The Witches of Fife: Witch-hunting in a Scottish Shire, 1560-1710

by Stuart Macdonald

Along the coast of Fife, in villages like Culross and Pittenweem, historical markers and pamphlets now include the fact that some women were executed as witches within these burghs. Still the reality of what happened the night that Janet Cornfoot was lynched in the harbour is hard to grasp as one sits in the harbour of Pittenweem watching the fishing boats unload their catch and the pleasure boats rising with the tide. How could people do this to an old woman? Why was no-one ever brought to justice? And why would anyone defend such a lynching?

The task of the historian is to try to make events in the past come alive and seem less strange. This is particularly true in the case of the historian dealing with the witch-hunt. The details are fascinating. Some of the anecdotes are strange. The modern reader finds it hard to imagine illness being blamed on the malevolence of a beggar woman denied charity. It is difficult to understand the economic failure of a sea voyage being attributed to the village hag, not bad weather.

Witch-hunting was related to ideas, values, attitudes and political events. It was a complicated process, involving religious and civil authorities, village tensions and the fears of the elite. The witch-hunt in Scotland also took place at a time when one of the main agendas was the creation of a righteous or godly society. As a result, religious authorities had control over aspects of the lives of the people which seem every bit as strange to us today as might any beliefs about magic or witchcraft. That the witch-hunt in Scotland, and specifically in Fife, should have happened at this time was not accidental. This book tells the story of what occurred over a period of a century and a half, and offers some explanation as to why it occurred.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Witches

240 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2002

Reviews

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

An in-depth examination of the persecution of “witches” in the Scottish county of Fife, mainly during the 17th century. Despite being an academic study, it’s fairly readable.

The author comments that many people (and I was one of them) see witch-hunting as a medieval phenomenon, but he argues that large-scale hunts were more a feature of early modern times. The peak time for witch hunting in Scotland was from the 1590s to 1661-62, the date of the last “panic”. Sporadic cases continued into the 18th century.

“It is estimated that there were 1,337 executions for witch-craft in Scotland, although this figure may have a margin of error of 300 either way.”

Much of the book is taken up with detailed descriptions of cases in four Fife presbyteries, with the author using this information to draw his conclusions in the last few chapters.

The author argues that the witch-hunts arose from the desire of the (protestant) Church of Scotland to create a “Godly society”. In Scotland the religious affairs of each Kirk parish are handled by a “kirk session” comprising the parish minister and appointed church elders. In the 17th century kirk sessions could impose certain punishments, usually some sort of public shaming, for rule breaches such as not attending church, breaking sabbath observance, and engaging in pre-marital or extra-marital sex. Also attracting church censure were survivals of old beliefs around folk medicine or soothsaying. However serious matters such as witchcraft had to be tried in the secular courts.

It's suggested here that “a witch was usually someone who knew various charms and cures, someone who could heal and harm.” There was no clear dividing line between “charming” and witchcraft. Both were considered immoral but the second was a far more serious charge.

“As the English historian J.A. Sharpe has suggested, because we do not believe in the reality of witchcraft we tend to see the witch as victim, whereas their contemporaries understood them to be people with power.” I thought this was quite an insightful comment.

There was however, another group classed as witches, generally older women who were at the bottom of the economic ladder and who were socially isolated, in other words the people generally viewed as outsiders in society. Women featured in probably 90% of the cases examined in this book. Although there were a few European countries where men made up the majority of cases, the Scottish witch-hunts definitely targeted women.

The book suggests that the witch-hunts were led by the church and by the nobility, with the cooperation of civil magistrates. However the latter was never guaranteed and after 1662 the secular courts become more sceptical about such allegations, with witch-finders and witch-prickers no longer being believed by magistrates. This broke apart the “elite coalition” mentioned above and eventually led to the disappearance of the witch-hunt.

This was a subject I knew very little about, and I have rated the book four stars because it introduced me to new information, and to a degree changed my previous perceptions.

[Josephine Ensign · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provides interesting context to the more famous witch hunts in Salem. Some of the chapters have too much dry recitation of facts/primary sources and not enough synthesis and discussion.

[Kathryn Biro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant and very informative book, loved how each chapter sources were noted at the end of the chapter. Brilliantly written and was a pleasure to read. Will definitely recommend it to everyone who is interested in the topic