Witchcraft and Belief in Early Modern Scotland
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Witchcraft and Belief in Early Modern Scotland Edited by Julian Goodare, Lauren Martin and Joyce Miller 9780230_507883_01_prexiv.pdf 1/11/07 10:16 AM Page i Witchcraft and Belief in Early Modern Scotland 9780230_507883_01_prexiv.pdf 1/11/07 10:16 AM Page ii Palgrave Historical Studies in Witchcraft and Magic Series Editors: Jonathan Barry, Willem de Blécourt and Owen Davies Titles include: Julian Goodare, Lauren Martin and Joyce Miller WITCHCRAFT AND BELIEF IN EARLY MODERN SCOTLAND Forthcoming: Edward Bever THE REALITIES OF WITCHCRAFT AND POPULAR MAGIC IN EARLY MODERN EUROPE Culture, Cognition and Everyday Life Johannes Dillinger MAGICAL TREASURE HUNTING IN EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA A History Soili-Maria Olli TALKING TO DEVILS AND ANGELS IN SCANDINAVIA, 1500–1800 Alison Rowlands and Jenni Grundy WITCHCRAFT AND MASCULINITIES IN EARLY MODERN EUROPE Rolf Schulte MAN AS WITCH Male Witches in Central Europe Laura Stokes THE DEMONS OF URBAN REFORM The Rise of Witchcraft Prosection, 1430–1530 Wanda Wyporska WITCHCRAFT IN EARLY MODERN POLAND, 1500–1800 Palgrave Historical Studies in Witchcraft and Magic Series Standing Order ISBN 978–1–4039–9566–7 Hardback 978–1–4039–9567–4 Paperback You can receive future titles in this series as they are published by placing a standing order. Please contact your bookseller or, in case of difficulty, write to us at the address below with your name and address, the title of the series and one of the ISBNs quoted above. Customer Services Department, Macmillan Distribution Ltd, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS, England 9780230_507883_01_prexiv.pdf 1/11/07 10:16 AM Page iii Witchcraft and Belief in Early Modern Scotland Edited by Julian Goodare, Lauren Martin and Joyce Miller 9780230_507883_01_prexiv.pdf 1/11/07 10:16 AM Page iv Editorial matter and selection © Julian Goodare, Lauren Martin and Joyce Miller 2008 All remaining chapters © their respective authors 2008 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The authors have asserted their rights to be identified as the authors of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2008 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 Companies and representatives throughout the world PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN 13: 978–0–230–50788–3 hardback ISBN 10: 0–230–50788–3 hardback This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. 10987654321 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 Printed and bound in Great Britain by CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham and Eastbourne 9780230_507883_01_prexiv.pdf 1/11/07 10:16 AM Page v Contents List of Figures and Tables vii Preface viii Series Foreword ix Abbreviations x Contributors xi Introduction 1 Julian Goodare and Joyce Miller 1 Scottish Witchcraft in its European Context 26 Julian Goodare 2 Some Findings from the Survey of Scottish Witchcraft 51 Lauren Martin and Joyce Miller 3 Witch Persecution and Folk Belief in Lowland Scotland: 71 The Devil’s Decade Edward J. Cowan 4 Witch Hunting and Witch Belief in the Gàidhealtachd 95 Lizanne Henderson 5 Scottish Witchcraft Panics Re-examined 119 Lauren Martin 6 Men in Black: Appearances of the Devil in Early Modern 144 Scottish Witchcraft Discourse Joyce Miller 7 Demonic Possession in Early Modern Scotland 166 Brian P. Levack 8 A Comparative Perspective on Scottish Cunning-Folk 185 and Charmers Owen Davies 9 The Mechanical World-View and the Decline of 206 Witch-Beliefs in Scotland Michael Wasser v 9780230_507883_01_prexiv.pdf 1/11/07 10:16 AM Page vi vi Contents 10 ‘Charms against Witchcraft’: Magic and Mischief in 227 Museum Collections Hugh Cheape Further Reading 249 Index 252 9780230_507883_01_prexiv.pdf 1/11/07 10:16 AM Page vii List of Figures and Tables Figures 2.1 Accused Witches in Scotland, 1561–1736 57 2.2 Accused Witches, Ten-year Trends, 1561–1736 58 5.1 Number of Witch-accusing Parishes, 1561–1736 136 5.2 Number of Witch-accusing Parishes, 1561–1736 137 (Showing parishes with 3 or more suspects at a time) 10.1 ‘Elf-arrow’ 232 10.2 Slate plaque from Islay 234 10.3 Calf’s heart stuck with pins 235 10.4 Written charm against toothache 238 10.5 Water-worn and perforated ‘Mare Stone’ 240 10.6 ‘Witch’s Cursing Bone’ 241 10.7 Watercolour painting of rock crystal sphere 242 10.8 String of amber beads 243 Tables 2.1 Age of Witchcraft Suspects (When Known) 59 2.2 Socio-Economic Status of Witchcraft Suspects 61 (When Known) 5.1 Number of Suspects by Region and County 124 5.2 Intensity of Prosecution by Region 125 5.3 Regional Involvement during Peak Years 126 5.4 Breakdown of Highland Region Cases in 1662 128 5.5 Breakdown of Strathclyde Region Cases in 1662 129 5.6 Breakdown of Tayside Region Cases in 1662 129 5.7 Breakdown of All Other Counties with Cases in 1662 130 5.8 Number of Parish Accusation Episodes Per 134 Witch-Accusing Parish Per Year 5.9 Number of Suspects Accused in Parish Accusation 135 Episodes Per Year vii 9780230_507883_01_prexiv.pdf 1/11/07 10:16 AM Page viii Preface This book had its gestation while work was in progress on the Survey of Scottish Witchcraft, an online resource funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and carried out at the University of Edinburgh between 2001 and 2003 by Julian Goodare (director), Louise Yeoman (co- director), Lauren Martin and Joyce Miller (researchers). A day conference was held to mark the completion of the Witchcraft Survey in January 2003, organised by Dr Martin and Dr Miller and convened by Dr Yeoman, and with Helen Brown as conference administrator. Several of the papers in the present book were presented on that occasion. The book has been planned to complement an earlier collection of essays, which also involved the Witchcraft Survey team among others: Julian Goodare (ed.), The Scottish Witch-Hunt in Context (Manchester, 2002). The illustrations in Chapter 10 are reproduced by courtesy of the Trustees of National Museums Scotland. Julian Goodare, Lauren Martin and Joyce Miller February 2007 viii 9780230_507883_01_prexiv.pdf 1/11/07 10:16 AM Page ix Series Foreword The history of European witchcraft and magic continues to fascinate and challenge students and scholars. There is certainly no shortage of books on the subject. Several general surveys of the witch trials and numerous regional and micro studies have been published for an English-speaking readership. While the quality of publications on witchcraft has been high, some regions and topics have received less attention over the years. The aim of this series is to help illuminate these lesser known or little studied aspects of the history of witchcraft and magic. It will also encourage the development of a broader corpus of work in other related areas of magic and the supernatural, such as angels, devils, spirits, ghosts, folk healing and divination. To help further our understanding and interest in this wider history of beliefs and practices, the series will include research that looks beyond the usual focus on Western Europe and that also explores their relevance and influence from the medieval to the modern period. ix 9780230_507883_01_prexiv.pdf 1/11/07 10:16 AM Page x Abbreviations HP Highland Papers, 4 vols. (ed.) J. R. N. Macphail (SHS, 1914–34). NAS National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh. NLS National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh. Normand and Roberts L. Normand and G. Roberts (eds), Witchcraft (eds), Witchcraft in Early Modern Scotland: James VI’s Demonology and the North Berwick Witches (Exeter, 2000). Pitcairn (ed.), Trials Criminal Trials in Scotland, 1488–1624, 3 vols. (ed.) R. Pitcairn (Edinburgh, 1833). PSAS Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. RPC Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, 38 vols. (eds) J. H. Burton et al. (Edinburgh, 1877– ). SHR Scottish Historical Review. SHS Scottish History Society. SJC Selected Justiciary Cases, 1624–1650, 3 vols. (eds) S. I. Gillon and J. I. Smith (Stair Society, 1954–74). Spalding Misc. Miscellany of the Spalding Club, 5 vols. (1844–52). SSW J. Goodare, L. Martin, J. Miller and L. Yeoman, ‘The Survey of Scottish Witchcraft, 1563–1736’ (www.shc.ed.ac.uk/witches/, archived Jan. 2003, updated Nov. 2003). x 9780230_507883_01_prexiv.pdf 1/11/07 10:16 AM Page xi Contributors Hugh Cheape is Principal Curator and Head of the Scottish Material Culture Research Centre, National Museums Scotland. His books include Periods in Highland History (London, 1987) (with I. F. Grant), Tartan: the Highland Habit (1995; 3rd edn, Edinburgh, 2006), Witness to Rebellion (East Linton, 1996) (with Iain Gordon Brown) and The Book of the Bagpipe (Belfast, 1999).