Aiken,Bessie
Case Reference: C/EGD/136
Case Summary
| Case Ref | C/EGD/136 |
|---|---|
| Accused | Bessie Aiken |
| Case Start Date | 19/5/1597 |
| Case Date | 15/8/1598 |
| Common Name | Aiken,Bessie |
|---|
Characterisation
| Type | Primary | Secondary |
|---|---|---|
| Unorthodox Religious Practice | — | ✓ |
| Folk Healing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Implicated by Another | — | ✓ |
Notes: She was part of a group of four women who appear to have been recognised folk healers who met, taught each other, cured for each other and generally worked together as professionals (the group includes c/egd/136, c/egd/133, c/egd/132, c/egd/131). There is no mention of the Devil.
| Devil Present | No |
|---|---|
| Communal Sex | No |
| Devil Worship | No |
| Food and Drink | No |
| Dancing | No |
| Singing | No |
| Elphane/Fairyland | — |
|---|---|
| Food/Drink | — |
| Verbal Formulae | ✓ |
| Ritual Acts | ✓ |
| Familiars | — |
| Shape Changing | — |
|---|---|
| Dreams/Visions | — |
| Unorthodox Religious Practice | ✓ |
| Sympathetic Magic | ✓ |
| Riding Dead | — |
Notes: Greed wood (fairies?). Use of circles. Use of red nettles to cure a pain in the loins. Use of fresh butter as a salve. Used salt water for cures. Washed people. She roasted four or five kittens and used the drippings to rub a sick person.
Ritual Objects
- Wood
- Butter
- Plant
- Salt
- Water
- Cat
- Garland
Religious Motifs
- Three
- Prayer
- Saints
Harm
| Human Illness | — |
|---|---|
| Human Death | — |
| Animal Illness | — |
| Animal Death | — |
| Female Infertility | — |
| Male Impotence | — |
Methods
| Aggravating Disease | — |
|---|---|
| Transferring Disease | — |
| Laying On | — |
| Quarreling | — |
| Cursing | — |
| Poisoning | — |
Healing / Other
| Removal of Bewitchment | — |
|---|---|
| Recognised Healer | ✓ |
| Healing Humans | ✓ |
| Healing Animals | — |
| Midwifery | — |
| Property Damage | — |
| Weather Modification | — |
Disease Notes: Learned some of her art from Jonet Stewart.
| Name | Title | Involvement | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Janet Stewart | Witchcraft acquired from |
| Source | Reference | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Books of Adjournal | JC2/3 fo. 224-229 | |
| South Leith Kirk session records | CH2/716/1. | Note in kirk session records that a local parishioner was to be questioned about consulting Bessie Aiken, suspected of witchcraft. |
| Pitcairn | v ii, p. 25-29 | almost same text as JC2/3 |
| Pitcairn | v ii, p. 52 |
Trials (1)
| Trial Ref | Date | Year | Verdict | Sentence | Execution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T/LA/47 | 12/11/1597 | 1597 | Guilty | Banishment | No |