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/2219 Barbara Scord

name of accused
Barbara Scord
designated title
no information
Accused Reference
A/EGD/2158
Case date start
2/10/1616
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)
  • demonic (secondary characteristic)
  • folk healing (secondary characteristic)
  • maleficium (secondary characteristic)
  • not enough information (secondary characteristic)
  • not enough information (primary characteristic)
Characterisation Notes
None
additional persons
name involvement notes
no additional persons recorded

Qualitative information

Non-natural beings

Notes
None
  • Child Devil a little creature, the bowman's bairn

Demonic pacts

  • no information

witches meetings

Notes
None

Meeting places

  • no information

musical instruments

  • no information

Folk culture

  • Specific Verbal Formulae
  • Specific ritual acts
  • Unorthodox religious practice
  • Sympathetic magic
Notes
The thread was used to cure sleeplessness - the man was to wear it around his head for nine nights and then burn it. She did crosses and conjurations over the thread. He also said he had trouble around the moons. In order to save the profit of someone's milk she told them to stir their milk with the finger bone of a man (that she had provided). This was after she did a test to determine if someone was trying to steal the profit of her client's milk.

Counter strategies

  • Counter-magic

white magic

  • no information

Elf/fairy elements

  • no information

Shape-changing

  • no information

Ritual objects

  • Bone
  • Thread

Religious motif

  • Nine

Calendar customs

  • Halloween

Diseases or illness

  • Male impotence
  • Removal bewitchment
  • Healing humans
  • Healing animals
Notes
She was known to have a 'curing thread' to cure sleeplessness. She helped to stop someone from taking her clients profit of milk. She caused impotance after a man lay with her and didn't marry her.

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
None
references
name notes
Sheriff Court Book Court Book of Shetland, 1615-1629, ed. Donaldson p. 38-43 Also Dalyell, J G 'The Darker Supersitions of Scotland' (Edinburgh, 1834), pp.118-9. The project did not check Larner's reference to this printed secondary source as part of the research.