The story of Mary Cunningham unfolds amidst the tumultuous backdrop of the mid-17th-century Scottish witch trials, a period marked by societal unrest and fervent superstition. A widowed woman of 50, Mary resided in the small community of Cheapelland, Culross in Fife, where she became embroiled in accusations of witchcraft. This harrowing experience began as allegations not only targeted her but also ensnared her daughter, reflecting the often indiscriminate reach of witchcraft suspicions that could devastate entire families.
Mary's case, recorded under the designation C/EGD/1295, saw her face trial twice—a testament to the complicated and often fraught legal processes of the time. Initially, she underwent trial in Culross, but the verdict of "not proven" led the commissioners to challenge the proceedings, arguing that the local procurator fiscal lacked the necessary legal expertise to adjudicate such a serious accusation. Consequently, Mary's case was escalated, and the lord advocate, a higher legal authority, was called to preside over her retrial. This escalation was emblematic of the era's haphazard judicial processes, where local authorities, like the bailies who harassed Mary's defence advocate, often exerted power beyond their legal rights.
The trial convened in Edinburgh in 1644, under the scrutiny of the lord advocate, concluded with the same outcome of "not proven," leaving a cloud of uncertainty hanging over Mary's fate. The involvement of the Privy Council, which granted a request for the release of Mary and her daughter from prison and investigated the conduct of the bailies, suggests the presence of procedural disputes and possible abuses of power in their trials. Torture records indicate that Mary was subjected to "irons," a common but brutal practice aimed at extracting confessions. Her resilience in the face of such adversity is reflective of the daunting challenges faced by those accused of witchcraft, navigating a landscape where fear often overshadowed justice.