In April of 1568, Cristiane Twych from the Scottish town of Coupar, near what is now known as Coupar Angus, found herself entangled in the turbulent period of witch trials that swept through the nation during the 16th and 17th centuries. During this period, communities were rife with fear and suspicion, and many individuals, often women, were accused of practicing witchcraft - a charge that could lead to severe punishment, including execution.
Cristiane’s case appears in the historical records with a case number of C/LA/3388, indicating it was part of a larger dossier of legal proceedings related to accusations of witchcraft. Though the specific details of the accusations against Cristiane are not detailed in the surviving documents, her trial, recorded under T/LA/2256, signifies that the allegations were serious enough to warrant formal judicial examination. This places Cristiane among the numerous individuals who faced such perilous inquiries during this fraught historical epoch.
Her residence in Coupar places her within the context of a region marked by its small communities, where allegations of sorcery were not uncommon. As trials unfolded in public and often under intense pressure from both societal and religious authorities, Cristiane’s experiences would have been shaped by the prevailing attitudes and beliefs about witches. The documentation on Cristiane Twych serves as a somber reminder of the dangers faced by many during the witch trials in early modern Scotland, illustrating the perils of living under a regime of suspicion and fear.