The North Berwick witch craze 1590-91 and the aftermath to 1597 Flashcards
What makes the North Berwick hunt unique?
The involvement of royalty
witch-hunting in Scotland
Witch-hunting in Scotland was always more widespread and more intense than in England, with a relatively large number of executions and extensive use of torture.
reasons put forward by historians for why witch-hunting in Scotland was always more widespread and more intense than in England
Scotland had a less complex system of government than England. With fewer royal agents at the monarch’s disposal, local officials were usually allowed to pursue witch-hunts without interference, resulting in trials dominated and directed by the paranoid neighbours pf suspected witches.
According to the law, torture could only be used with the permission of the Privy Council or parliament of Scotland, but as the Scottish monarchy was relatively weak, local judges often allowed torture without suffering repercussions. The swimming test was hardly used, unlike in England.
Although Scotland had a jury system a simple majority was needed to find a defendant guilty, rather than a unanimous decision.
The nature of religion in Scotland also played a part in increasing the intensity of witch-hunting. Like England, Scotland witnessed a Protestant reformation, but on stricter, Calvinist lines. An air of anti-Catholic feeling heightened an already well-established suspicion of rituals and traditions, the use of which was increasingly blamed on witches.
Compared with England, Scotland was relatively poor. In this context, the appeal of the notion that the Devil was able to offer people eternal riches and a fruitful life while they were on Earth can be understood. The Christian Church made promises of eternal rewards in the afterlife, only after a life of virtue and godliness on Earth first.
The children of accused witches would suffer the same reputation as their parents, and were referred to as ‘witch’s get’. In a deeply patriarchal society, women who were antisocial or caused their neighbours distress were often so labelled.
As well as belief in witchcraft, there was a deeply held belief in fairies and folk magic used for helpful purposes. This could, however, result in accusations of wrongdoing.
witch-hunting in the late 16th century
Witch-hunting started relatively late in Scotland, with the first major hunts occurring towards the end of the 16th century.
The majority of hunts took place in the south, where people had more contact with England, and away from the Highlands.
The Scottish Witchcraft Act was passed in 1563 under Mary Stuart- and it was heavily influenced by Calvinist clergymen keen to enforce godly morals.
Commissions of judges could be set up under the Witchcraft Act in order to investigate cases, and they were sent around the country when required.
At first, the number of accused persons was low. The years 1590 and 1591 were some of the most intense for witch-hunting that Scotland had seen, until accusations peaked in the mid-17th century and then declined rapidly.
Accusations tended to peak at times of crisis or economic difficulty, such as years of poor harvest, political upheaval or war.
Gilly Duncan’s reputation
The persecutions at North Berwick began with the confession of a young woman named Gilly Duncan.
She was reputed to have unnatural healing abilities. Although she had never attempted healing before, she began visiting those who were sick and disabled in her neighbourhood in an effort to help them.
When her efforts were apparently rewarded and her patients made miraculous recoveries, some of her neighbours began whispering that dark, supernatural forces may be to blame.
Duncan was not a typical witch, as she was neither old nor particularly isolated from her community.
The persecution of Gilly Duncan
Duncan worked as a maidservant for David Seaton, the local deputy-bailiff, who decided to question her about where she acquired her remarkable skills, as well as why she had been stealing from his house and disappearing for days at a time.
Duncan remained silent throughout Seaton’s questioning, and then the torture began.
Seaton was assisted by others in this torture, and Duncan was subject to the most painful methods available.
She was tortured with ‘pilliwinks’, or thumb-screws.
She was also tortured with cords around her head.
Duncan continued to deny her involvement in witchcraft, so Seaton set about searching for a Witch’s mark. This was found in the front of her throat, and its discovery was enough for her to confess.
‘Newes from Scotland’
serves as one of the most detailed primary accounts of the witch-hunt
Duncan’s confession
Duncan stated that her cures had been the work of the Devil, and she was sent to prison, where she started to name other witches. Some of those that she named were Agnes Sampson, Agnes Tompson of Edinburgh and Doctor Fian.
Seaton’s possible motives
Duncan’s employer, David Seaton, seems to have had little compassion or understanding of why Duncan would want to help others, or why someone of her humble background would have knowledge of medical techniques such as the use of leeches.
His motivation for pressing ahead with torture may have been due to her stealing from him or being absent from work.
Some historians have even suggested the two had previously entered into an affair that ended shortly before the accusations were made.
Some of the accomplices she named were the wives of respectable Edinburgh gentlemen, whose previous reputations had been impeccable.
James’ voyage to Denmark
James had married the 14-year-old Anne of Denmark by proxy, and she attempted to set sail for Scotland three times, starting her first voyage on 1 September 1589, but each time her fleet was driven back by storms.
The Danish admiral, Peter Munk, could not recall ever witnessing storms as dangerous, and he attributed them to witchcraft.
Munk may have had other reasons for suggesting witchcraft was to blame, as he seemed concerned that he may have been accused of negligence himself.
James ordered his cousin, Francis Stewart, Earl of Bothwell, who was Admiral of Scotland, to fetch his bride. Bothwell submitted his estimated costs for the trip to the Chancellor, who rejected them as too expensive, and so the Treasury and Bothwell suggested that James travel to Denmark in person.
He departed in October in a vessel packed with large quantities of food and wine, arrived in Norway after a stormy journey, and proceeded to Denmark, where he stayed until spring.
Who did James VI visit whilst in Denmark?
James met a number of scientists and philosophers, and his royal engagements included a visit to astronomer Tycho Brahe’s home at Uraniborg.
He also met with a leading Danish theologian, Niels Hemmingsen, with whom he discussed Calvinism at length.
Finally, he met a number of courtiers who held strong beliefs in group witch trials.
Journey back to Scotland
James and Anne sailed back to Scotland as part of a fleet, and their journey was perilous.
One ship was lost, and witches were again blamed by some.
A few months later, members of the Danish court made a visit to Scotland and James’ conviction against witches was again strengthened in conversation with leading courtiers.
Did James’ voyage encourage his belief in witches?
There is no evidence to suggest that James was interested in witchcraft before 1590, and there were few books on witchcraft and magic printed or imported into Scotland.
There is a chance that James was present at a performance of a play called ‘Flyting’ around 1580, which contained some references to fairies and witches, and he quoted from it in an essay he wrote in 1584.
The Witchcraft Act of 1563 did forbid anyone to use witchcraft or sorcery, or to consult with anyone claiming to be a witch, but even the wording of the Act treated the existence of witchcraft with a degree of scepticism. Witches are referred to as abusers of the people rather than genuine Devil-worshippers, reflecting the fact that most Scots saw witchcraft as a fraudulent practice.
Before James’ voyage, the Act was rarely enforced to the letter- in 1573 an order was given by the General Assembly of the Kirk that witches simply repent for their sins, and shows no interest in executing them.
This is not to say that James would have been entirely ignorant of continental notions of witchcraft, and references are made to a diabolic pact with the Devil from a case tried in 1552, that James would have been aware of.
Historians Christina Larner and P.G Maxwell-Stuart have suggested that it was James’ meeting with theologian Niels Hemmingsen that may have fired his belief in witchcraft. Hemmingsen was well respected and had written a book on magic and related subjects in 1575, entitled ‘Admonitio de Superstitionibus Magicis Vitandis’ (Avoiding Magic and Superstition). In his book, Hemmingsen accepted that witches were able to carry out acts of maleficium, but he denied that a pact with the Devil could take place.
The idea that James’ visit to Denmark had a significant impact on his thinking has been questioned, however. The historian Thomas Riis has argued that as witchcraft accusations in Denmark were generally based on localised cases of maleficium and not pacts with the Devil, the voyage would have had little impact on James.
