North Berwick- PERIL Flashcards
Point = Confessions… What would be the evidence part of PERIL paragraph?
Gilly Duncan
- reputation for being a wise woman
- accused by her former employer, David Seaton
- she denied, until after intense torture she confesses and accuses Agnes Sampson and John Fian.
Agnes Sampson was also tortured and personally examined by King james,
- she accused the King’s cousin, Earl of Bothwell.
Point = 1563 Witchcraft act… What would be the evidence part of PERIL paragraph?
Passed by Mary Queen of Scots in 1563
- the privy council (central government) appointed commissions of judges with the power to investigate and punish witchcraft.
- Witchcraft judges usually carries our limited, isolated trials on the estates of the great landowners.
- Allowed torture as long as it was authorised by privy council.
Point = Political and Judicial System… What would be the evidence part of PERIL paragraph?
Role of the privy council: judicial, but it also acted as a body for advertisers to the king and as a result its secondary function was as an executive
- based in Edinburgh ad unable to physically oversee local judges.
Role of the Crown: more of a focus on culture, learning and chivalry
- James only gets involved at the point Agnes Sampson’s trial, she is accused of bewitching his ship on the way back from Denmark.
Point = King James and Denmark… What would be the evidence part of PERIL paragraph?
James travelled over to Denmark in 1590 to marry his 14 year old wife Anne
- whilst there he met Niels Hemmingsen, who was a well respected author who published “Avoiding Magic and Superstition” and also courtiers who help strong beliefs in group witch trials.
- When James returned from Scotland, members of the Danish court visited Scotland.
Point = King James and Paranoia… What would be the evidence part of PERIL paragraph?
Childhood and early years marked by political crisis
- father assassinated, mother forced into exiled and later executed.
- James was always conscious that plots against him could begin at any time.
Earl of Bothwell, cousin of James
- regularly involved with plots to overthrow James and openly criticised him (especially when Mary QoS was executed)
- 1589, accused and found guilty of treason as part of a group.
- Bothwell suggested James make the journey to Denmark to collect Anne, but they faces a storm on the way back.
Point - Religion and a Strong Calvinist Church?
Point - Religion and a Strong Calvinist Church?
Protestant dismissals of charms and traditional counter-magic rituals left people feeling defenceless against the magic
- following the Scottish reformation during the C16th there was strong anti-catholic feeling and this heightened fears around magic.
The occasion used the term “covenant” for the pact with the Devil, especially resonated with Calvinist theology, mocking the Calvinist concept of God’s bind with humanity.
Confessions
What would be the Relevant Context- part of PERIL paragraph?
The 1563 Witchcraft Act had made witchcraft illegal
- allowed torture as long as it was authorised by the Privy Council
Due to a weak political system it was possible for David Seaton to carry out the torture, which led to further confessions
1563 Witchcraft Act
What would be the Relevant Context- part of PERIL paragraph?
Calvinist reformers promoted it as a law necessary to regulate moral and sexual behaviour
Along with treason, witchcraft was one of the few crimes the Edinburgh government pursued nationally
Weak political system, the central government was unable to supervise local magistrates
Weak Political and Judicial System
What would be the Relevant Context- part of PERIL paragraph?
James was increasingly paranoid following the assassination of his father, the execution of his mother and attempts on his life as a child
→ He saw the actions of the Earl of Bothwell as treasonous, and this is what drove his involvement and the continuing use of torture in the hunt
King James and Denmark
What would be the Relevant Context- part of PERIL paragraph?
In Denmark high profile clergy had taken to labelling those who opposed them as a witches
- Peter Palladius encouraged good Christians to speak up if they suspected someone of witch craft
Scottish Reformation and religious reform in Denmark was heavily similar
- strict Protestant and anti-Catholic lines
King James and Paranoia
What would be the Relevant Context- part of PERIL paragraph?
Agnes Sampson was tortured and examined by King James
- she was accused of placing a curse on James’ ship
- she confessed that Bothwell had asked her to send a familiar to kill the king
King James had been educated by strict Calvinists, who taught him that the Catholic antichrist was at work in Scotland
- Calvinists had a heavy influence on the 1563 Witchcraft Act which criminalised witchcraft in Scotland
Religion and a Strong Calvinist Church
What would be the Relevant Context- part of PERIL paragraph?
King James had been christened a Catholic but was educated and brought up by strong Calvinists who influenced his personal beliefs
Calvinist reformers influenced the 1563 Witchcraft Act as a law necessary to regulate moral and sexual behaviour
Confessions
What would be the Impact - part of PERIL paragraph?
The use of torture to extract further confessions and accusations from Gilly Seaton sparked the hunt as it resulted in further accusations including two high profile ones of Agnes Sampson and John Fian
Torture allowed for these accusations to continue until more than 70 people had been accused, this reveals the influence of torture in causing the hunt to become more widespread
The accusation of the Earl of Bothwell politicised witchcraft and created a connection between treason and witchcraft
1563 Witchcraft Act
What would be the Impact - part of PERIL paragraph?
The criminalisation of witches enabled cases to coalesce into a larger hunt, like in North Berwick.
→ This was aided by the weakened political context which allowed local magistrates to get consumed by local paranoia and suspicion ie. David Seaton and Gilly Duncan
Remarkable for politicising witchcraft and created a connection, albeit inadvertently, between treason and witchcraft
Weak Political and Judicial System
What would be the Impact - part of PERIL paragraph?
The weakened political context which allowed local magistrates to get consumed by local paranoia and suspicion ie. David Seaton and Gilly Duncan
→ this was made even easier by the criminalisation of the witchcraft act in 1563
The political system forged an environment where torture allowed for these accusations to continue until more than 70 people had been accused, this reveals the wide reaching impact that the political system had on society
