In the chilly late autumn of 1597, the Granite City of Aberdeen found itself enmeshed in the fervor of witch trials, an anxiety that pervaded much of early modern Scotland. Among those caught within this turbulent period was Gilbert Fidlar, a married man residing in the small community of Auchmacoy. On the 21st of November, Gilbert found himself facing the severe accusation of witchcraft, a charge that often brought with it dire consequences. The records succinctly mark the trial of Gilbert under the reference C/EGD/2173, occurring within the city's jurisdiction where countless others had faced similar judicial scrutiny.
During the same day, Gilbert stood trial at Aberdeen, as the court gathered to weigh the evidence against him. Unlike many accused whose fates were decisively grim, the proceedings concluded with a verdict of not guilty, a rare beacon of reprieve amidst the darkness of the era’s legal practices. This judgement indicated that the accusations against Gilbert, while severe enough to warrant a trial, ultimately lacked the substantiation required to secure a conviction.
Furthermore, Gilbert's name surfaces in the records of a contemporary, Andro Man, who notoriously denounced others, perhaps in a bid to deflect suspicion or out of genuine belief in the malevolence of those he named. Despite being thus entangled in the network of denunciations and suspicions typical of the time, Gilbert’s exoneration stands as a testament to the complexities of judicial processes where not every accusation bore the weight of final condemnation. In this poignant episode from the annals of Aberdeen, Gilbert Fidlar’s story is emblematic of the nuanced and often perilous social atmosphere of early modern Scotland.