Donald Robinson, originally from Haddington, became embroiled in the witch trials of late sixteenth-century Scotland at the advanced age of sixty. Despite an initial record listing his age at the time of accusation as thirty-six, later documents clarify his actual age being beyond sixty when targeted in the fervent hunt for witches in 1591. The details surrounding Donald's case are steeped in the atmospheric tension of the time, as the Scottish witch hunts reached an intense crescendo.
His case, documented under C/EGD/108, centred on charges of participating in witches' meetings—a common accusation during the panic that pervaded communities wary of witchcraft's supposed influence. According to the confession records, Donald initially admitted to these accusations; however, he subsequently retracted his confession, a notable but not uncommon occurrence in witch trials of this era, likely illustrating the coercive methods often used to extract such admissions.
Throughout the proceedings, Donald's name appears linked to several other individuals including Agnes Sampsoune, Robert Grierson, and Thom Cockburn, all of whom named him as an accomplice. The connection to Francis Stewart, the Earl of Bothwell, adds a layer of political intrigue, as Bothwell himself was a controversial figure embroiled in accusations of witchcraft and rebellion against James VI. Donald's involvement, as outlined by these associative records, places him amidst a network of figures who were believed to participate in witchcraft, yet his specific actions within this narrative remain shadowed by the same ambiguity that characterizes much of the period's records.