Survey of Scottish Witchcraft, 1563 - 1736

Goodare, Julian; Yeoman, Louise; Martin, Lauren; Miller, Joyce

Case Details

C/EGD/1747 Annabell Stewart

name of accused: Annabell Stewart
designated title: no information
Accused Reference: A/EGD/1730
Case date start: 9/1/1677
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)
maleficium (primary characteristic)

Characterisation Notes: Demonic pact and malefice included in accusation. Most important accusation was involvement in the attempted murder of Maxwell of Pollock. The whole group seems to have had a problem with Maxwell, their landlord, could be that they were doing something in protest.

additional persons
name	involvement	notes
Patrick Houstoun	Commissioner
John Shaw	Commissioner
James Brisbane	Commissioner
John Anderson	Commissioner
John Preston	Commissioner
John Baird	Confession Witness
John Stevenson	Confession Witness
Lawrence Pollock	Confession Witness
Andrew Reid	Confession Witness
John Paton	Confession Witness
Allan Dougall	Confession Witness
John Wallace	Confession Witness
James Wallace	Confession Witness

linked trials
name	trial type	link	year	notes
Annabell Stewart	Mixed Central/Local Court	T/JO/615	1677

Qualitative information

Non-natural beings

Notes: She confessed that she joined the Devil at the last harvest. Devil described as a black man, with a bluish band, white hand cuffs, and hogers (leg coverings) with no shoes, and with cloven fee. His name was Ejuall. His voice was described as 'hough and goushe'.

Male black man in black clothes

Demonic pacts

Devil's Mark
Sex Devil was cold
New name Euoppa (?Anipper)
Head and foot
Want nothing
Anti-baptism

witches meetings

Witches meeting
Devil present
Malificium

Notes: There were two meetings described in confessions of this group to destroy Maxwell of Pollock. The first in 10/1676, the second on 4/1/1677. Both involved image magic. Annabell also mentioned 2 nameless Highland woman, who also attended the meeting on 4/1/1677, in one of her confessions.

Meeting places

her mother's House
her brother's House

musical instruments

no information

Folk culture

Elphane or Fairyland
Specific Verbal Formulae
Specific ritual acts
Sympathetic magic

Notes: Accused of attempted murder by roasting wax/clay figures in a fire and inserting pins. She claimed that Bessie Weir turned the image on the spit and chanted 'Sir George Maxwell, Sir George Maxwell' which they all repeated. She also gave the names that the Black man had called the others. The images were supposedly found in her mother's house and her brother's house. She supposedly joined the devil at harvest time.

Counter strategies

no information

white magic

no information

Elf/fairy elements

12:00

Shape-changing

no information

Ritual objects

Pin
Wax/clay images
Fire

Religious motif

no information

Calendar customs

Harvest

Diseases or illness

Human 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

Murder

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
RPC 3rd series, vol 5, pp xxxv-xxxvi, 95, 104-5, 148.	Record of commission for trial and later note that her execution was to be postponed because she was underage.
Maxwell of Pollok Papers T-PM 107/14/7.	Maxwell papers held at Glasgow City Archives
Circuit Court Books JC10/4 fo. 1r-13v	None