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Pittenweem witches
The Pittenweem witches were five Scottish women accused of witchcraft in the small fishing village of Pittenweem in Fife on the east coast of Scotland in 1704. Another two women and a man were named as accomplices. Accusations made by a teenage boy, Patrick Morton, against a local woman, Beatrix Layng, led to the death in prison of Thomas Brown, and, in January 1705, the murder of Janet Cornfoot by a lynch mob in the village.
Cornfoot's murder was investigated by members of the aristocracy appointed by the Privy Council two weeks after the killing. Subsequently, four men were held in custody and charges were to be brought against the burgh bailie. The release of the four accused men was authorised by Patrick Cowper, the local minister, who had been involved with the initial witchcraft allegations and the torture and confinement of the alleged witches. Despite instructions from the Privy Council that another committee should look into the events, no suspects were ever prosecuted for the murder.
Two of the accused women, Layng and Nicholas Lawson, were imprisoned again in 1708–1709 after charges of witchcraft were levelled against them by Cowper and another local minister. They were released in April 1709 and pardoned after Queen Anne issued an Act of Indemnity. Another of the accused women, Janet Horseburgh, sued the bailies responsible for her incarceration; she received an apology and monetary recompense.
In early March 1704 Beatrix Layng approached Patrick Morton, a 16-year-old working in his father's smithy, to ask if he would make her some nails. Morton refused as he was already assigned an urgent task making nails for a merchant's ship in the harbour. Displeased, Layng left threatening revenge on him. The following day Morton noticed a bucket filled with water and burning coal outside Layng's house; he thought it was there to cast a spell on him. Layng had a reputation as a witch having already appeared before the Kirk session in 1696 for charming. Morton immediately felt weak and had difficulty standing or walking. His health deteriorated; he began to have fits and convulsions, his stomach became distended and his body was rigid and twisted. People claimed they could see marks left on his skin by fingernails where Morton said he had been pinched. He refused food and his breathing was laboured.
The Sadducismus debellatus pamphlets, written by Lord Cullen, giving details about the demonic possession of Christian Shaw, the 11-year-old girl at the centre of the Paisley witches trials, were in circulation at the time. Patrick Cowper, the local minister who was intolerant of witches, had read the pamphlets to Morton just before his afflictions began. The villagers' suspicions were aroused that the Devil was implicated when no explanation could be given for Morton's condition; initially his seizures were described as unusual then as preternatural. Cowper continued to advise Morton about what happened in Paisley and encouraged him to name Layng as the person who had called upon the Devil to inflict his ailments. In May 1704 Morton named Layng as a witch and, with further prompting from Cowper, accused four local women of being her accomplices: Isobel Adam; Janet Cornfoot; Nicholas Lawson; and Lillie Wallace. Subsequent statements revealed that he identified another woman, Janet Horseburgh, as an accomplice.
Like Layng, Cornfoot had a reputation for casting spells and threatened anyone she was quarrelling with; Lawson, a farmer's wife, had previously been approached by other locals seeking advice about witchcraft. Horseburgh, the widow of a seaman who had been a local magistrate, was widely believed within the community to be a witch. Academic Stuart Macdonald describes the stereotypical witch in Fife as a woman who was elderly and poor; one 18th-century publication described Layng as a "very poor woman who had married meanly" but although she was by no means wealthy, her husband was a tailor and the treasurer in Pittenweem. Likewise Horseburgh did not live in a state of poverty.
Cornfoot confessed after being beaten by the local Presbyterian Minister, Patrick Cowper, in Pittenweem Tolbooth.
After Morton named the women, Cowper and the local bailies immediately sought them out and imprisoned them in Pittenweem Tolbooth. While they were incarcerated the women were tortured and beaten. They were forcefully kept awake – Layng claimed it was for five days and five nights – and constantly pricked by a group of men intoxicated by alcohol. Cowper carried out some of the beatings, attacking Cornfoot with a walking stick. The beatings were vicious and later described by one letter writer as "The ministers have used a great deal of barbarous severities to extort confessions from those poor unhappy creatures." Layng finally confessed after the women were taken into Morton's bedroom where, despite being blindfolded, he was able to identify and name them all as responsible for his ailments.
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Pittenweem witches
The Pittenweem witches were five Scottish women accused of witchcraft in the small fishing village of Pittenweem in Fife on the east coast of Scotland in 1704. Another two women and a man were named as accomplices. Accusations made by a teenage boy, Patrick Morton, against a local woman, Beatrix Layng, led to the death in prison of Thomas Brown, and, in January 1705, the murder of Janet Cornfoot by a lynch mob in the village.
Cornfoot's murder was investigated by members of the aristocracy appointed by the Privy Council two weeks after the killing. Subsequently, four men were held in custody and charges were to be brought against the burgh bailie. The release of the four accused men was authorised by Patrick Cowper, the local minister, who had been involved with the initial witchcraft allegations and the torture and confinement of the alleged witches. Despite instructions from the Privy Council that another committee should look into the events, no suspects were ever prosecuted for the murder.
Two of the accused women, Layng and Nicholas Lawson, were imprisoned again in 1708–1709 after charges of witchcraft were levelled against them by Cowper and another local minister. They were released in April 1709 and pardoned after Queen Anne issued an Act of Indemnity. Another of the accused women, Janet Horseburgh, sued the bailies responsible for her incarceration; she received an apology and monetary recompense.
In early March 1704 Beatrix Layng approached Patrick Morton, a 16-year-old working in his father's smithy, to ask if he would make her some nails. Morton refused as he was already assigned an urgent task making nails for a merchant's ship in the harbour. Displeased, Layng left threatening revenge on him. The following day Morton noticed a bucket filled with water and burning coal outside Layng's house; he thought it was there to cast a spell on him. Layng had a reputation as a witch having already appeared before the Kirk session in 1696 for charming. Morton immediately felt weak and had difficulty standing or walking. His health deteriorated; he began to have fits and convulsions, his stomach became distended and his body was rigid and twisted. People claimed they could see marks left on his skin by fingernails where Morton said he had been pinched. He refused food and his breathing was laboured.
The Sadducismus debellatus pamphlets, written by Lord Cullen, giving details about the demonic possession of Christian Shaw, the 11-year-old girl at the centre of the Paisley witches trials, were in circulation at the time. Patrick Cowper, the local minister who was intolerant of witches, had read the pamphlets to Morton just before his afflictions began. The villagers' suspicions were aroused that the Devil was implicated when no explanation could be given for Morton's condition; initially his seizures were described as unusual then as preternatural. Cowper continued to advise Morton about what happened in Paisley and encouraged him to name Layng as the person who had called upon the Devil to inflict his ailments. In May 1704 Morton named Layng as a witch and, with further prompting from Cowper, accused four local women of being her accomplices: Isobel Adam; Janet Cornfoot; Nicholas Lawson; and Lillie Wallace. Subsequent statements revealed that he identified another woman, Janet Horseburgh, as an accomplice.
Like Layng, Cornfoot had a reputation for casting spells and threatened anyone she was quarrelling with; Lawson, a farmer's wife, had previously been approached by other locals seeking advice about witchcraft. Horseburgh, the widow of a seaman who had been a local magistrate, was widely believed within the community to be a witch. Academic Stuart Macdonald describes the stereotypical witch in Fife as a woman who was elderly and poor; one 18th-century publication described Layng as a "very poor woman who had married meanly" but although she was by no means wealthy, her husband was a tailor and the treasurer in Pittenweem. Likewise Horseburgh did not live in a state of poverty.
Cornfoot confessed after being beaten by the local Presbyterian Minister, Patrick Cowper, in Pittenweem Tolbooth.
After Morton named the women, Cowper and the local bailies immediately sought them out and imprisoned them in Pittenweem Tolbooth. While they were incarcerated the women were tortured and beaten. They were forcefully kept awake – Layng claimed it was for five days and five nights – and constantly pricked by a group of men intoxicated by alcohol. Cowper carried out some of the beatings, attacking Cornfoot with a walking stick. The beatings were vicious and later described by one letter writer as "The ministers have used a great deal of barbarous severities to extort confessions from those poor unhappy creatures." Layng finally confessed after the women were taken into Morton's bedroom where, despite being blindfolded, he was able to identify and name them all as responsible for his ailments.