1500 women were strangled and burned in witch hunts in Scotland alone. Tortured and killed by who? Not by rabble mobs, but by the Reformation church, and by the Covenanter government.

“In 1649 the religiously radical Covenanter regime passed a new witchcraft act that ratified the existing act and extended it to deal with consulters of “Devils and familiar spirits”, who would now be punished with death.”

1. The Kirk Session’s Role

• ‘A decree went out…’:
  A 1658 Kirk resolution tasked ministers to “solicit evidence” of witchcraft. Evidence gathering usually involved coercion or torture, common in Scottish witch trials, to secure admissions of guilt.
  
• The kirk session acted as the catalyst, it sanctified violence, pathologized female autonomy, and turned fear into a tool of control.
  

2. Gendered Persecution: Women as Targets

• Patriarchal Theology:
  Calvinist teachings emphasized women’s moral weakness, rooted in the Eve narrative. Women were seen as more susceptible to temptation, making them prime suspects of witchcraft. The Dumfries trials overwhelmingly targeted women (9 of 10 accused).
  
• Nonconformity as Criminality:
  Accused women often fit specific profiles:
  • Widows or single women: Lack of male guardianship made them socially vulnerable.
  • Outspoken or economically independent: Defiance of gendered norms provoked suspicion.
    
• Economic Exploitation:
  Seizing the possessions of the condemned (e.g., Helen Tate’s fine despite acquittal) reveals how accusations weaponized poverty. Vulnerable women with property were doubly targeted—their wealth confiscated, their autonomy punished.
  

Sources:

• Witchraft in south-West Scotland, j Maxwell Wood: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/43966… accessed 06/07/2022
  
• Some Customs, folklore and superstitions of Galloway, Alastair Penman: https://dumgal.inforlib.uk/iguana/www…
  
• Ghosts and Witchcraft in Dumfries and Galloway, Dumfries and Galloway Libraries Information and Archives: https://dumgal.inforlib.uk/iguana/www…