1.2 North Berwick: widening the net Flashcards
(45 cards)
1
Q
Agnes Sampson accused
who was Agnes Sampson?
A
- friend of Duncan
- she was relatively well educated, and was a midwife who could also heal people.
2
Q
Agnes Sampson accused
How was she interrogated?
A
- James I interrogated her himself
- she was deprived of sleep, and cords were tied around her limbs along with a witch’s bridle
3
Q
Agnes Sampson accused
what was she accused of?
A
- communicating with another witch through letters and encouraging them to tell their coven to raise sotrms to prevent Anne of Denmark’s arrival in Scotland
4
Q
Agnes Sampson accused
what were her charges?
A
- healing
- discovering others personal information
- saling across the sea in a sieve
- calling on the Devil in the shape of a dog named Elva (she denied this)
5
Q
Agnes Sampson accused
did sampson confess?
A
- after being shaved and probed for marks, along with torture and sleep deprivation for several days
6
Q
the impact of Sampson’s confession
How did Sampson prove she was a witch?
A
- james accused her of lying
- she then said the same words that James and Anne said on their first night of marriage in Oslo
7
Q
the impact of Sampson’s confession
what was Sampson blamed for?
A
- marny of the crimes supposedly carried out by the witches related to her
- including the theft of a corpse and throwing a cat in the sea to cause a sotmr
7
Q
the impact of Sampson’s confession
what happened to the trial after this?
A
- the accusations moved towards Edinburgh after the magistrates agreed Sampson was the leader of the coven
8
Q
the impact of Sampson’s confession
Who did she accuse? who were they?
BN, RG, EM
A
- Barbara Napier: friend of the Earl of Bothwell.
- Richard Graham: Royal courtier, knew Bothwell, accused of being a magician
- Effie McCaylan: accused of wanting to take revenge on her father in law (EofB.) her trial spoke of at least 4 coven meetings along with hurting dogs/cats.
9
Q
John Fian
who was he? what was he charged with? what was his relationship with the Devil?
A
- schoolmaster from Saltpans, a few miles from North Berwick.
- charged with 20 counts of witchcraft and high treason.
- after torture, he claimed he had no relationship with the Devil, but that evening the Devil came to him and said he would take over his dead body.
10
Q
John Fian
how was he tortured?
A
- head twisted with a rope
- needles driven under his fingernails
- ‘boots’ device
11
Q
John Fian
what else was he accused of?
A
- having a central role in coven meetings, pledging allegiance to the Devil
- giving the kiss of shame to the Devil
- falling into trances where his spirit was transported to mountains
- bewitching a man to lunacy because he was in love with the same woman as Fian
- attempting to bewitch this woman to fall in love with him, but instead bewitching a cow that would follow him wherever he went
- chasing cats because the devil told him to collect them to use in charms
- predicting the future, to discover how people would die
- flying
- attatching magic candles to his horse that would let him turn night into day when he travelled.
12
Q
why was John Fian accused?
what is the account of North Bewrick called?
A
Newes from Scotland
13
Q
why was John Fian accused?
why was he targetted>
A
- schoolmaster who came into contact with many locals, and seems to have had affairs with a number of married women
- he was well educated, and taught Latin and Greek texts.
14
Q
the role of the king and torture
why was he personally interested?
A
- because the accused had been charged with attempting to harm him and the queen.
15
Q
the role of the king and torture
political crisis from a young age: what was James I’s young life like?
Father, mother?
A
- his father was murdered when he was 8 months old
- his mother (Mary Queen of Scots) married James Hepburn, the Earl of Bothwell, who was assumed to be responsible for his fathers death.
- after an uprising, Mary was forced to abdicate in favour of her infant son. She fled to England, where she would be executed by Elizabeth in 1587
16
Q
the role of the king and torture
Highly charged religous environment from a young age: How was James I involved in religion from a young age?
A
- he had calvanist tutors
- his mother (previous queen) was catholic
- nobility divided over its religous identity.
- Feb 1589 George Gordon, an influential catholic in Spain was plotting an invasion of Scotland, but James appeased his catholic lords as they provided a degree of balance against the radically protestant Kirk.
17
Q
the role of the king and torture
Why was James personally involved in the trial? Who particularly caught his attention? another perhaps selfish reason?
A
- it provided an explanation for the storms
- Sampson referenced the fact that the Devil told her the king and all of scotland would be destroyed if she raised the storms
- Newes From Scotland was published in England, so presented him as a good prospect for the English throne.
18
Q
the role of the king and torture
what did James believe about the accused?
A
- they were worshipping the Devil
- he also had a genuine belief in the Divine Right of Kings
19
Q
the role of the king and torture
Newes from Scotland as a source: how did it present James?
A
- presented him in a good light
- provided justification for further witch hunts in Scotland because it was approved by the King.
- Barbara Napier case shows this: she was acquitted, but James arranged for the jurors to be tried for their error.
20
Q
the use of torture
why was torture so particular in this case? which methods were used?
A
- Witche’s bridle
- thumb screws
- ‘boots’
- cords tied around the head
torture was used so widely because of James I’s personal involvement. So, despite torture only being sanctioned by the privy council, he overrode this
21
Q
the involvement of the earl of bothwell
how was he related to James I?
A
- first cousin
22
Q
the involvement of the earl of bothwell
What was his relationship with James like? how did this go downhill?
1583, 1587, 1589 plots.
A
- he was initially very trusted by James, and became military commander joining the privy council and rising to the position of Lord High Admiral of Scotland, but he soon became involved in criminal plots
- 1583: attempting to oust the royal favourite, Earl of Arran
- 1587: criticised James for not preventing his mother’s death
- 1589: treason
23
Q
the involvement of the earl of bothwell in North Berwick
how was he involved in the trials? what did Sampson say?
A
- they probably didn’t know eachother, but she confessed he asked her to predict how and when James would die + what would happen after his death
- she also claimed he encouraged her to send her family to kill the king
24
# the involvement of the earl of bothwell in North Berwick
How was Richard Graham involved?
- confessed Bothwell was part of the conspirachy
25
# the involvement of the earl of bothwell in North Berwick
when was he arrested
April **1591**
26
# the involvement of the earl of bothwell in North Berwick
Why did James have genuine reasons to suspect Bothwell?
- he disliked him
- Bothwell suggested James maake the journey to collect Anne himself
27
# the involvement of the earl of bothwell in North Berwick
When did Bothwell go to Holyrood?
- **24 July 1593** to seek a pardon with his associated
- James attempted to flee but they locked the door
- James feared Bothwell was a magician
28
# attempts to punish Bothwell
Bothwell's first escape: when did he escape? what did he believe the accusations were as a result of? what did he do after escaping?
- From Edinburgh Castle **June 1591** after being summoned before the Privy Council and denying any involvement
- he believed the accusations were an attempt to diminsh his influence
- after escaping, he entered Holyrood to reconcile with James, but just before this a Royal Proclamation had been issued declaring him an outlaw
29
# attempts to punish Bothwell
Bothwell's second escape: how was he caught again?
- **27 December 1591** after being in hiding he attempted to attack Holyrood again, but the guards caught him. he then escaped and went into hiding
30
# attempts to punish Bothwell
**April 1592**: James' capture of Bothwell then Bothwell's subsequent attempt to capture the king, what happened this time?
- James attempted to capture him after hearing he was hiding in Dundee, the Privy Council had found him guilty of witchcraft
- Bothwell then made another attempt to capture the king with more supporters, but failed, and James pursued him, but failed.
- This time though, some of Bothwell's supporters were arrested and imprisoned.
31
# attempts to punish Bothwell
**July-October 1592**: what happened?
- more of Bothwell's supporters were charged and imprisoned, bit not Bothwell
32
# attempts to punish Bothwell
**24 July 1593**: what happened? (crazy)
- Bothwell pleaded the King in person on this day
- James was shaken, but gave an official pardon in August and Bothwell's charges were cleared in his trial.
33
# Bothwell's trial, **1593**
How did Bothwell present himself at his trial?
| Supporters, Accusations, Witnesses
- he filled Edinburgh with his supporters as a show of strength
- he presented accusations as a deliberate attempt to politically undermine him
- he claimed to have witnesses that could testify that they were threatened with torture if they didn't implicate him
- he was acquitted
34
# Bothwell's trial, **1593**
What did James do next?
- withdrew his pardon and sent Bothwell to exile
35
# Bothwell's trial, **1593**
Bothwell's last uprising? what was the result? what did he do next?
- he joined a group of rebels in Linlithgow, who attacked the King's forces at Leith in **March 1594** but was unsuccessful and withdrew to the English border
- James proclaimed Bothwell was guilty of treason in early **1595** where he spent time in France, Spain, and Italy before dyinh in Naples in **1612**
36
# the impact of confessions, trials, and executions
how many people implicated in tota;?
- 70
37
# the impact of confessions, trials, and executions
where did a number of the accusd go?
- fled to england
- James instructed David Seaton to recapture them
38
# the impact of confessions, trials, and executions
Gilly Duncan's fate
- hung
39
# the impact of confessions, trials, and executions
John Fian's fate
- executed and burned
40
# the impact of confessions, trials, and executions
John Grierson's fate
- died in custody
41
# the impact of confessions, trials, and executions
Agnes Sampson's fate
- executed and burned
42
# the impact of confessions, trials, and executions
Barbara Napier's fate
- meant to be executed on **11 May 1591** but her friends claimed she was pregnant
- there is no evidence she was ever executed
43
# the impact of confessions, trials, and executions
Effie McCaylan's fate
- claimed to be pregnant but was executed on **25 June 1591**
- her execution was only delayed for a week
- she wasn't burned alive, and instead hung as a result of her claim
44
# the impact of confessions, trials, and executions
others accused as a result of torture?
- **Margaret Acheson:** accused by Napier and Sampson
- **Meg Bogtoun**: implicated by others in plotting to destroy James and Anne's ships
- **Bessie Broune**: accused by Sampson of dismembering a corpse
- **Michael Clark**: accused by FIan
