Ramsay,Isobel
Case Reference: C/EGD/402
| Case Ref | C/EGD/402 |
|---|---|
| Accused | Isobel Ramsay |
| Case Start Date | 23/8/1661 |
| Case Date | 23/8/1661 |
| Common Name | Ramsay,Isobel |
|---|
| Type | Primary | Secondary |
|---|---|---|
| Demonic | — | ✓ |
| Maleficium | — | ✓ |
| Implicated by Another | — | ✓ |
| Neighbourhood Dispute | — | ✓ |
| Not Enough Info | ✓ | ✓ |
Notes: Demonic pact featured in detail although malefice also important.
| Devil Present | Yes |
|---|---|
| Communal Sex | No |
| Devil Worship | No |
| Food and Drink | No |
| Dancing | No |
| Singing | No |
Meeting Places
| Place | Location | Inversion |
|---|---|---|
| going to Edinburgh | No | |
| House | her own house | No |
| Jock's Lodge | No |
Devil gave her a sixpence which she used to buy meal. Probably sex implied because the Devil supposedly appeared to her in her bed in the likeness of her husband. Gave her a dollar which she said later turned to 'sklait stane'. She denied that she had renounced her baptism.
| Type | Text |
|---|---|
| Devil's Mark | |
| Head and foot | |
| Anti-baptism | later denied this |
| Servant |
Devil Appearances
| Type | Text |
|---|---|
| Male | a pleasant young man |
| Male | as her husband |
| Elphane/Fairyland | — |
|---|---|
| Food/Drink | — |
| Verbal Formulae | — |
| Ritual Acts | — |
| Familiars | — |
| Shape Changing | ✓ |
|---|---|
| Dreams/Visions | — |
| Unorthodox Religious Practice | — |
| Sympathetic Magic | ✓ |
| Riding Dead | — |
Notes: Appeasement was tried but failed. Claimed by witness that a cat (?Ramsay) appeared 3 times in his house and that later 2 of his boys died and his wife was ill for 26 weeks.
Shape Changing
| Type | Details |
|---|---|
| Animal | cat |
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: A youngish girl dropped her' kitt' on Ramsay's brow causing a headache. Ramsay cursed the girl, whose mother tried to reconcile with Ramsay, but failed. The girl was blown over by a blast of wind and lost the power of her hand.
- Physical insult
- Fastings eve
- Charming
- Sorcery
Notes: By 'charmes and malifices' she caused the death of many people.
- Appeasement
| Name | Title | Involvement | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| David Dunmure | Mr | Prosecutor | |
| Patrick Thomson | younger | Investigator | he was ordered to take them back for execution |
| Source | Reference | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Books of Adjournal | JC2/11; JC2/10 fos. 21v-27r | JC2/11 and JC2/10 have the same text. Also found in the High Court Record Index, no. 1 for 20/8/1661, this index did not distinguish between circuit and high court cases. This list of names was added in the margins with a modern hand, no indication of where the person got the list. |
| High Court Process Notes | JC 26/27, bundle 1, items , 2, 4. Also bundle 'Gilmerton witches' items 3, 4 | Confesssion, dittay, verdict and sentence listed with others from same trial. JCs to be re-catalogued in the future so check with NAS staff. Note about confronting misfiled in 'Gilmerton witches'. |