The North Berwick Witch Trials: Part One
This article is part one of four. All four sections will be quite different from the articles you can normally find from me, as they will each be a chapter of my history dissertation.
I know, I know, it seems self-indulgent to post my undergrad dissertation. But if you’ve read any of my other history articles and enjoy the spooky side of history, you might enjoy reading a more serious piece of work. I won’t lie, it’s not a light and fun read, the whole thing clocks in at around 12,000 words. Don’t worry, we’re starting gently, the introduction just gives you a very brief overview of the topic and the next three chapters.
If you are interested in reading an in-depth exploration of the factors surrounding the North Berwick Witch Trials of the 1590s, then here is the introduction of my dissertation.
Introduction
‘Witches, Enchanters and Necromancers, those detestable slaves of the Devil’.[1]
When King James VI of Scotland arranged to marry Princess Anne of Denmark, the younger daughter of King Fredrick II of Denmark, he was unaware it would spark one of the most brutal witch-hunts in Scottish history. Following their marriage by proxy in 1589, Princess Anne attempted to cross over to Scotland but was forced to abandon the crossing due to leaks and storms that were attributed to a group of alleged witches, later labelled as the North Berwick Witches. James himself set out to Oslo where Anne had been forced to winter, with the two later moving onto Denmark where they witnessed a Danish woman be tried for witchcraft and subsequently be prosecuted as being guilty of conjuring the storms. James and Anne returned to Scotland in the spring of 1590 with the North Berwick Witch trials starting the following summer that year.
What followed over the next seven years was a series of violent witch trials focusing on those accused of plotting to kill the King through magical means. Those accused of witchcraft include Agnes Sampson, Barbara Napier, Euphame MacCalzean, Dr John Fian, Geillis Duncan, Ritchie Graham and Francis Stewart, the Earl of Bothwell. These are the core North Berwick Witches[2] who were accused of gathering at the North Berwick Kirk[3] on All Hallows Eve of 1590, where they danced, played music and listened to the Devil preach.[4] More significantly, however, these witches were accused of conspiring to kill the King, asking the Devil to roast a wax figure of James himself. The Earl of Bothwell, James’s cousin and his chief political rival, was also hauled before the King and his council upon the charge of treason after consulting with known witches Agnes Sampson and Richard Graham.[5]
The original North Berwick Witches were all tried and executed throughout 1591, but the witch trials truly started in 1592 following the privy council order establishing both royal and Kirk commissioners to create standing commissions in localities to prosecute witches.[6] This led to a huge increase in witch trials, with regional commissioners able to prosecute witches without any oversight. The next five years saw the number of witch trials spiral out of control, with the Kirk able to freely pursue its moral reform agenda, attempting to punish those who indulged in what they considered to be ‘ungodly behavior’.[7] The witch trials were stopped in 1597 when the privy council disbanded all Crown-Kirk commissions and restored the power to prosecute witches back to the privy council.[8] This Act signified the end of the witch trials of the late 1500s with James ascending to the English crown in 1603, his attention no longer preoccupied with hunting the supernatural.
While historians have offered a thorough discussion of the Scottish witch trials in general, upon completing the initial research of this dissertation it became clear that they have largely ignored the trials of the 1590s. An example of this is Christina Larner’s groundbreaking study ‘Enemies of God: The Witch-hunt in Scotland’, published in 1981.[9] This study of Scottish witchcraft made the case that the witch trials were an inevitable aspect of the religious and social ideals of the era and were an attempt by the ruling class to maintain social control and suppress dissident elements within Scottish society. While Larner’s study is extremely illuminating, it offers little examination of the trials of the 1590s and diminishes the role of James VI, something this dissertation will strongly argue against.
A more recent examination of Scottish witch-hunting can be found in Brian P. Levack’s ‘Witch-Hunting in Scotland: Law, Politics and Religion’.[10] This analysis of Scottish witchcraft offers a direct comparison between Scottish and English witchcraft, splitting his comparison into three sections. Levack argues that it is the differences in legal, political and religious circumstances that led to a higher number of witchcraft prosecutions in Scotland. One of Levack’s leading arguments is that the witch trials of the 1590s were completely driven by those in rural communities with the privy council attempting to suppress the trials, which directly contrasts with the findings of this dissertation.
For a more focused examination of Scottish witchcraft, we must turn to Lawrence Normand and Gareth Roberts ‘Witchcraft in Early Modern Scotland: James VI’s Demonology and the North Berwick Witches.[11] This dedicated work contains reproductions of trial documents, King James VI’s Daemonologie and the Newes from Scotland pamphlet. Alongside this it has some interesting textual analysis, utilising literary techniques to analyse the various primary sources. The following dissertation will use all three texts, as well as numerous others, to offer a measured and balanced reassessment of the North Berwick Witch trials.
This dissertation aims to offer a reassessment of the Scottish witch trials of the 1590s, arguing the case that these trials are much more historically significant than historians have credited. As this dissertation revolves around the legal trials, it will rely on the wealth of trial documents accurately recreated in Normand and Roberts ‘Witchcraft in Early Modern Scotland: James VI’s Demonology and the North Berwick Witches.[12] These trial documents contain the initial interrogations, depositions, and the trials themselves of the original North Berwick Witches. Other primary sources that this dissertation will frequently utilise include James VI’s Daemonologie[13] and the Newes from Scotland Pamphlet.[14] Both these sources will be thoroughly examined throughout the entirety of this dissertation.
The dissertation will achieve its aim by examining each of the three unique factors of the North Berwick Witch trials. The first chapter will examine the role and motivations of King James VI in the trials, utilising several socio-political theories. This is perhaps the most ignored aspect of the trials, with historians writing James off as simply being swept up in the trials. This chapter will illustrate how this view is incorrect and that the King of Scotland had much more agency than historians attribute to him. The second chapter will shift focus to the role Scottish religious attitudes and the Scottish Kirk played in driving the witch trials. The final chapter will then examine how the trials were unique from a legal standing, examining the shifting legislation that surrounded the trials and how King James was involved in the legal process. Finally, the conclusion will assess the long-term impact of the North Berwick Witch trials, arguing that they were indeed some of the most important Scottish witch trials, and reveal some fascinating aspects of early modern Scottish politics, religious climate and legal system.
Sources
[1] King James VI and I, Preface to Daemonologie, ed, Tarl Warwick (2016)
[2] It should be noted historians often use the term ‘North Berwick Witches’ to define all those tried between 1590 and 1597, something that this dissertation will also indulge in.
[3] It is worth noting that the usage of ‘Kirk’ simply refers to the Church.
[4] Examination and confession of Agnes Sampson, 4th December 1590 found in L. Normand and G. Roberts, Witchcraft in Early Modern Scotland: James VI’s Demonology and the North Berwick Witches, p.141, this can also be seen in the trial documents of Barbara Napier and Dr John Fian, found in Normand and Roberts.
[5] Trial documents of Francis Stewart, Earl of Bothwell, 10th August 1593 found in Normand/ Roberts, Witchcraft in Early Modern Scotland: James VI’s Demonology and the North Berwick Witches, p.281
[6] Privy Council Order permitting standing commissions to be issued in localities, 8th June 1592, found in Normand/Roberts, Witchcraft in Early Modern Scotland: James VI’s Demonology and the North Berwick Witches, pp.428–429
[7] C. Smout, A History of the Scottish People, 1560–1830 (London, 1972), p.78
[8] Privy Council Order revoking standing commissions, and establishing privy council control of prosecutions,12th August 1597 found in Normand/Roberts, Witchcraft in Early Modern Scotland: James VI’s Demonology and the North Berwick Witches, pp.429–430
[9] C. Larner, Enemies of God: The Witch-hunt in Scotland (London, 1981)
[10] B.P. Levack, Witch-Hunting in Scotland: Law, Politics and Religion (New York, 2008)
[11] L. Normand and G. Roberts, Witchcraft in Early Modern Scotland: James VI’s Demonology and the North Berwick Witches (Exeter, 2000)
[12] Normand/Roberts, Witchcraft in Early Modern Scotland: James VI’s Demonology and the North Berwick Witches
[13] King James VI and I, ‘Daemonologie’
[14] ‘Newes From Scotland’ (Edinburgh, 1591) found in Normand/Roberts, Witchcraft in Early Modern Scotland: James VI’s Demonology and the North Berwick Witches, p.309
