INTRODUCTION

Three witches were tried in a session of the regality court of Broughton on 18 July 1579: Christian Douglas, Janet Fulton and Janet Carswell. Douglas and Fulton were both from Leith, and Carswell was probably from there too (since she was tried by the same assize). Douglas and Fulton were both convicted and executed; Carswell was acquitted. Here we have the minutes of the court, but not the full dittays.

We have some suggestive and even vivid fragments of information about Christian Douglas's case, but the details are obscure because the scribe, in writing up the minutes, seems to have confused her with one of the other two accused persons. The central part of the record of her case makes ‘Cristiane’ the victim of the witchcraft of ‘Jonet’, with an apparent instance of sleep paralysis in which the victim and her husband spend the night of Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday being tormented. Perhaps this whole episode really belongs in the trial of Janet Fulton (the ‘Jonet’ who was convicted). Yet the episode is described as ‘conversance with the Devill’ on Christian Douglas's part. Whoever was being accused at this point, this case is thus a remarkably early instance of overtly demonic witchcraft.

Janet Fulton, alias ‘Fitlowne’, seems to have been a classic neighbourhood witch, being described as responsible for the deaths of several people over several years and as having had a neighbourhood reputation for witchcraft. She had previously lived in Prestonpans. While she was there, she had been summoned for witchcraft before a justice ayre at Haddington, but had fled rather than face trial – which the Broughton court treated as firm evidence of guilt.

Finally, Janet Carswell was clearly a magical practitioner. Several of her cures were described in detail, with unusual vocabulary.