Scottish Witchcraft: Background and Practices

Scottish Witchcraft: Background and Practices

By Carolyn Emerick

Published Online (2015)

Introduction: Thousands of people were accused of witchcraft in Europe from the Middle Ages into the Early Modern Era. The majority were women, but many men were also accused. Analyzing the reasons for the accusations can be complicated, as there are various theories, and the reasons behind the accusations could vary by region and by individual case.

We do know that, while many people were accused for reasons unrelated to anything they were actually doing (such as an accusation spurred by a jealous or malicious neighbor for example), some of the accused were singled out due to certain practices or professions. Midwives and healers were especially vulnerable to accusation. It is not that they were targeted by witch-hunters, but rather this profession opened them to accusation due to their perceived power over life and death.

Distraught mothers who were devastated due to a stillborn birth might accuse the midwife of infanticide. And, those with the powers to heal were thought to also have the power to harm. So a mysterious death or a sudden illness after an argument with neighbor who knew the ways of plants might cause the herbalist to be accused of murder by means of witchcraft.

It is also important to point out that the notion that all accused witches were pagan “wise people” is a myth. Most were ordinary people with no healing skill whatsoever. Even among the healers, just as there are both good physicians and quacks today there were legitimate herbalists versus charlatans selling nothing but superstition and snake oil back then as well.

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