Time and Space in Sco sh Witch- Hun ng, 1563-1736
Anna Mitschele, PhD University of Mannheim Germany Spa al pa erns of witch trials are messy….unless….
“Ins tu onal systems do not have boundaries, instead they do boundaries through prac ces that evolve over me and according to vantage points. If you have access to God, fine, but the rest of us must swear off boundaries and their satellite mirages” (White 2007:199) Theories on witchcra
• Accusa ons emerge in communi es (conflict, scapegoa ng, moral crisis)
• Accusa ons are engineered by the ruling class with a view downwards to society (ideology, power)
• My theory: witch-hunts are mostly engineered by people with ambi ons to power BUT they are oriented upwards A couple of things one needs to know about Sco sh Witches • Survey of Sco sh Witchcra (Goodare et al 2003) • 3,212 of them • Most female • Post Reforma on 1563-1736 • Prosecuted by secular authori es • 1,109 prosecutors Waves of Witch-Hun ng
See also Miller and Mar n 2008 What about the spa al pa ern?
Ukborders Boundary Data The Regional Approach
Regions as used by Mar n 2008 The Raw Data – from frene c hun ng to occasional witches
*white = 0 witches, gray = 1 witch, black = more than 1 (n=369 parishes) The Problem
• Witch-hunts don’t adhere to administra ve boundaries
• Boundaries around a “case” of witch-hun ng are socially constructed
• Before one can determine the space, one needs to know who is defining it…who are the central actors in witch-cra ? Another piece of the puzzle
• Dispropor onate engagement of gentry from outside of the official hierarchy • Witch-hunts coincide with mes of office vacancies
What is the mechanism behind witch waves?
State offices as viable careers Gentry – upward mobility
Witch-hunters feed on witchcra as a moral movement in order to become visible
Windows of opportunity
Commissions for witchcra The geographical scope of witch- hunters
294 300
250
200 498 out of 1,109 prosecutors cross parish boundaries
150 Number Number of Prosecutors n=498 100 83
47 50
26 22 19
5 1 1 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Number of Cross-cutting Parish Ties Le ng the actors draw the boundaries
Prosecutor
Parish A
Parish A Parish D Parish B Parish C
Parish C Parish B Parish D 1620−1640
● ● Canongate● CramondAuldearnGlasgow Ochiltree●
Houston● Stornoway● Killellan● Leith● Erskine ● Paisley● Tranent ● Scone Largs ● ●Lesmahagow● Gargunnock● InverkipGreenock● Crail Brechin● ● Penicuik● Dumbarton ● ● Wick● ClackmannanLanark● Saltoun● Coldingham● Douglas● Liberton Thurso● Foulden● Ayton● Ayr Haddington ● Traquair● Inveresk Spott● Eyemouth Twynholm● ● Hilton●
Dunbar ● ● ● ● Gordon Ecclesgreig Rerrick Prestonpans Fogo● Peebles● Duns CrichtonBorthwick ● Bassendean● ● ● Pentland ● ● ● Carrington ● Preston ● Peterhead Kilmallie● Auchterarder Newbattle● Lauder●Langton● Golspie● Cranston● Fala● Pencaitland Rathen● Jedburgh Clyne● ● ● Selkirk● Maxton● Crimond● Kinneil● Lilliesleaf● ● ● Melrose Bo'nessDysart Bowden Lochrutton● Lochmaben● Keir● Wemyss● Aberdour● Kirkcaldy● Dumfries● Glencairn● Tain● ● Kilsyth● Inverkeithing Edderton Torryburn ● Culross Logie● ● Kincardine● parish
Prosecutor crossing 1646−1653
Greenock● Renfrew● Montrose● ● Insch● Galashiels
Ayr Inverkip Monimail● Leith● ● ● ● Kingarth Perth Brechin● Kelso ● Rathven● Kippen● Dumbarton ● Bonhill● ● Spynie Burntisland● Hownam● Largs● Dirleton● Elgin (St● Giles) Kilwinning● Humbie Dalgety● ● Kirkurd● Pencaitland Peebles ● ● ● Keith Marischall● West Linton Inverkeithing ● DrumelzierNewlands● Ormiston● Stobo● Jedburgh South● Leith ● Traquair● Linton● Temple●
Dalkeith● Cupar● Borthwick ● Heriot● Kilmany● ● Legerwood ● Balmerino Earlston● Crichton Crailing● Newbattle● Lauder● Corstorphine●
Carrington● Crawford● Queensferry● Dysart Bo'ness Eyemouth Lesmahagow● ● ● Menmuir Mertoun Paisley ● Carriden● Tranent ● Inveresk Whittingehame● ● Newton● Prestonkirk● parish
Prosecutor crossing 1660−1663
Prestonpans Inveresk●Duddingston● Innerleithen● Newton● Liberton ● Contin Ormiston Abbey St● Bathans ● Penicuik Dalkeith ● Alloa● Kinross● Crichton● Haddington ● Bathgate● Bolton Lasswade● Orwell● ● Tranent ● Selkirk Abernethy● ● Elgin (St● Giles) Linton● Duns●
● Ellem Dyke● Coldingham● Auldearn Lauder● Eyemouth ● Dirleton● Rothesay● Mordington
Nairn● ● Ayton● Kilmany● Aberdour● Foulden Newbattle● Falkland● Inverness● Innerwick● Collesie● Dunbog● Largs● Kiltarlity & Convinth Creich● ● Spott Abdie● ● Newburgh● Findo● Gask Greenock● Flisk● Forteviot● North Berwick● Inverkip Rhynd● Montrose● Aberuthven● ● Methven● Oathlaw
Langton● Dunning● ● Forgan● Inverarity Eastwood● Forfar● Crailing● Cortachy●
Bowden● Queensferry Kirkliston● ● parish
Prosecutor crossing Parishes 1563−1736
● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●●● ● ● ● ●● ● ● ● ●● ● ● ● ●● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●● ● ●● ● ●● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●● ● ● ●● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●●● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●● ● ● ●● ● ● ● ● ●● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●●● ● ● ●● ● ●● ● ●● ● ● ●● ● ● ● ●● ● ● ●●● ● ●●● ● ●●● ● ●● ● ●●● ● ● ● ● ● ●● ● ● ● ● ●● ● ● ●● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●●● ●●● ●● ● parish
Prosecutor crossing Communi es – the social construc on of space
Colors: Groups by Girvan and Newman community based clustering Cluster Contribu on to Total Number of Witches
700
600 570
500
400
300 203 200 147 Witches 1.797n= 100
0 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65
Network Clusters The biggest Cluster…is in the vicinity of Edinburgh
GIS Data: ERSC UK Data Service Substan al Conclusions
• Witch-hunts differ in the degree of “localness” • Only seen through socially constructed boundaries does the spa al pa ern make sense • Witch-hun ng exceeds localness where things are visible to the center • Orienta on towards people in power • Actual witch searches in different places • a dis nc on between emergent witch accusa ons and engineered ones?
• References in the presenta on • Goodare, Julian, Maring, Lauren, Miller, Joyce, and Yeoman, Louise. 2003. “Survey of Sco sh Witchcra .” Retrieved (h p://www.arts.ed.ac.uk/witches/). • Mar n, Lauren. „Sco sh Witchcra Panics Re-examined“. In Witchcra and belief in early modern Scotland, edited by von Julian Goodare, Lauren Mar n, und Joyce Miller, 119–143. Palgrave historical studies in witchcra and magic. Basingstoke [England] ; New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. • “Censusparishes 1851”, Sco sh Historic Boundaries [ESRI Shape File], ERSC UK Data Service,