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/146 Ersche Marioun Unknown

name of accused
Ersche Marioun Unknown (alias Irish)
designated title
no information
Accused Reference
A/EGD/135
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. Also mentioned in the 1608 trial of Beigis Tod.
additional persons
name involvement notes
no additional persons recorded

Qualitative information

Non-natural beings

Notes
None
  • 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 and did a ritual with a cat there. Met at the dam at Londniddry. The salt pans meeting happened in 1591, part of the planning for the raising of storms to destroy Queen Anne's ships. The descriptions of the meetings were given by B. Tod, not the accused.

Meeting places

  • no information

musical instruments

  • no information

Folk culture

Notes
According Beigis Tod, they did rituals with a cat and named it Margaret. There were also cat rituals in Agnes Sampson's trial.

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
It was claimed by others that she was involved in trying to sink the royal ships.

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
None
references
name notes
Books of Adjournal JC2/4 fo. 222v-223r None
Pitcairn v ii, pp. 542-543 same text as JC2/4
Pitcairn v I, part II, page 230-241 same text as JC2/2
Books of Adjournal JC2/2 fos. 201r-207r None
Calendar of State Papers Relating to Scotland v. 10, p. 467 Mentioned as having been executed.