In the midsummer of 1628, Agnes Liddell, a resident of Prestonpans in the county of Haddington, found herself at the heart of a trial that would cast a stark light on the societal and legal frameworks of early modern Scotland. Accused of witchcraft, Agnes’s case was formally recorded under the case number C/EGD/1019 on the 15th of July, a time when suspicion and fear of malevolent supernatural forces weighed heavily on the Scottish psyche. Her journey proceeded to the judicial epicenter of the period—the city of Edinburgh—where her trial would take place, marked by the record T/LA/491.
Edinburgh, with its steep cobbled streets and the imposing presence of its castle, was the nerve center for such significant hearings during an era when witch trials were a significant legal and social phenomenon. The capital, bustling with trade and politics, also served as a locus for legal proceedings, drawing those accused from towns and villages across the region. For Agnes Liddell, implications of this accusation would have been profound, reflecting the intense scrutiny and perilous implications such an allegation brought forth in a period where belief in witchcraft and fear of its purported effects penetrated the collective consciousness deeply. Through these proceedings, the life of Agnes Liddell intersected with the broad narratives of fear and control, which characterized witch trials in early modern Scotland.