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​The Reformation and the rise of anti-witchcraft legislation

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​The Reformation and the rise of anti-witchcraft legislation

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After the Scottish Reformation in 1560, the Protestant Presbyterian Church replaced Catholicism as the state religion. To consolidate the authority of Protestantism, the Scottish Parliament passed the Witchcraft Act in 1563, clearly stipulating that making a pact with the devil to "practice witchcraft" would be a capital crime. This legislation is not only a response to supernatural threats, but also a systematic purge of heresy by Protestant ideology, marking the extreme hostility of the Scottish authorities towards witchcraft.

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The Trials of the Witches of North Berwick (1590-1591) : The cruelest wave of witchcraft in Scotland

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The Trials of the Witches of North Berwick (1590-1591) : The cruelest wave of witchcraft in Scotland

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From 1590 to 1591, a large-scale witchcraft trial broke out in North Berwick near Edinburgh. About 70 people were accused and 30 were executed. The trigger for the trial was that James VI (who was then the King of Scotland) claimed that his fleet had encountered a storm at sea and suspected that a witch cast a spell to prevent him from going to Denmark to marry Queen Anne. This trial for the first time took "collective conspiracy" as the core charge, directly promoting James' deep involvement in witchcraft.

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James VI: From "Witch Hunter" to Theorist

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James VI: From "Witch Hunter" to Theorist

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James VI (later King James I of England) was a key figure in the suppression of witchcraft. In 1597, he published "Introduction to Devil Studies", systematically demonstrating the authenticity and harmfulness of witchcraft and advocating that "it is better to kill by mistake than to let it go". He even personally participated in the interrogation and demanded that a confession be extracted by waterboarding. His works influenced the Witchcraft Act of 1604 in England and became an important cultural background for Shakespeare's creation of Macbeth (1606).

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Social unrest and the "scapegoat" mechanism

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Social unrest and the "scapegoat" mechanism

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At the end of the 16th century, the Scottish economy was in decline, with poor harvests in the lowlands, soaring prices, and political unrest. Disputes over the succession to the throne and internal strife among the nobility, as well as accusations of witchcraft, became tools to divert conflicts. Most of the victims are marginalized groups: elderly poor women, widowed people living alone, vagrants or those with strange behaviors. Because they were unable to integrate into the mainstream community, they were labeled as wizards and became the "scapegoats" of the social crisis.

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The stigmatization of folk beliefs and "contact with elves"

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The stigmatization of folk beliefs and "contact with elves"

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In Scottish Gaelic culture, "Aos Si" (supernatural spirits) were regarded as the embodiment of natural forces. People often communicated with aos Si through rituals (such as sacrifices and incantations) to pray for a bountiful harvest or protection. Protestant churches demonized these traditional beliefs as "witchcraft", accusing "trading with elves" and "summoning elves to curse others" of heresy. For instance, in the trials of the 1590s, several defendants were accused of "entering into contracts with elves in exchange for wealth".

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Gender oppression: Women are the main victims

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Gender oppression: Women are the main victims

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Approximately 75% of the victims of witchcraft are women, especially elderly, unmarried or widowed women. Protestant ideology defines women as "morally vulnerable", believing that they are more susceptible to the temptation of the devil. This kind of gender bias is not only the product of religious fanaticism, but also a means by which the patriarchal society controls women's bodies and discourse power through the label of "witchcraft", depriving women of their right to participate in society.

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The conflict between traditional medicine and "illegal magic"

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The conflict between traditional medicine and "illegal magic"

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Many women accused of "witchcraft" actually mastered folk medical knowledge or divination. For instance, elderly women in the Aberdeen area are often charged with "witchcraft" for treating diseases with herbs. The church and Protestant authorities stigmatized these practical skills as gifts from the devil, essentially suppressing the unofficial folk knowledge system and strengthening the monopoly of the Church and Protestantism on orthodox knowledge.

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Cultural differences between high and low regions: The regionality of trials

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Cultural differences between high and low regions: The regionality of trials

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In the Lowlands of Scotland (such as Edinburgh and Glasgow), due to the early spread of Protestantism and strong centralization, witchcraft trials were more frequent (accounting for more than 80% of the cases nationwide). In contrast, the Highlands (Gaelic region) retained more traditional beliefs. The reverence and tolerance for elves weakened the perception that "witchcraft = evil", and there were fewer trials. This difference reflects the cultural reshaping of different regions in Scotland by the Reformation.

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Historical significance: From Fear to reflection

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Historical significance: From Fear to reflection

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The witchcraft trials in Scotland during Shakespeare's time were not only the product of religious fanaticism, but also a microcosm of power, gender and social contradictions. They reveal how the fear of the "unknown" in pre-modern society was exploited by power and became a tool for oppressing marginalized groups. Modern studies such as historian Julian Goodwin's "The Witcher" criticized these trials as "institutional violence" and pushed Scotland to redress the victims in the 21st century. Furthermore, its imagination of the supernatural profoundly influenced the witches in Shakespeare's plays such as Macbeth, becoming a classic motif in the narrative of "witchcraft" in Western culture.