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/2337 Isobel Young

name of accused
Isobel Young
designated title
no information
Accused Reference
A/EGD/2271
Case date start
20/12/1643
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
Accused with mother and her sister and (?aunt) were also accused, so some sort of family or neighbourhood dispute may have been a factor.

Qualitative information

Non-natural beings

Notes
None
  • no information

Demonic pacts

  • no information

witches meetings

Notes
Young did not give any of these details, another accused witch, Christian Melvill (C/EGD/1298) described how Young's mother met with the devil and gave her 2 daughters over to him at the burn.

Meeting places

  • no information

musical instruments

  • no information

Folk culture

Notes
None

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
None
references
name notes
None None Fyfe, W W 'Summer life on land and water' (Edinburgh, 1851), pp. 84-101. The project did not check Larner's reference to this printed secondary source as part of the research.
Linlithgow presbytery records CH2/242/3, p 138 Note that accused held and that a commission was to be requested, 20/12/1643.
RPC 2nd series, vol 8, p 109-110. Note that Young had been burnt and was named by a number of other accused witches prior to their execution.