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Bute witches

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Sagaciousphil (talk | contribs) at 10:14, 11 December 2017 (copy over some relevant general background info I previously added to Isobel Gowdie). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

black and white engraving showing old castle and tolbooth
Rothesay Castle and tolbooth c. 1680

The Bute witches were six Scottish women accused of witchcraft then interrogated in the parish of Rothesay on Bute during the Great Scottish Witch Hunt of 1661–62.[1] The Privy Council granted a Commission of Justiciary for a local trial to be held and four of the women[2] – believed by historians to be Margaret McLevin, Margaret McWilliam, Janet Morrison[a] and Isobell McNicoll[4] – were executed in 1662;[2] a fifth may have died while incarcerated.[5] One woman, Jonet NcNicoll, escaped from prison before she could be executed but when she returned to the island in 1673 the sentence was implemented.

Background

The early modern period saw the Scottish courts trying many cases of witchcraft[6] with witch hunts beginning in about 1550.[7] Prior to the fervent activity in 1662, generally the numerically small, tightly-knit, population of islanders on Bute did not encounter the scale of witch hunting experienced throughout the rest of Scotland.[8] Records indicate the only instances of formal witch persecution on the island took place between the 1630s and 1670s although the documents may be incomplete.[8] In 1630 after a group of women – their names and the exact number are not known – confessed to witchcraft, they were confined in the dungeon of Rothesay Castle without food or water and starved to death.[8]

A strong belief in fairy traditions and folklore persisted in Scotland during the seventeenth century despite being subjected to nearly a hundred years of vigorous oppression.[9] The Kirk session in Rothesay heard a complaint against Jeane Campbell in 1660 as it was claimed she went with the fairies who had instructed her how to make spells; she was also accused of applying "a salve to rub on her breast, which was good for comforting the heart against scunners [afflictions]."[10] It was discovered she suffered from indigestion so the local minister allayed the fears of his congregation.[11] The following year she was brought before the session again after she used the cure on others; she was discharged but informed she would be deemed a witch if she repeated the offence.[11] Ten years earlier, in 1650, another woman, Finwell Hyndman from Kingarth, was interviewed as she went missing for a day every three months; when she returned she had such a repugnant smell no one could approach her and it seemed she had been on a long journey.[12] As she offered no adequate reason for her absence, she was "bruted for a witch or (as the commone people calls it) being with the fayryes".[12][b]

In common with other European witch trials, major Scottish witch hunts occurred in batches;[14] historians offer differing opinions as to why this should happen but generally agree that military hostilities and political or economic uncertainty play a part coupled with local ministers and landowners determined to seek convictions.[15]

Events

The series of events in 1662 were initiated following disagreements between neighbours, a common scenario for the instigation of witchcraft cases.[16] John McFie accused his neighbour Margaret McWilliam of witchcraft.[16]

Investigation

The first recorded statement given by any of the accused women was from Janet Morrison at her home on 15 January 1662.[17][c]

Aftermath

Jonet NcNicoll escaped from the tolbooth in Rothesay during 1662 and fled to Kilmarnock where she lived for the next twelve years.[20] She returned to the island in 1673 and was executed for the 1662 conviction alongside another woman, Mary NcThomas, who had been found gulty of incest and charming.[21] These two executions were the last recorded cases of witch persecution on the island.[21]

References

Notes

  1. ^ Spelled as Jonet Morisone in the original document reproduced by James R. N. MacPhail.[3]
  2. ^ Henderson and Cowan speculate her absence was due to adultery;[12] Hewison records that "she soon brought home a little fairy of her own to nurse."[13]
  3. ^ Willumsen and the Survey of Scottish Witchcraft Database both give 15 January[17][18] but MacPhail and Scott state 16 January.[3][19]

Citations

  1. ^ Willumsen (2011), p. 536
  2. ^ a b Henderson (2008), p. 105
  3. ^ a b MacPhail (1920), p. 3
  4. ^ Scott (2007), p. 279
  5. ^ Scott (2007), p. 280
  6. ^ Levack (2008), p. 1
  7. ^ Goodare (2001), p. 644
  8. ^ a b c Henderson (2012), p. 151
  9. ^ Henderson & Cowan (2001), p. 134
  10. ^ Henderson (2016), p. 112
  11. ^ a b Hewison (1895), p. 264
  12. ^ a b c Henderson & Cowan (2001), p. 213
  13. ^ Hewison (1895), p. 262
  14. ^ Wilby (2010), p. 30
  15. ^ Wilby (2010), pp. 30–31
  16. ^ a b Henderson (2012), p. 155
  17. ^ a b Willumsen (2011), p. 539
  18. ^ "Jonet Morisone (5/2/1662)", University of Edinburgh, retrieved 27 September 2017
  19. ^ Scott (2007), p. 254
  20. ^ Willumsen (2011), pp. 555–556
  21. ^ a b Henderson (2012), p. 152

Bibliography

  • Goodare, Julian (2001), "Witch-hunts", in Lynch, Michael (ed.), The Oxford Companion to Scottish History, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-211696-7
  • Henderson, Lizanne (2008), "Witch-Hunting and Witch Belief in the Gàidhealtachd", in Goodare, Julian; Martin, Lauren; Miller, Joyce (eds.), Witchcraft and Belief in Early Modern Scotland, Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 95–118, ISBN 978-0-230-50788-3
  • Henderson, Lizanne (2012), "The witches of Bute", in Ritchie, Anna (ed.), Historic Bute, land and people, The Scottish Society for Northern Studies, pp. 151–161, ISBN 0-9535226-4-4
  • Henderson, Lizanne (2016), Witchcraft and Folk Belief in the Age of Enlightenment Scotland, 1670–1740, Palgrave MacMillan, ISBN 978-1-137-31324-9
  • Henderson, Lizanne; Cowan, Edward J. (2001), Scottish Fairy Belief: A History, Tuckwell, ISBN 1-86232-190-6
  • Hewison, James King (1895), The Isle of Bute in the olden times, vol. 2, William Blackwood and Sons
  • Levack, Brian P. (2008), Witch-hunting in Scotland: law, politics and religion, Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-39943-2
  • MacPhail, James R. N. (1920), Highland Papers, vol. III, Scottish History Society
  • Scott, William (2007), The Bute Witches, Elenkus, ISBN 978-0-9521910-7-0
  • Wilby, Emma (2010), The Visions of Isobel Gowdie: Magic, Witchcraft and Dark Shamanism in Seventeenth-Century Scotland, Sussex Academic Press, ISBN 978-1-84519-179-5
  • Willumsen, Liv Helene (2011), "A Narratological Approach to Witchcraft Trial: A Scottish Case", Journal of Early Modern History, 15 (6), BRILL: 531–560
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