Agnes Duddingston was a resident of Duns in Berwickshire, an area of Scotland which, during the early 17th century, found itself caught in the throes of a sweeping fear of witchcraft. On the 13th of July, 1629, Agnes was drawn into this tumultuous chapter of Scottish history when she was accused of practicing witchcraft. Little is preserved in the historical record about Agnes's personal life, but her involvement in this case places her at the heart of a significant socio-religious phenomenon that gripped the nation during this era.
Her trial, documented under the reference T/LA/1287, serves as a poignant reminder of the climate of suspicion and fear that prevailed at the time. Witchcraft trials were often highly dramatized and could be driven by community tensions, familial feuds, or personal vendettas, yet the records do not detail the circumstances that led to Agnes's specific accusation. This case—part of the infamous series of witch trials that swept across Scotland—underscores the perilous intersection of superstition and justice that characterized the period. Agnes Duddingston's story, though only fragmentarily preserved, contributes to our understanding of how ordinary lives were affected by the extraordinary fear of witchcraft in early modern Scotland.