Elizabeth Black, also known as Elspeth Black or Elspet Blak, resided in Alloa, Clackmannan, during one of the most tumultuous periods of Scottish history, marked by widespread witch trials. In 1659, Elizabeth found herself enmeshed in this frenzy when she and two others were tried in the circuit court at Stirling, accused of witchcraft. Despite her plea of not guilty, the court delivered a guilty verdict, sentencing her to banishment. Until arrangements for her transportation could be made, Elizabeth was held in Stirling prison.
Elizabeth's case took a turn when she, alongside another woman named Katherine, petitioned the justice commissioners. They argued for the postponement of their sentencing and requested that the jury be recalled and properly instructed at law, suggesting that there were procedural irregularities in their trial. This action, significant for the time, indicates that Elizabeth was literate, capable of signing her name on legal documents, and possibly of middling social status, which might have afforded her some leverage in seeking redress.
The persistence paid off, as two years into her imprisonment, a subsequent review by the privy council acknowledged the irregularities and ordered a new trial. This second trial was held locally, though the records do not reveal its outcome. Thus, Elizabeth's story captures a rare moment of resistance within the broader narrative of the Scottish witch trials, highlighting her active engagement with legal recourse in an era when many lacked the means or support to do so. Her fate, however, remains obscured by the passage of time and the loss of historical records, leaving a fragmentary yet poignant glimpse into her life and the judicial processes of the era.