In the early 17th century, at a time when Scotland was gripped by suspicion and fear of witchcraft, Agnes Scottie found herself at the heart of a legal and social storm. On June 13, 1616, Agnes stood trial at the Sheriff Court of Orkney, charged with the crime of witchcraft. As a woman of very poor means, identified specifically as a vagabond, she lived a marginal existence on the fringes of society. Her lifestyle and status, described by the chronicler Marwick as that of a 'wanderer,' left Agnes vulnerable to the era's punitive societal judgments. The records do not elaborate on the specific offenses she was accused of, but her itinerant and impoverished condition would have made her an easy target for accusations in a period fraught with economic and social instability.
Agnes's trial underscores the precariousness of life for the poor in early modern Scotland, particularly in regions like Orkney where community dynamics were sharply defined. The fear of witchcraft was pervasive, with those who lived outside the normative bounds of society often subject to suspicion and prosecution. While the details of her case, preserved under the case name "Scottie, Agnes," remain scant, they highlight a pivotal moment in her life, where the intersection of poverty, gender, and societal fears coalesced in the courtroom. Through the sparse records, the trial of Agnes Scottie illuminates the broader socio-cultural landscape of early 17th-century Scotland, reflecting the era's harsh realities for those deemed outsiders.