The Great Scottish Witch Hunt of 1597 was a series of nationwide

witch trial A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America took place in the Early Modern perio ...

s that took place in the whole of

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 ...

from March to October 1597. At least 400 people were put on trial for

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...

and various forms of

diabolism Satanism is a group of ideological An ideology is a set of beliefs or philosophies attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely epistemic, in which "practical elements are as prominent ...

during the witch hunt. The exact number of those executed is unknown, but is believed to be about 200. The Great Scottish Witch Hunt of 1597 was the second of five nationwide witch hunts in Scottish history, the others being The Great Scottish Witch Hunt of 1590–91, The Great Scottish Witch Hunt of 1628–1631, The Great Scottish witch hunt of 1649–50 and The Great Scottish Witch Hunt of 1661–62.

History

The Great Scottish Witch Hunt of 1597 is the least documented of the five nationwide Scottish witch hunts. As the latter ones, it was conducted by local courts under the supervision of royal commissions, but in contrast to the others, it was not documented by the central authorities, and the local records are often missing. It is not known what caused the Witch Hunt of 1597, but at the time, Scotland experienced a political conflict between the monarch and the Presbyterian Church, as well as plague and famine. In Edinburgh, a witch trial took place in 1596, when Christian Stewart was accused of having bewitched Patrick Ruthven to death, a case in which the king took a personal interest. This was also the same year as the king

James VI James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

published his book about witchcraft,

Daemonologie ''Daemonologie''—in full ''Daemonologie, In Forme of a Dialogue, Divided into three Books: By the High and Mighty Prince, James &c.''—was first published in 1597 by King James VI of Scotland (later also James I of England) as a philosophi ...

. In July 1597 James VI spent nine days at

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...

investigating preaching at the

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

and attending the trials of witches. There was said to be large number of witches of several sorts (social classes) who had dedicated themselves to the devil and had a witches mark. The English diplomat Robert Bowes heard the trials would be published. In August Bowes heard that a witch MacKolme Anderson and others had attempted to drown the king at Dundee by witchcraft and others had tried to kill

Prince Henry Prince Henry (or Prince Harry) may refer to: People *Henry the Young King (1155–1183), son of Henry II of England, who was crowned king but predeceased his father *Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal (1394–1460) *Henry, Duke of Cornwall (Ja ...

The earliest cases recorded seem to have taken place in

Slains Slains Castle may refer to one of two ruined castles in Aberdeenshire, Scotland: *Old Slains Castle, a 13th-century castle was originally the property of the Comyn Earls of Buchan, near Collieston * New Slains Castle, a 16th-century tower house, b ...

north of

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

in March 1597, where the local authorities asked for permission to execute witches. This was followed by a large witch trial in Aberdeen against Janet Wishart and her accomplices. Wishart was alleged to have used a ''cantrip'' (spell) to cause one victim to alternately shiver and sweat, bewitched other victims so that they died or nearly died, raised storms via the throwing out of live coals, used "nightmare cats" to inflict horrible dreams, and dismembered a corpse hanging at the gallows. She was executed by burning along with another witch. Several royal commissions were sent to investigate sorcery in many parts of the country. The witch hunt seem to have been most frequent in Fife, Perthshire, Glasgow, Stirlingshire and especially Aberdeenshire, all between 4 March and October. The best-known case was that of

Margaret Aitken Margaret Aitken (July 3, 1908 – November 19, 1980) was a Canadian author, columnist, journalist, and politician. Background Aitken was born in Newcastle, New Brunswick. She attended Branksome Hall in Toronto. She was the daughter of J. Mau ...

, called The Great Witch of Balwearie. She was likely arrested in Fife in April 1597. After having pleaded guilty under

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...

, she offered to help the commission to identify witches in all parts of the country in exchange for her life. During a period of four months, the Aitken commission visited several parts of Scotland and many people were arrested, put on trial and executed after having been pointed out by her. Eventually Aitken was discredited as an expert witness after declaring innocent the same people she had identified as witches when she saw them previously. On 1 August she was stopped, and on 12 August, the commissions were ordered to end the trials until the claims could be better examined. Bowes wrote on 15 August that, "the King hath been lately pestered and in many wayes troubled in the examination of the witches, which swarme in execeeding number and (as is credibly reported) in many thousands". It was reported on 5 September that James VI remained involved in witch trials. The accused were drawn all social classes; "The King hath his mynd onlie bent upon the examination and tryall of sorcerers, men and women. Such a great number are delated (accused) that it is a wonder, and those not onlie of the meanest sort, but also of the best".''Calendar State Papers Scotland'', 13:1 (Edinburgh, 1969), p. 78 no. 58: TNA SP 52/61/26. Fewer death sentences seem to have been issued after the execution of Margaret Aitken, and by October the witch hunt seems to have stopped.

History

References

Further reading