Satan’s Conspiracy: Magic and Witchcraft in Sixteenth-century Scotland

The evidence for magic and witchcraft in 16th-century Scotland lies scattered in unpublished manuscripts, 19th- and early 20th-century transcriptions, and passing remarks in the histories of shires and burghs. The author’s object in this study is to lay the material in front of the reader and make some preliminary suggestions about how it can be interpreted, in the hope that future scholars of Scottish witchcraft in particular will be able more easily to construct their theories with the bricks he has provided. He does not claim to have uncovered all the existing material on this subject, for there are certainly caches of papers and further references still to be found, but by using previously unpublished material, he aims to produce a different picture of Scottish witchcraft. The evidence for magic and witchcraft in 16th-century Scotland lies scattered in unpublished manuscripts, 19th- and early 20th-century transcriptions, and passing remarks in the histories of shires and burghs.