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Matters Concerning The North Berwick Witch Trials of 1591
God, by his omnipotent power, has at all times and daily does take such care, and is so vigilant, for the wealth and preservation of his own, that thereby he disapproves of the wicked practices and evil intents of all, such as by any means whatsoever, that seek indirectly to conspire anything contrary to his holy will.
Yes, and by the same power he has lately overthrown and hindered the intentions and wicked dealings of a great number of ungodly creatures, no better than Devils, who, suffering themselves to be allured and enticed by the Devil whom they serve, and to whom they were privately sworn, entered into the detestable Art of Witchcraft, which they studied and practiced for so long a time that in the end they had seduced by their sorcery a number of others to be as bad as themselves.
Dwelling in the bounds of Lothian, which is a principal shire or part of Scotland which the Kings Majesty uses to make his chiefest residence or abode, and to the end that their detestable wickedness which they privately had pretended against the Kings Majesty, the Commonwealth of that Country, with the Nobility and subjects of the same, should come to light, God of his unspeakable goodness did reveal and lay it open in very strange sort, thereby to make known unto the world, that their actions were contrary to the law of God, and the natural affection which we ought generally to bear one to another.
The manner of the revealing whereof was as follows.
Within the town of Trenent in the Kingdom of Scotland there dwells one David Seaton who, being deputy Bailiff in the said Town, had a maid-servant called Geillis Duncane, who used secretly to be absent and to lye forth of her Masters house every other night. This Geillis Duncane took in hand to help all such as were troubled or grieved with any kind of sickness or infirmity, and in short space did perform many matters most miraculous; things for-as-much as she began to do them upon a sodaine, having never done the like before, made her Master and others to be in great admiration, and wondered thereat. By means whereof the said David Seaton had his maid in some great suspicion, that she did not those things by natural and lawful ways, but rather supposed it to be done by some extraordinary and unlawful means.
Whereupon her Master began to grow very inquisitive, and examined her which way and by what means she were able to perform matters of so great importance, whereat she gave him no answer; nevertheless, her Master, to the intent that he might the better try and find out the truth of the same, did with the help of others torment her with the torture of the Pilliwinks upon her fingers, which is a grievous torture, and binding or wrenching her head with a cord or rope, which is a most cruel torment also. Yet would she not confess anything, whereupon they suspecting that she had been marked by the Devil (as commonly witches are) made diligent search about her and found the enemies’ mark to be in her fore crag or forepart of her throat. Being found, she confessed that all her doings was done by the wicked allurements and enticements of the Devil, and that she did them by witchcraft.
After this, her confession, she was committed to prison, where she continued for a season, and where immediately she accused these persons following to be notorious witches, causing them forthwith to be apprehended one after another.
These were by the said Geillis Duncane accused, as also:
with innumerable others in those parts and dwelling in those bounds aforesaid, of whom some are already executed; the rest remain in prison, to receive the doom of Judgment at the Kings majesties will and pleasure.
The said Geillis Duncane also caused Ewphame Meealrean to be apprehended, who conspired and performed the death of her Godfather and who used her art upon a gentleman, being one of the Lords and Justices of the Session, for bearing good will to her Daughter. She also caused to be apprehended one Barbara Naper for bewitching to death Archibald, last Earl of Angus, who languished to death by witchcraft and yet the same was not suspected, but that he died of so strange a disease as the Physician knew not how to cure or remedy the same. Of all other said witches, these two last before recited were reputed for as civil honest women as any that dwelt within the City of Edinburgh, before they were apprehended. Many other besides were taken, dwelling in Leith, and are now detained in prison until his Majesties further will and pleasure be known. Of whose wicked doings you shall particularly hear, which was as follows:
This aforesaid Agnes Sampson, who was the elder Witch, was taken and brought to Hollyrood House before the Kings Majesty and sundry other of the nobility of Scotland, where she was straightly examined; despite all the persuasions which the Kings majesty used to her with the rest of his counsel, they could not provoke or induce her to confess anything, and she stood stiffly in the denial of all that was laid to her charge. Afterwhich, they caused her to be conveyed away to prison, there to receive such torture as has been lately provided for witches in that country. Forasmuch as by due examination of witchcraft and witches in Scotland, it has lately been found that the Devil does generally mark them with a privy mark, by reason the Witches have confessed themselves, that the Devil does lick them with his tongue in some private part of their body, before he does receive them to be his servants, which mark commonly is given them under the hair in some part of their body, whereby it may not easily be found out or seen; although they be searched, and generally so long as the mark is not seen to those which search them, so long the parties that have the mark will never confess any thing. Therefore, by special commandment this Agnes Sampson had all her hair shaven off, in each part of her body, and her head thrawen with a rope, according to the custom of that Country, being a pain most grievous, which she continued almost an hour, during which time she would not confess any thing until the Devils mark was found upon her privities, then she immediately confessed whatsoever was demanded of her, and justifying those persons aforesaid to be notorious witches.
The said Agnes Thompson was after brought again before the Kings Majesty and his Counsel, and being examined of the meetings and detestable dealings of those witches, she confessed that upon the night of All-hollows Eve last she was accompanied aswell with the persons aforesaid, and also with a great many other witches, to the number of two hundred, and that all they together went by Sea each one in a Riddle or Ferry, and went in the same very substantially with flaggons of wine, making merry and drinking by the way in the same Riddles or Ferries, to the Kirk of North Berwick in Lothian, and that after they had landed they took hands on the land and danced this reel or short dance, singing all with one voice.
Commer goe ye before, commer goe ye, Gif ye will not goe before, commer let me.
At which time she confessed that this Geilles Duncane did go before them playing this reel or dance upon a small Trump, called a Jewes Trump, until they entered into the Kirk of North Berwick.
These confessions made the King in a wonderful admiration, and he sent for the said Geillis Duncane, who upon the like Trump did play the said dance before the Kings Majesty, who, in respect of the strangeness of these matters, took great delight to be present at their examinations.
The said Agnes Thompson confessed that the Devil, being then at North Berwick Kirk attending their coming in the habit or likeness of a man, and seeing that they tarried over long, he at their coming enjoined them all to a penance, which was that they should kiss his Buttocks in sign of duty to him. Then, being put over the Pulpit bar, every one did as he had enjoined them, and having made his ungodly exhortations, wherein he did greatly envy against the King of Scotland, he received their oaths for their good and true service towards him, and departed. That matter concluded, they returned to Sea, and so home again. At which time the witches demanded of the Devil why he did bear such hatred to the King, who answered by reason the King is the greatest enemy he hath in the world; all which their confessions and depositions are still extant upon record.
The said Agnes Sampson confessed before the Kings Majesty sundry things which were so miraculous and strange as that his Majesty said they were all extreme liars, to which she answered she would not wish his Majesty to suppose her words to be false, but rather to believe them, in that she would discover such matter unto him as his majesty should not any way doubt off.
And, thereupon taking his Majesty a little aside, she declared unto him the very words which passed between the Kings Majesty and his Queen at Oslo in Norway the first night of their marriage, with their answer each to other, to which the Kings Majesty wondered greatly and swore by the living God that he believed that all the Devils in hell could not have discovered the same. He acklowledged her words to be most true, and therefore gave the more credit to the rest which is before declared. Touching this Agnes Thompson, she is the only woman who by the Devil’s persuasion should have intended and put in execution the Kings Majesties death in this manner.
She confessed that she took a black Toad and did hang the same up by the heels, three days, and collected and gathered the venom as it dropped and fell from it in an Oyster shell, and kept the same venom close covered until she should obtain any part or piece of foul linen cloth, that had appertained to the Kings Majesty, as shirt, handkerchief, napkin or any other thing which she practiced to obtain by means of one John Kers, who being attendant in his Majesties Chamber, desired him for old acquaintance between them, to help her to one or a piece of such a cloth as is aforesaid, which thing the said John Kers denied to help her too, saying he could not help her too it.
And the said Agnes Thompson by her depositions since her apprehension said that if she had obtained any one piece of linen cloth which the King had worn and fouled, she had bewitched him to death and put him to such extraordinary pains, as if he had been lying upon sharp thorns and ends of Needles.
Moreover, she confessed that at the time when his Majesty was in Denmark, she being accompanied with the parties before specially named, took a Cat and christened it, and afterward bound to each part of that Cat the chiefest parts of a dead man, along with several joints of his body, and that in the night following the said Cat was conveyed into the midst of the sea by all these witches sailing in their riddles or Cities as is aforesaid, and so left the said Cat right before the Town of Leith in Scotland. This done, there did arise such a tempest in the Sea as a greater hath not been seen. This tempest was the cause of the perishing of a Boat or vessel coming over from the town of Bruntisland to the town of Leith, wherein was sundry Jewels and rich gifts which should have been presented to the now Queen of Scotland at her Majesties coming to Leith.
Again, it is confessed that the said christened Cat was the cause of the Kings Majesties Ship, coming forth of Denmark, encountering a contrary wind to the rest of his Ships, then being in his company, which thing was most strange and true - as the Kings Majesty acknowledges - for when the rest of the Ships had a fair and good wind, then was the wind contrary and altogether against his Majesty; Furthermore, the said witch declared that his Majesty had never come safely from the Sea, if his faith had not prevailed above their intentions.
Moreover, the said Witches being demanded how the Devil would use them when he was in their company, they confessed that when the Devil did receive them for his servants, and that they had vowed themselves unto him, then he would Carnally use them, albeit to their little pleasure, in respect of his cold nature, and would do the like at sundry other times.
As touching the aforesaid Doctor Fian, alias John Cunningham, the examination of his acts since his apprehension declared the great subtlety of the Devil, and therefore make things to appear the more miraculous. For, being apprehended by the accusation of the said Geillis Duncane aforesaid, who confessed he was their Register, and that there was not one man suffered to come to the Devils readings but only he, the said Doctor was taken and imprisoned and used with the accustomed pain provided for those offenses, inflicted upon the rest as is aforesaid.
First:
Secondly:
Lastly:
After he had received three strokes, being enquired if he would confess his damnable acts and wicked life, his tongue would not serve him to speak. The rest of the witches were willed to search his tongue, under which was found two pins thrust up into the head, whereupon the Witches did lay. Now is the Charm stinted, and showed that those charmed Pins were the reason he could not confess any thing. Then he was immediately released of the Bootes, brought before the King, his confession taken, and his own hand willingly set ther-unto, which contained as follows:
First,
He confessed that by his witchcraft he did bewitch a Gentleman dwelling near to the Saltpans, where the said Doctor kept School, for the reason of being enamoured of a Gentlewoman whom he loved himself. By means of which his Sorcery, witchcraft and devilish practices, he caused the said Gentleman that once in twenty-four hours he fell into a lunacy and madness, and so continued one whole hour together, and for the verity of the same, he caused the Gentleman to be brought before the Kings Majesty which was upon the twenty-fourth day of December last, and being in his Majesties Chamber, suddenly he gave a great scritch and fell into a madness, sometime bending himself, and sometime capering so directly up, that his head did touch the ceiling of the Chamber, to the great admiration of his Majesty and others then present, so that all the Gentlemen in the Chamber were not able to hold him, until they called in more help, and together bound him hand and foot; and, suffering the said gentleman to lye still until his fury were past, he within an hour came again to himself. When being demanded of the Kings Majesty what he saw or did all that while, he answered that he had been in a sound sleep.
The said Doctor did also confess that he had used means sundry times to obtain his purpose and wicked intent of the same Gentlewoman, and seeing himself disapointed of his intention, he determined by all ways he might to obtain the same, trusting by conjuring, witchcraft and Sorcery to obtain it in this manner.
It happened that this gentlewoman, being unmaried, had a brother who went to school with the said Doctor, and calling his Scholar to him demanded if he did live with his sister, who answered he did, by means wherof he thought to obtain his purpose, and therefore secretly promised to teach him without stripes, so he would obtain for him three hairs of his sisters privities, at such time as he should spy the best occasion for it. This the youth promised faithfully to perform, and vowed speedily to put it in practice, taking a piece of conjured paper of his master to lap them in when he had gotten them. The boy practiced nightly to obtain his masters purpose, especially when his sister was asleep.
But God who knoweth the secrets of all hearts and revealeth all wicked and ungodly practises would not suffer the intents of this devilish Doctor to come to that purpose which he supposed it would, and therefore to declare that he was heavily offended with his wicked intent, did so work by the Gentlewomans own means, that in the end the same was discovered and brought to light, for she, being one night asleep and her brother in bed with her, suddenly cried out to her mother, declaring that her Brother would not suffer her to sleep, whereupon her mother having a quick capacity, did vehemently suspect Doctor Fians intention, by reason she was a witch of her self, and therefore presently arose, and was very inquisitive of the boy to understand his intent, and the better to know the same, did beat him with sundry stripes, wherby he discovered the truth unto her.
The Mother therefore, being well practised in witchcraft, did think it most convenient to meet with the Doctor in his own Art, and thereupon took the paper from the boy, wherein he should have put the same hairs, and went to a young Heyfer which never had borne Calf nor gone to the Bull, and with a paire of shears, clipped off three hairs from the udder of the Cow and wrapped them in the same paper, which she again delivered to the boy, willing him to give the same to his said Master, which he immediatley did.
The Schoolemaster so soon as he had received them, thinking them indeed to bee the Maids hairs, went straight and wrought his art upon them. But the Doctor had no sooner done his intent to them, when presently the Hayfer or Cow whose hairs they were indeed, came unto the door of the Church wherein the Schoolemaister was, into the which the Hayfer went, and made towards the Schoolemaster, leaping and dancing upon him, and following him forth of the church and to what place so ever he went, to the great admiration of all the towns men of Saltpans, and many other who did behold the same.
The report whereof made all men imagine that he did work it by the Dwell, without whom it could never have been so sufficiently affected, and therupon, the name of the said Doctor Fian (who was but a very yong man) began to grow so common among the people of Scotland, that he was secretly nominated for a notable Cunivrer.
All which although in the beginning he denied, and would not confess, yet having felt the pain of the Bootes (and the charm stinted, as aforesaid) be confessed all the aforesaid to be most true, without producing any witnesses to justify the same, & therupon before the Kings Majesty he subscribed the said confessions with his own hand, which for truth remaineth upon record in Scotland.
After that the depositions and examinations of the said doctor Fian, alias Cunningham, was taken as already is declared, with his owe hand willingly set thereunto, he was by the master of the prison committed to ward, and appointed to a chamber by himself, where forsaking his wicked ways and acknowledging his most ungodly life, showing that he had too much followed the allurements and enticements of Satan, and fondly practiced his conclusions by conjuring, witchcraft, enchantment, sorcery, and such like, he renounced the Devil and all his wicked works, vowing to lead the life of a Christian, and seemed newly connected towards God.
The morrow after, upon conference had with him, he granted that the Devil had appeared unto him in the night before, appareled all in black with a white wand in his hand, and that the Devil demanded of him if he would continue his faithfull service, according to his first oath and promise made to that effect. Whom (as he then said) he utterly renounced, to his face, and said unto him in this manner:
Avoid Satan, avoid, for I have listened too much unto thee, and by the same thou hast undone me, in respect whereof I utterly forsake thee.
To which the Devil answered:
That once ere thou die thou shalt bee mine.
And with that (as he said), the Devil broke the white wand and immediatly vanished forth of his sight.
Thus, all the day this Doctor Fian continued very solitary and seemed to have care of his own soul and would call upon God, showing himself penitent for his wicked life; nevertheless, the same night he found such means that he stole the key of the prison door and chamber in which he was, and in the night he opened and fled away to the Saltpans, where he was always resident, and first apprehended. Of whose sudden departure when the Kings majesty had intelligence, he presently commanded diligent inquiry to be made for his apprehension, and for the better effecting thereof he sent public proclamations into all parts of his land to the same effect. By means of whose hot and hard pursuit, he was again taken and brought to prison, and then being called before the kings highness, hee was re-examined as well touching his departure, as also touching all that had before happened.
But this Doctor, notwithstanding that his own confession appeared remaining in record under his own handwriting, and the same thereunto fixed in the presence of the Kings Majesty and sundry of his Council, yet did he utterly deny the same.
Whereupon the Kings Majesty, perceiving his stubborn wilfulness, conceived and imagined that in the time of his absence he had entered into new conference and league with the Devil, his master, and that he had been again newly marked, for the which he was narrowly searched, but it could not in any ways be found, yet for more trial of him to make him confess he was commanded to have a most straung torment which was done in this manner following:
His nails upon all his fingers were riven and pulled off with an instrument called, in Scottish, a Turkas, which in England we call a pair of pincers, and under every nail there was thrust in two needles, over even up to the heads. At all which tormentes notwithstanding, the Doctor never shronke any whit, neither would he then confess it the sooner for all the tortures inflicted upon him.
Then was he with all convenient speed, by commandement, conveyed again to the torment of the Bootes, wherein he continued a long time, and did abide so many blows in them that his legs were crushed and beaten together as small as might be, and the bones and flesh so bruised that the blood and marrow spouted forth in great abundance, whereby they were made unserviceable forever. And, notwithstanding all these grievous pains and cruel torments, he would not confess anything; so deepely had the Devil entered into his heart that he utterly denied all that which he had before avouched, and would say nothing thereunto but this: that what he had done and said before was only done and said for fear of pains which he had endured.
Upon great consideration therefore taken by the Kings Majesty and his Council, as well for the due execution of justice upon such detestable malefactors, as also for example sake to remayne a terror to all others heereafter, that shall attempt to deal in the like wicked and ungodlye actions as witchcraft, sorcery, conjuration and such like, the said Doctor Fian was soon after araigned, condemned, and adjudged by the law to die, and then to be burned according to the law of that land provided in that behalf. Whereupon he was put into a cart, and being first strangled he was immediately put into a great fire, being already provided for that purpose, and therevburned in the Castle hill of Edinburgh on a Saturday in the end of January last past, 1591.