queens' College, Cambridge. He served under his father in the defence of the borders. In 1569 he was sheriff of the county palatine of Durham, and helped his brother, Sir George Bowes, to hold Barnard Castle against the rebel earls. Afterwards he was sent in command of a troop of horse to protect the west marches. In 1571 ...
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