In the early months of 1629, Janet Brotherstanes, a resident of the town of Berwick, found herself at the center of a witch trial, a fate not uncommon in early modern Scotland. The record of her case, cataloged under C/EGD/631, indicates that on June 2nd, Janet stood accused of witchcraft—a grievous charge during this tumultuous period in Scottish history. Such accusations were often shrouded in fear and superstition, reflective of the broader social anxieties of the time. However, the specifics of what led to Janet's accusation are not detailed in the surviving records, leaving the motivations behind her trial open to interpretation through the broader lens of historical context.
The trial of Janet Brotherstanes, noted under the index T/LA/676, would have followed the procedures set forth by the Scottish legal system regarding allegations of witchcraft. These proceedings typically involved the examination of evidence presented by accusers, testimony from neighbors or community members, and perhaps interrogations or confessions extracted under duress. The marginalized position of accused women like Janet within their communities often influenced the outcomes of such trials. Although the court's decision in Janet's case isn't preserved in this fragment of history, her experience falls within a noteworthy pattern of prosecutions that punctuated Scotland's rich tapestry of 17th-century witch trials, whereby societal tensions were frequently projected onto individuals through these infamous accusations.