Revisiting Scotland’s Shameful Past
On Wednesday night, Ayr Writers were honoured to be joined by former Carnegie scholar, Mary W. Craig. Mary is a historical non-fiction writer, workshop leader and co-host of the podcast Borders Bletherings.
One of the first things we learned about Mary is that she is interested in the history of ordinary people. Kings, Queens and politicians may rule the land, but what effect do they have on the everyday lives of working-class folk? In her words, there are heroes, there are cowards, but the vast majority of us lie somewhere in the middle. That’s who she writes about.
While entertaining us with sometimes humorous, mostly horrifying, stories from the past, it became clear Mary is an expert on the Scottish witch trials. Her books include Borders Witch Hunt and Agnes Finnie. She spoke at length about Agnes, a quarrelsome so-and-so who lived in Edinburgh’s Potterrow and was accused and eventually found guilty of witchcraft. She was a healer and a moneylender. Her neighbours were terrified of her. Yet, where else could they turn when their child was sick, or they didn’t have any money to buy food? No doctor would dream of visiting the poor tenements and no bank would let them through the doors.
So, they had Agnes. Who may or may not curse you if you looked at her the wrong way.
Agnes might have been a difficult person to deal with, but did that warrant a death sentence? She filled a void in the Potterrow. She was killed for it.
She wasn’t the only one. We have records for almost 4,000 people who were on trial for witchcraft in Scotland during the span of a couple of centuries, 10 times more than in England. 85% were women. In reality, there were probably closer to about 6,000 but their records have been lost over time. After all, we’re not talking about royalty, are we? Accounts weren’t kept of the poor folk.
It wasn’t Scotland’s finest hour.
Mary spoke about how King Charles I owned a camel that was kept in the Corstorphine area of Edinburgh. While people in the Potterrow were dying of starvation, the camel was fed sugar lumps, and Charlie received regular updates about the camel’s wellbeing.
If you’re interested in history, Mary recommends the Privy Council archives and the National Archives. Much is now online. There is also the national database of witches and the interactive witch map.
After the tea break, Mary was back answering our questions. Once again, we were impressed by her knowledge when there was no question she couldn’t answer.
Not only is Mary passionate about history, she showed a great deal of empathy, too. An accusation of witchcraft was often a death sentence, yet can we judge those who turned their neighbours in? When all you hear is “the man in the black hat” is out there and he’s coming for you, what else are you supposed to think when your cow stops producing milk and you have no way of making a living? In a time when there was God and everything else was the work of the devil, can you be sure you wouldn’t turn on the meddlesome woman down the street? Especially if you thought you’d be saved and could provide for your family once more.
Mary was a thrilling guest speaker, talking with emotion and expertise on her subject. It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening, which I’m sure many of us will remember for a long time to come.
Kirsty Hammond
Brilliant night and wonderful account of it by Kirsty