The fall of Episcopacy in Scotland 1688-1691
This thesis attempts to shed light on a little-studied moment in the history of
the Williamite revolution in Scotland, namely what factors led to the
abolition of episcopacy in July 1689 and the establishment of Presbyterian
church government in June 1690. It attempts to analyse the various political
forces at play and the ideas which motivated the lead figures.
The Survival of Witchcraft Prosecutions and Witch Belief in South-West Scotland
During the era of the Scottish witch-hunts, Dumfries and Galloway was one of the last regions to initiate witch prosecutions, but it was also one of the most reluctant to completely surrender all belief in witches until a comparatively late date. In the late seventeeth and early eighteenth centuries south-west Scotland, better known for the persecution of covenanters, took the practice of witchcraft and charming very seriously indeed, and for perhaps longer than other parts of Scotland, though the area has received surprisingly little scholarly investigation. The trial evidence is not incompatible with that found elsewhere though there is less demonic content. Accusations of witchcraft in this region were mostly concerned with the troubles of everyday life, agricultural problems, family tensions and disagreements between neighbours. From 1670 to about 1740, the very decades that were giving birth to the Scottish Enlightenment, learned interest in the supernatural was actually on the increase and the topic received an unprecedented level of questioning, investigation, and scrutiny. Ironically, the 'superstitions' that both church and state had been attempting to eradicate for some two hundred years were now being used to defend religion against the growing threat of atheism. The zeal of the ministers does seem to have contributed to the endurance of witch beliefs in the South West, as elsewhere. Against this backdrop, the survival of witch belief and the continued prosecution of witches in southwest Scotland is examined, thus contributing to our understanding of the individualistic nature of witch persecution and the various dynamics at play within the Scottish witch-hunting experience.
The Scottish witch-hunt in context
Preface List of Figures List of Abbreviations Notes on contributors 1. Introduction - Julian Goodare 2. The global context of the Scottish witch-hunt - Ronald Hutton 3. In search of the Devil in Fife witchcraft cases, 1560-1705 - Stuart MacDonald 4. The Scottish witchcraft panic of 1597 - Julian Goodare 5. The Devil and the domestic: witchcraft, quarrels and women's work in Scotland - Lauren Martin 6. Devices and directions: folk healing aspects of witchcraft practice in seventeenth-century Scotland - Joyce Miller 7. Hunting the rich witch in Scotland: high-status witchcraft suspects and their persecutors, 1590-1650 - Louise Yeoman 8. Witch-hunting and the Scottish state - Julian Goodare 9. The western witch-hunt of 1697-1700: the last major witch-hunt in Scotland - Michael Wasser 10. The decline and end of Scottish witch-hunting - Brian P. Levack 11. Witch-hunting, witchcraft and witch historiography: England and Scotland compared - James A. Sharpe 12. The last of the witches: the survival of Scottish witch belief - Edward J. Cowan and Lizanne Henderson Further Reading