Trial & Execution Timeline
499 trials with recorded dates (of 3,211 total), including 154 executions, spanning 1563–1710.
Data by Year
| Year | Trials | Executions |
|---|---|---|
| 1563 | 1 | 0 |
| 1570 | 1 | 0 |
| 1572 | 1 | 0 |
| 1576 | 1 | 0 |
| 1577 | 2 | 1 |
| 1579 | 3 | 2 |
| 1587 | 1 | 0 |
| 1588 | 3 | 0 |
| 1589 | 1 | 0 |
| 1590 | 8 | 3 |
| 1591 | 3 | 2 |
| 1593 | 1 | 0 |
| 1595 | 2 | 1 |
| 1596 | 4 | 1 |
| 1597 | 37 | 21 |
| 1598 | 1 | 0 |
| 1601 | 1 | 0 |
| 1602 | 4 | 0 |
| 1603 | 3 | 1 |
| 1604 | 1 | 0 |
| 1605 | 1 | 1 |
| 1607 | 2 | 2 |
| 1608 | 1 | 1 |
| 1609 | 1 | 0 |
| 1610 | 1 | 1 |
| 1612 | 1 | 0 |
| 1613 | 1 | 1 |
| 1614 | 3 | 2 |
| 1615 | 4 | 1 |
| 1616 | 11 | 3 |
| 1617 | 3 | 0 |
| 1621 | 1 | 1 |
| 1622 | 1 | 1 |
| 1623 | 2 | 1 |
| 1624 | 2 | 2 |
| 1627 | 1 | 0 |
| 1628 | 1 | 0 |
| 1629 | 21 | 8 |
| 1630 | 7 | 3 |
| 1631 | 2 | 2 |
| 1632 | 4 | 2 |
| 1633 | 13 | 4 |
| 1634 | 1 | 0 |
| 1635 | 3 | 1 |
| 1640 | 1 | 0 |
| 1642 | 3 | 1 |
| 1643 | 14 | 8 |
| 1644 | 8 | 3 |
| 1645 | 1 | 0 |
| 1649 | 14 | 3 |
| 1650 | 4 | 0 |
| 1656 | 4 | 0 |
| 1657 | 1 | 0 |
| 1658 | 53 | 3 |
| 1659 | 32 | 12 |
| 1661 | 41 | 24 |
| 1662 | 2 | 0 |
| 1664 | 1 | 0 |
| 1670 | 2 | 1 |
| 1671 | 9 | 2 |
| 1673 | 1 | 1 |
| 1674 | 1 | 0 |
| 1675 | 4 | 4 |
| 1677 | 12 | 5 |
| 1678 | 21 | 10 |
| 1679 | 33 | 0 |
| 1680 | 2 | 0 |
| 1683 | 8 | 0 |
| 1688 | 1 | 0 |
| 1697 | 23 | 7 |
| 1698 | 2 | 1 |
| 1700 | 24 | 0 |
| 1706 | 3 | 0 |
| 1708 | 2 | 0 |
| 1709 | 4 | 0 |
| 1710 | 1 | 0 |
Accusations Across Scotland by Year
Use the slider or press Play to watch witch accusations spread across Scotland’s counties over time. The five major witch panics are highlighted on the timeline.
1560
0 cases
1590–91
1597
1628–30
1649–50
1661–62
Click a panic to jump