The Survey of Scottish Witchcraft

1563-1736

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

The Survey of Scottish Witchcraft logo

Case Details

C/EGD/129 Cristian Stewart

name of accused
Cristian Stewart
designated title
no information
Accused Reference
A/EGD/118
Case date start
18/11/1596
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

  • demonic (secondary characteristic)
  • maleficium (secondary characteristic)
  • political motive (secondary characteristic)
  • not enough information (secondary characteristic)
  • not enough information (primary characteristic)
Characterisation Notes
This seems to have been a killing of a high ranking person. She was investigated in the presence of King James VI.
additional persons
name involvement notes
Patrick Galloway Investigator
William Cooper Investigator
Archibald Moncreiff Investigator
Alexander Lindsay Notar
Thomas Gaw Notar
William Rynd Investigator
John Roife Notar
Henry Elder Notar
Robert Bruce Investigator
Clement Con Investigator
Gilbert Moncreiff Investigator
George Home Investigator
William Stewart Investigator
John Wallace Investigator
Robert Sinclair Investigator
William Young Investigator
Alexander Young Investigator
Robert Burn Investigator
James Bannatyne Investigator

Qualitative information

Non-natural beings

Notes
None
  • Male

Demonic pacts

  • no information

witches meetings

  • Devil present
Notes
None

Meeting places

  • no information

musical instruments

  • no information

Folk culture

  • Specific ritual acts
  • Sympathetic magic
Notes
witchcraft cast by one blak clout with a thing made of iron in it. She left the clout near a gate where P. Ruthven often walked. She gave the black clout to the Devil. She also took P. Ruthven to a loch where she had left he clout. She claimed that the black clout was made by Katherine Stewart (nik gourdue). When she was going to be apprehended for his illness she tried to cure him with a herb bath

Counter strategies

  • no information

white magic

  • no information

Elf/fairy elements

  • no information

Shape-changing

  • no information

Ritual objects

  • Cloth
  • Iron
  • Herb
  • Water

Religious motif

  • no information

Calendar customs

  • no information

Diseases or illness

  • Human death
  • Laying on
Notes
tried to cure as well.

Cause of witch's malice

  • no information

Other maleficia

Damage to property

  • no information

weather modification

  • no information

Notes
None

Other charges

  • no information

Notes
None

Plea

Claimed bewitched
no
Claimed possessed
no
Admitted lesser charges
no
No defence
no
Claimed natural causes
no
Notes
None
Case Notes
Accused of killing Patrick Ruthven
references
name notes
Books of Adjournal JC2/3 fo 145, 147-148 Also listed in the High Court Record Index, no. 1 for 27/11/1596
Pitcairn v i, part II, p. 399-400 same text as JC2/3
Process Notes JC26/12 The documents for this case are misfiled, they should be in an earlier box. JC26/12 contains documents from 1638-40!