Julian Goodare begins his article about the Scottish witchcraft trials with the trials about Slain which is in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. While reading his article I could only think about the common theme concerning the progression of persecution of witches. In Slain the panic, as Goodare calls it, began with the persecution of two women, Isobel Strachan and Janet Wishart. Both of these women were executed and following their executions panic developed.
It began with Wishart's son, Thomas Leys. He was interrogated, confessed and named many women who had been present whenever he was participating in his devil worshiping/witchcraft. Following Leys' confession led to the interrogation of these other women who also confessed upon interrogation and named more women. In the end the panic had grown exponentially. In a matter of 3 months, "At least eighty people [had been] caught up in the panic, thirty of whom died as a result of it," (Goodare, 2007). It is amazing to me how a panic can show the same characteristics of development even though it is secluded on the northern tip of an island away from the main land that is attributed to the masses of witch trials. Is this a result of the printing press that had been invented 100 or so years prior? I also wonder if the Reformation that sparked the spread of ideas from theologian to theologian, which was arguably made possible through the utilization of the printing press, also fostered the spread of news about trials in Germany and surrounding areas to further places such as Scotland? This could possibly explain some of the stark similarities between the trials. And, because both Germany and Scotland were hubs for some of the most influential protestant theologians it seems plausible.
You definitely have to consider the printing press as one of the primary reasons that the panic had managed to spread that far. Without a doubt the printing press helped spread the ideas and imagery all around Europe. I think another reason that the panic could have spread so quickly in Slain would be the lack of centralization. It seems to be a reoccurring theme that the more centralized the state or region is the more contained and minimal the spread. I'm not sure to what degree Aberdeenshire could be considered centralized but from the readings it seemed to be a fairly isolated region.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post Ben! I would have to agree with the notion that Zach argued about the lack of centralization. As many of the sources point out, a major portion of the witchcraft problems arose in areas that were lacking in areas of a centralized government. For example look at the cases in Germany under were there were hundreds of tiny kingdoms, independent cities, and communities were a significant number of individuals were charged for being a witch. Not saying that this was the only reason for Aberdeenshire's bout with witches, but I would strongly urge that this aided in the onset of the panic in Scotland. It's very interesting to see such ideas span across such a wide area. Thanks again!
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