Margaret Aitken (died Fife c. August 1597) was known as 'the great witch of Balwearie' and was an important figure in the great Scottish witchcraft panic of 1597.[1]
Margaret Aitken | |
|---|---|
 Suspected witches kneeling at the feet of James VI | |
| Died | c. August 1597 |
| Cause of death | Burnt at the stake |
| Nationality | Scottish |
Background edit
Later subsumed into the town of Kirkcaldy, the small village of Balwearie in Fife had long been associated with supernatural events.[2]
It is recorded that King James V had a nightmare in 1539 that the laird of Balwearie's son, Thomas Scott, visited the king 'in the company of devils'[2] while the 13th century physician, Sir Michael Scott of Balwearie, had long since entered folklore as being a wizard.[2]
The great Scottish witch hunt of 1597 edit
Margaret was arrested in Fife c. April 1597.[3][1] Under extreme torture and to spare her own life, she claimed to be able to recognise other witches[4] by looking for a special mark in their eyes.[1][5]
In May 1597, she claimed to know of a convention of 2,300 witches in Atholl.[1] As a result, a special commission was formed with the approval of James VI,[1] and prosecutors took her from town to town to detect witches.[5]
In addition to Margaret looking into the eyes of those accused of witchcraft, the commission also employed the swimming test [1] - almost the only occasion this test was employed in Scotland:[1]
'it appears that God hath appointed (for a super-natural signe of the monstrous impiety of the Witches) that the water shal refuse to receive them in her bosom, that have shaken off the sacred Water of Baptisme, and wilfully refused the benefit thereof.'
James VI, Daemonologie, p.56, in 1597.
When she reached Glasgow, Minister John Cowper condemned many innocent women to death on her testimony.[6] Any women suspected of witchcraft was cast into prison and subjected to torture - under which most of them confessed to being guilty. [7] They would then be brought to trial and executed. [7]
The exact number of executions carried out by the commission is unknown but is thought to have run into hundreds.
Margaret's short-lived success also led to imitators such as Anne Ewing in Kirkcaldy [5] who after large-scale witch hunts in Kirkcaldy was loaned by the magistrates of Kirkcaldy to their colleagues in Inverkeithing on condition that she was to return.[2]
An English ambassador to Scotland wrote to Lord Burghley in August 1597 that the king was 'much pestered with witches, who swarm in thousands.' [8]
Death edit
Around 1st August 1597[2], Margaret was exposed as a fraud.[4]
A sceptical prosecutor took some of those declared guilty and brought them back to Margaret the next day in different clothing. When she declared them innocent, her role as witch-finder was irretrievably undermined and the witch trials stopped.[1]
Taken back to Fife, she stood trial and affirmed that all she had said about herself, and about others, was false.[1]
Legacy edit
After this disastrous episode, James VI revoked the existing commissions on 12 August 1597 via a proclamation by the privy council at Falkland.[2] The outcry over the Aitken affair meant that Scotland would not see another panic for another three decades [6] but James VI's confidence in pursuing offenders was undiminished. The publication of his dissertation, Daemonologie, not long after shows how deeply concerned he was with the problem.[8]
'The king had his mind only bent on the examination and trial of sorcerors, men and women.'[8]
See also edit
References edit
Category:Scottish women Category:1597 deaths Category:Witch hunters
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Elizabeth., Ewan; Sue., Innes; Sian., Reynolds (2006). The biographical dictionary of Scottish women from the earliest times to 2004. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 0748617132. OCLC 367680960.
- ^ a b c d e f Goodare, Julian (2002-09-21). The Scottish Witch-Hunt in Context. Manchester University Press. ISBN 9780719060243.
- ^ "Welcome to Fife : Great Witch Hunt of Scotland". Welcome to Fife - highlight. Retrieved 2017-06-17.
- ^ a b c Stilma, Astrid (2016-03-23). A King Translated: The Writings of King James VI & I and their Interpretation in the Low Countries, 1593–1603. Routledge. ISBN 9781317187745.
- ^ a b c MEIKLE, MAUREEN M. (2015-07-08). The Scottish People 1490-1625. Lulu.com. ISBN 9781291518009.
- ^ a b Middleton, Heather (2011). "GWL Glasgow Necopolis Womens Heritage Walk Map" (PDF). http://womenslibrary.org.uk/whats-on/women-make-history/women%E2%80%99s-heritage-walks/. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
{{cite web}}: External link in|website= - ^ a b c Wright, Thomas (1852). The history of Scotland.
- ^ a b c Maxwell-Stuart, Peter (2014-06-04). The British Witch. Amberley Publishing Limited. ISBN 9781445622187.