The Survey of Scottish Witchcraft

1563-1736

By Julian Goodare, Lauren Martin, Joyce Miller and Louise Yeoman, January 2003

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Case Details

C/EGD/1278 Katherine Cragie

name of accused
Katherine Cragie (alias Estquoy)
designated title
no information
Accused Reference
A/EGD/1266
Case date start
17/6/1640
Given case date
no information
Case commission
no information
case complaint
no information
case correspondence
no information
case chronicle
no information
other details
no information

characterisation

  • unorthodox religious practise (secondary characteristic)
  • folk healing (secondary characteristic)
  • folk healing (primary characteristic)
  • maleficium (secondary characteristic)
  • white magic (secondary characteristic)
Characterisation Notes
interesting case, two dittays survive in the RPC and she had a unique way of diagnosing disease by discovering which spirit was 'lying upon' her victim and then curing it with the usual stones in water.

Qualitative information

Non-natural beings

Notes
Mention of hill spirit, water spirits, and kirk spiritis as a possible cause of disease. I don't know exactly what this means in terms of non-natural beings?
  • no information

Demonic pacts

  • no information

witches meetings

Notes
None

Meeting places

  • no information

musical instruments

  • no information

Folk culture

  • Specific ritual acts
  • Unorthodox religious practice
  • Sympathetic magic
Notes
She pronounced an illness was due to Kirk spirits. She put hot stones on the threshold and then into water and used the water to wash a sick person to get rid of the Kirk spirits. Did the ritual three times. She was seen doing things around a loch. Said she could get someone's husband home from sea through a storm. She was accused of divining the future of when people would die and whether or not they would recover. She also caused an illness by placing a bundle of grasses with a woman's spinning.

Counter strategies

  • no information

white magic

  • Protective
  • Love magic
  • Prophesy

Elf/fairy elements

  • no information

Shape-changing

  • no information

Ritual objects

  • Stones
  • Water
  • Herb
  • Cloth

Religious motif

  • Three

Calendar customs

  • no information

Diseases or illness

  • Human illness
  • Animal illness
  • Quarreling
  • Rec. healer
  • Healing humans
  • Healing animals
Notes
Caused a huge boil to disfigure a woman's face after she told people about her healing techniques.

Cause of witch's malice

  • Revenge

Other maleficia

Damage to property

  • no information

weather modification

  • no information

Notes
None

Other charges

  • Superstition
  • Divination
Notes
None

Plea

Claimed bewitched
no
Claimed possessed
no
Admitted lesser charges
no
No defence
no
Claimed natural causes
no
Notes
None
Case Notes
The first dittay and report of trial was from 1640, the second in RPC v8 was from 1643.
references
name notes
RPC 2nd S, v7 pp. 474-477 its in the miscellaneous papers section and it references a trial held in Kirkwall. Also in Abbotsford Club Misc. p. 32-48.
RPC 2nd S, v8 p. 63, 64, 65-70 summoning of witnesses for the trial, depositions and dittay. The dittay added some charges from the v7 version.