The Survey of Scottish Witchcraft

1563-1736

By Julian Goodare, Lauren Martin, Joyce Miller and Louise Yeoman, January 2003

The Survey of Scottish Witchcraft logo

Case Details

C/EGD/54 Bessie Roy

name of accused
Bessie Roy
designated title
no information
Accused Reference
A/EGD/43
Case date start
12/7/1590
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)
  • Implicated by another (secondary characteristic)
  • neighbourhood dispute (secondary characteristic)
  • not enough information (secondary characteristic)
  • not enough information (primary characteristic)
  • white magic (secondary characteristic)
Characterisation Notes
None
additional persons
name involvement notes
no additional persons recorded

Qualitative information

Non-natural beings

Notes
She was accused of stealing gold and gold jewellery from her employer, the Laird of Balquhene (John Leslie). She claimed that the Devil gave them to her.
  • Male Black man

Demonic pacts

  • no information

witches meetings

Notes
None

Meeting places

  • no information

musical instruments

  • no information

Folk culture

  • Specific ritual acts
Notes
She did some kind of charm with a compass in the earth. Three worms came out of a hole in the middle of the compass, a big one, a little one and then a big one that died. She interpreted this as a man, his unknown infant in the womb, and his wife who would die of childbirth, and she did.

Counter strategies

  • no information

white magic

  • Prophesy

Elf/fairy elements

  • no information

Shape-changing

  • no information

Ritual objects

  • no information

Religious motif

  • no information

Calendar customs

  • no information

Diseases or illness

  • Human illness
  • Human death
  • Animal illness
  • Animal death
Notes
Took away a woman's milk in order to prevent her from being a wet nurse. She had a grudge against a particular family.

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
Mentioned in a process note about Leslie and Achinleck.
references
name notes
Books of Adjournal JC2/2 fo. 182v-184r None
Pitcairn v I, part II, page 207-209 same text as JC2/2
Process Notes JC26/2 in index to JC26/1-7 in the NAS.
Process Notes JC26/2 witchcraft bundle, item 26 Summons
High Court Minute Books JC6/3 no pagination - date 18/8/1590