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/145 Johnne Gordoun

name of accused
Johnne Gordoun (alias Gray-meill)
designated title
no information
Accused Reference
A/EGD/134
Case date start
27/1/1591
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

  • Implicated by another (secondary characteristic)
  • not enough information (secondary characteristic)
  • not enough information (primary characteristic)
Characterisation Notes
Part of the North Berwick witch hunt. It involved many people and many accustions about witches meetings, specifically two separate attempts to sink the royal ships. The first to sink Queen Anne on her way home, second to trouble King James after he went to get her in Denmark.
additional persons
name involvement notes
no additional persons recorded

Qualitative information

Non-natural beings

Notes
It was said by another accused that he met the devil as a black man.
  • no information

Demonic pacts

  • no information

witches meetings

Notes
The group met the Devil at Beigis' house for drinks. They cast a cat to the Devil. They met in the thorns near the iron gate of Seton. Also did a cat ritual at the gate of Seton. See Agnes Sampson's case for description of North Berwick meeting (c/egd/63). At the North Berwick meeting he was supposedly the keeper of the door. See also Napier (c/egd/103) for more details about the North Berwick meeting.

Meeting places

  • no information

musical instruments

  • no information

Folk culture

Notes
According to others he was involved in rituals with a cat and named it Margaret.

Counter strategies

  • no information

white magic

  • no information

Elf/fairy elements

  • no information

Shape-changing

  • no information

Ritual objects

  • no information

Religious motif

  • no information

Calendar customs

  • no information

Diseases or illness

Notes
None

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
Pobably the same guy as Jokkie Gray-meil (c/la/2901), but the two names are both mentioned in Agnes Sampsoune's trial and we don't have enough to merge them.
references
name notes
Books of Adjournal JC2/4 fo. 222v-223r None
Pitcairn v ii, pp. 542-543 same text as JC2/4
Books of Adjournal JC2/2 fos. 201r-207r None
Pitcairn v I, part II, page 239-241 None
Pitcairn v I, part II, page 246 None
Calendar of State Papers Relating to Scotland v. 10, p. 467 Mentioned as having been executed.