The Scottish Witch-Hunt in Context

by Julian Goodare (Editor)

A collection of essays on Scottish witchcraft and witch-hunting, which covers the whole period of the Scottish witch-hunt, from the mid-sixteenth century to the early eighteenth. Includes studies of particular witchcraft panics such as a reassessment of the role of King James VI. Covers a wide range of topics concerned with Scottish witch-hunting and places it in the context of other topics such as gender relations, folklore, magic and healing, and moral regulation by the church and state. Provides a comparative dimension of witch-hunting beyond Scotland – one on the global context, and one comparing Scotland with England. It is a showcase for the latest thinking on the subject and will be of interest to all scholars studying witchcraft in early modern Europe, as well as the general reader wanting to move beyond shallow and sensational accounts of a subject of compelling in.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Witches

240 pages, Paperback

First published September 21, 2002

About the author

Julian Goodare is a Reader in History at the University of Edinburgh. He is the author of State and Society in Early Modern Scotland (1999) and The Government of Scotland, 1560 - 1625 (2004). His edited books include The Reign of James VI (2000) (co-edited with Michael Lynch) and Sixteenth-Century Scotland: Essays in Honour of Michael Lynch (2008) (co-edited with Alasdair A. MacDonald).

Reviews

[Luna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not quite what I was expecting when I bought it. While the essays are individually very good and exceptionally researched, the book does not work well as a cohesive whole and leaves many gaps. For example, there is no chapter on the 1661-1662 Witch Hunt at all, despite it being referenced many many times. Considering it was one of the biggest hunts, and laid the foundations for changes to investigation and prosecution procedure, I would have expected it to be covered. Read alongside other, more comprehensive books, this collection of essays could be provide a more detailed look at several topics, but it doesn't work well as a standalone academic book.

[Brandann Hill-Mann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty much what’s on the tin: a collection of essays which give context to the early modern Scottish with trials. It works great as a supplement to the other texts I used, and was a good jumping of point for where to look for what next.

[Lesley Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating, sad (and personal after discovering several involved were my direct ancestors on both sides, witch and witch-hunter)

Excerpt re Allison Pearson: In 1588 she was again investigated and tried for witchcraft, which led to her conviction and execution by burning. One of the charges against her was that "she had concocted for the archbishop a beverage of ewe's milk, claret, herbs, &c., making ‘ane quart att anis, quhilk he drank att twa drachtis, twa sindrie dyetis’.

So…my ancestor was the highly erudite archbishop, who investigated Pearson for witchcraft but in a twist was then healed from a severe illness by her concoction and hence accused of witchcraft himself , imprisoned and excommunicated. She died at the stake, he lived in poverty thereafter.