Witch hunts swept across Scotland and Britain in the 16th and 17th centuries. The most notorious trial was that of the North Berwick Witches.
Witch hunting swept across Britain during the 16th and 17th centuries. The authorities rooted out anyone suspected of witchcraft, for this was a time of religious bigotry. Scotland led the way in the struggle against Satan. Thousands of the condemned were burnt at the stake from the time witchcraft was made a capital offence until the repeal of the laws in 1736.
Nonetheless in a few cases the authorities may have actually blundered on dark practices. One of the most macabre cases of alleged witchcraft that came before the Scottish King James VI himself was the plot of the North Berwick witches.
The Plot
The story began in 1590 when the deputy bailiff of Tranent in east Lothian – one David Seaton – noticed unusual behaviour in his maid Gilly Duncan. She left the house at night without his permission, and was known locally to possess skill in healing. Seaton suspected witchcraft and when the maid would not answer his questions, used torture. Gilly, under duress, said her power of healing was inspired by the Devil & that she was a member of a witches’ coven
Half-delirious with pain she went further – confessing to a conspiracy to murder King James VI. Allegedly the witches’ coven struck against the life of the King when he returned by ship from Norway, with his new bride Anne of Denmark. They assembled on the pier at Leith before the Firth of Forth estuary, using their arts to raise a storm against a lone ship which they supposed to be that of the King. The vessel was sunk but this was not the royal ship, which returned safely to Scotland.
The alleged architect was Francis Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell: cousin to the King & heir apparent if James died without son or daughter. Four other suspected conspirators were seized for questioning: a schoolmaster named Dr John Fian, Euphemia Maclean who was the daughter of the Lord Cliftonhall, Barbara Napier and a midwife called Agnes Sampson who was known for her herbal remedies.
Confessions
Dr Fian was tortured and eventually confessed he was “clerk to all those that were in subjection to the Devil’s service”. Fian was burnt at Castle Hill, Edinburgh in January 1591.
James VI now took a personal hand in the investigations. Agnes Sampson was brought before the King at Holyrood House where he questioned her. Agnes was unrepentant, she spoke of a witches’ gathering at Prestonpans where a small effigy of the King was produced, at which the assembly uttered: “This is King James VI, ordained to be consumed at the instance of a noble man, Francis Earl Bothwell.”
The King listened closely but had never entirely lost his scepticism. As the claims became more fanciful he finally lost patience and accused Agnes of being a liar. Agnes said she knew something that would prove her story. She was allowed to draw close to the King and, it was said, whispered into his ear certain words that had passed between James & Anne of Denmark when the couple were alone on their wedding night.
Executions
The King was astonished, he was now convinced of the guilt of Agnes. Both Euphemia Maclean and Agnes Sampson were found guilty of witchcraft & executed at Castle Hill, Edinburgh. Barbara Napier was also condemned but strangely enough was later released. Bothwell fled to Naples, he would eventually die in poverty in 1624. Thus ended one of the darkest affairs in the history of the Scottish monarchy.
