UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO Second Sight in Early Modern Scotland A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in History by Jillian A. Bolin Committee in charge: Professor Nancy Caciola, Co-Chair Professor Ulrike Strasser, Co-Chair Professor Stefania Tutino Professor Daniel Vitkus Professor Edward Watts 2020 Copyright Jillian A. Bolin, 2020 All rights reserved. The dissertation of Jillian A. Bolin is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm and electronically: __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ Co-Chair __________________________________________________________________ Co-Chair University of California San Diego 2020 iii DEDICATION For my mother, the storyteller. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Signature Page ....................................................................................................................... iii Dedication .............................................................................................................................. iv Table of Contents ................................................................................................................... v List of Abbreviations .............................................................................................................. viii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................ ix Vita ......................................................................................................................................... xi Abstract of the Dissertation .................................................................................................... xii Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 1 I: Argument ............................................................................................................................ 3 II: Early Modern Sources and Evidence ................................................................................ 7 III: Historiography: Second Sight .......................................................................................... 20 Early Examinations by Folklorists ............................................................................. 22 Modern Scholarship ................................................................................................... 24 Scholarship since 2000 .............................................................................................. 27 IV: Historiographical Debates and Interventions ................................................................... 31 V: Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 35 VI: Organization of the Dissertation ...................................................................................... 37 Chapter 1: Foundations of Second Sight Belief ..................................................................... 39 I: Scholarly Definitions: Debating the Term “Second Sight” ................................................ 43 Contested Terms: “First,” “Second,” and “Sight” ...................................................... 44 Knowledge at a Distance ............................................................................................ 46 Death Prognostication ................................................................................................ 48 Seeing Spirits ............................................................................................................. 51 Voluntary or Involuntary? .......................................................................................... 53 A Modern Analogy ..................................................................................................... 55 II: Early Modern Definitions of Second Sight ....................................................................... 58 Death Prognostication ................................................................................................ 59 Knowledge of the Future ........................................................................................... 63 Remote Viewing ......................................................................................................... 66 Hidden Knowledge .................................................................................................... 67 Seeing Spirits ............................................................................................................. 70 Senses Other than Sight ............................................................................................. 72 III: The Experiential Dimension of Second Sight .................................................................. 77 v Consciousness in Early Modern Europe ..................................................................... 79 IV: Trance .............................................................................................................................. 85 Trance Technique ....................................................................................................... 87 V: Autoscopy ......................................................................................................................... 95 VI: Shamanism ...................................................................................................................... 100 Chapter 2: Spirits and the Supernatural in Early Modern Scotland ...................................... 120 I: The Spiritual Landscape ..................................................................................................... 123 II: Fairies ............................................................................................................................... 124 Brownies .................................................................................................................... 131 Fairies and Magical Eye Ointment ............................................................................ 134 Fairies and Disability ................................................................................................. 138 Fairies and Bards ....................................................................................................... 147 III: Angels .............................................................................................................................. 150 IV: Demons ............................................................................................................................ 158 V: Ghosts ............................................................................................................................... 163 VI: Death Portents ................................................................................................................. 168 VII: Wraiths ........................................................................................................................... 172 VIII: Subtle Bodies ................................................................................................................ 178 Doubles ...................................................................................................................... 179 Spectral Funeral Processions ..................................................................................... 181 Predictions of Visitors ............................................................................................... 185 Predicting Pairings and Love Divination .................................................................. 186 Spectral Oppression ................................................................................................... 190 The Church Porch Watch ........................................................................................... 193 Chapter 3: The Demonization of Second Sight ..................................................................... 200 I: Historiography: Second Sight, Witchcraft, and Fairy Belief ............................................. 204 II: Demonization in Second Sight Theory ............................................................................. 209 Not Virtuous, but Vicious .......................................................................................... 210 Christianity and “Curing” Second Sight ................................................................... 212 Secret Societies and Diabolism ................................................................................. 219 III: Second Sight, Demonology, and Witchcraft ................................................................... 227 Legislation and Demonology .................................................................................... 228 Patterns of Scottish Witch-Hunting ........................................................................... 240 Second Sight and Practitioners of Popular Magic ..................................................... 248 People with Disabilities and their Consulters ............................................................ 268 An Ominous Prediction versus a Threat ...................................................................