Agnes Peramorris, residing in Arbroath and St Vigeans in Forfar, becomes an intriguing subject within the annals of the Scottish witch trials that swept across the country from 1563 to 1736. Her case, documented simply as being in April of 1568, represents one of the many instances of alleged witchcraft that riveted early modern Scottish society. While the records do not provide a comprehensive account of the charges laid against her or the specifics of her trial, they nonetheless position her within the broader context of the period's heightened fears and frequent prosecutions related to witchcraft.
Agnes's trial, indexed under trial record T/LA/2239, characterises the ominous and precarious circumstances faced by those accused during these tumultuous times. She was among many individuals caught in a wave of suspicion, as communities across Scotland became increasingly wary of real or imagined threats of witchcraft. Forfar, the region in which Agnes was based, was no stranger to such trials, indicative of the widespread furore that had enveloped this corner of the Kingdom of Scotland.
Documentary evidence of Agnes Peramorris, albeit sparse, encapsulates the often-opaque nature of many such cases. The procedural and administrative notations that accompany her case file reveal the bureaucratic underpinnings that underlay these seemingly personal narratives. Each case, including hers, paints a fragmentary portrait of societal anxieties, the institution of witch trials, and the individuals like Agnes who found themselves entangled in their grip.