Agnes Hendersoun, a resident of St Ninians in Stirling, found herself embroiled in the turbulent history of 17th-century witch trials, facing the court on the 3rd of July, 1628. The historical record, succinct yet telling, identifies her as the subject of case C/EGD/1013. This period in Scotland was marked by intense suspicion and fear surrounding witchcraft, influencing communities and motivating legal actions against alleged practitioners.
Agnes's trial, catalogued under reference T/LA/487, occurs in a time when societal and religious tensions were high, with witchcraft accusations serving as both personal vendettas and community purges of perceived evil. The scant details in the record do not elaborate on the specific charges or the evidence presented against her, nor do they reveal the outcome of her trial. Nonetheless, the mere accusation and subsequent trial would have cast a shadow over Agnes's life, irrevocably altering her status within the community of St Ninians. Her story, though fragmentary through the records, stands as a testament to the precarious existence faced by many in early modern Scotland who were drawn into the vortex of witch trials based on little more than fear and suspicion.