Time and Space in Scosh Witch- Hunng, 1563-1736

Anna Mitschele, PhD University of Mannheim Germany Spaal paerns of witch trials are messy….unless….

“Instuonal systems do not have boundaries, instead they do boundaries through pracces 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

• Accusaons emerge in communies (conflict, scapegoang, moral crisis)

• Accusaons are engineered by the ruling class with a view downwards to society (ideology, power)

• My theory: witch-hunts are mostly engineered by people with ambions to power BUT they are oriented upwards A couple of things one needs to know about Scosh Witches • Survey of Scosh Witchcra (Goodare et al 2003) • 3,212 of them • Most female • Post Reformaon 1563-1736 • Prosecuted by secular authories • 1,109 prosecutors Waves of Witch-Hunng

See also Miller and Marn 2008 What about the spaal paern?

Ukborders Boundary Data The Regional Approach

Regions as used by Marn 2008 The Raw Data – from frenec hunng to occasional witches

*white = 0 witches, gray = 1 witch, black = more than 1 (n=369 parishes) The Problem

• Witch-hunts don’t adhere to administrave boundaries

• Boundaries around a “case” of witch-hunng 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

• Disproporonate 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 Leng 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● ● Scone Largs ● ●Lesmahagow● Gargunnock● InverkipGreenock● Crail Brechin● ● Penicuik● Dumbarton ● ● Wick● ClackmannanLanark● Saltoun● Coldingham● Douglas● Liberton Thurso● Foulden● Ayton● Ayr Haddington ● Traquair● Spott● Eyemouth Twynholm● ● Hilton●

Dunbar ● ● ● ● Gordon Ecclesgreig Rerrick Fogo● Peebles● Duns CrichtonBorthwick ● Bassendean● ● ● Pentland ● ● ● Carrington ● Preston ● Peterhead Kilmallie● Auchterarder Newbattle● Lauder●Langton● Golspie● Cranston● Fala● 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● ● Elgin (St● Giles) Kilwinning● Humbie Dalgety● ● Kirkurd● Pencaitland Peebles ● ● ● Keith Marischall● West Linton Inverkeithing ● DrumelzierNewlands● ● 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● ● Collesie● Dunbog● Largs● Kiltarlity & Convinth Creich● ● Spott Abdie● ● Newburgh● Findo● Gask Greenock● Flisk● Forteviot● ● 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 Communies – the social construcon of space

Colors: Groups by Girvan and Newman community based clustering Cluster Contribuon 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

GIS Data: ERSC UK Data Service Substanal Conclusions

• Witch-hunts differ in the degree of “localness” • Only seen through socially constructed boundaries does the spaal paern make sense • Witch-hunng exceeds localness where things are visible to the center • Orientaon towards people in power • Actual witch searches in different places • a disncon between emergent witch accusaons and engineered ones?

• References in the presentaon • Goodare, Julian, Maring, Lauren, Miller, Joyce, and Yeoman, Louise. 2003. “Survey of Scosh Witchcra.” Retrieved (hp://www.arts.ed.ac.uk/witches/). • Marn, Lauren. „Scosh Witchcra Panics Re-examined“. In Witchcra and belief in early modern , edited by von Julian Goodare, Lauren Marn, und Joyce Miller, 119–143. Palgrave historical studies in witchcra and magic. Basingstoke [England] ; New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. • “Censusparishes 1851”, Scosh Historic Boundaries [ESRI Shape File], ERSC UK Data Service, , 2011