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”’Janet Macmurdoch”’ (also recorded as Janet McMurdoche, McMuldroch, McMuldritche) was a Scottish woman tried and executed for witchcraft in Dumfries in 1671.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-03-31 |title=Speech, Sexuality, and Witchcraft in Modern Scotland – Atmostfear Entertainment |url=https://www.atmostfear-entertainment.com/culture/esotericism/speech-sexuality-and-witchcraft-in-modern-scotland/ |access-date=2025-12-02 |language=en-US}}</ref> She was accused of causing harm through witchcraft, a type of allegation known as maleficium, during a period of active witchcraft persecution in southwest Scotland.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Future Museum |url=https://www.futuremuseum.co.uk/collections/features/online-exhibitions/witchcraft-and-lore-in-south-west-scotland/manuscript-order–may-1671 |access-date=2025-12-02 |website=Future Museum |language=en-GB}}</ref> |
”’Janet Macmurdoch”’ (also recorded as Janet McMurdoche, McMuldroch, McMuldritche) was a Scottish woman tried and executed for witchcraft in Dumfries in 1671.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-03-31 |title=Speech, Sexuality, and Witchcraft in Modern Scotland – Atmostfear Entertainment |url=https://www.atmostfear-entertainment.com/culture/esotericism/speech-sexuality-and-witchcraft-in-modern-scotland/ |access-date=2025-12-02 |language=en-US}}</ref> She was accused of causing harm through witchcraft, a type of allegation known as maleficium, during a period of active witchcraft persecution in southwest Scotland.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Future Museum |url=https://www.futuremuseum.co.uk/collections/features/online-exhibitions/witchcraft-and-lore-in-south-west-scotland/manuscript-order–may-1671 |access-date=2025-12-02 |website=Future Museum |language=en-GB}}</ref> |
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== Accusations, Trial and Execution == |
== Accusations, Trial and Execution == |
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The accusations against Macmurdoch centred on claims that after arguments or disputes with neighbours, misfortunes followed people became ill, and animals died.<ref name=”:0″>{{Cite journal|title=The Survival of Witchcraft Prosecutions and Witch Belief in South-West Scotland|url=https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/10.3366/shr.2006.0015|journal=The Scottish Historical Review|date=2006-04|issn=0036-9241|pages=52–74|volume=85|issue=1|doi=10.3366/shr.2006.0015|first=Lizanne|last=Henderson}}</ref> These accusations were typical of witchcraft cases in her region, where “maleficium” (harm by magic) often blended with community suspicion and gossip.<ref name=”:0″ /> |
The accusations against Macmurdoch centred on claims that after arguments or disputes with neighbours, misfortunes followed people became ill, and animals died.<ref name=”:0″>{{Cite journal|title=The Survival of Witchcraft Prosecutions and Witch Belief in South-West Scotland|url=https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/10.3366/shr.2006.0015|journal=The Scottish Historical Review|date=2006-04|issn=0036-9241|pages=52–74|volume=85|issue=1|doi=10.3366/shr.2006.0015|first=Lizanne|last=Henderson}}</ref> These accusations were typical of witchcraft cases in her region, where “maleficium” (harm by magic) often blended with community suspicion and gossip.<ref name=”:0″ /> |
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McMuldroch was tried along with another woman,[[Elspeth Thomson]].<ref name=”:2″>{{Citation|title=Survey of Scottish Witchcraft, 1563 – 1736|url=https://witches.hca.ed.ac.uk/trial/T/LA/1162|publisher=University of Edinburgh. School of History, Classics and Archaeology|date=2010-08-18|access-date=2025-12-02|doi=10.7488/ds/100|first=Julian|last=Goodare|first2=Louise|last2=Yeoman|first3=Lauren|last3=Martin|first4=Joyce|last4=Miller}}</ref>According to the trial records (case T/LA/1162), the verdict was “guilty.” The trial did not record any formal confessions, torture or ordeals, which shows that their conviction was based primarily on witness testimony.<ref name=”:2″ /> |
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A surviving Manuscript Order dated May 1671 reports that both Janet “McMuldroch” and Elspeth Thomson were sentenced to death in Dumfries. The order directed that the women were to be taken to the execution place between ”’2 and 4 o’clock in the afternoon on 18 May 1671”’. It further states that they were to be ”’“wirried” (strangled)”’ ”’and then burned”’ at the stake,<ref name=”:1″ /> a common method of execution for convicted witches in Scotland at the time. |
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== References == |
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Latest revision as of 15:53, 2 December 2025
Janet Macmurdoch (also recorded as Janet McMurdoche, McMuldroch, McMuldritche) was a Scottish woman tried and executed for witchcraft in Dumfries in 1671.[1] She was accused of causing harm through witchcraft, a type of allegation known as maleficium, during a period of active witchcraft persecution in southwest Scotland.[2]
Accusations, Trial and Execution
[edit]
Little is known about Janet Macmurdoch’s early life, as surviving records focus mainly on her trial. The accusations against Macmurdoch centred on claims that after arguments or disputes with neighbours, misfortunes followed people became ill, and animals died.[3] These accusations were typical of witchcraft cases in her region, where “maleficium” (harm by magic) often blended with community suspicion and gossip.[3]
McMuldroch was tried along with another woman,Elspeth Thomson.[4]According to the trial records (case T/LA/1162), the verdict was “guilty.” The trial did not record any formal confessions, torture or ordeals, which shows that their conviction was based primarily on witness testimony.[4]
A surviving Manuscript Order dated May 1671 reports that both Janet “McMuldroch” and Elspeth Thomson were sentenced to death in Dumfries. The order directed that the women were to be taken to the execution place between 2 and 4 o’clock in the afternoon on 18 May 1671. It further states that they were to be “wirried” (strangled) and then burned at the stake,[2] a common method of execution for convicted witches in Scotland at the time.
- ^ “Speech, Sexuality, and Witchcraft in Modern Scotland – Atmostfear Entertainment”. 2018-03-31. Retrieved 2025-12-02.
- ^ a b “Future Museum”. Future Museum. Retrieved 2025-12-02.
- ^ a b Henderson, Lizanne (2006-04). “The Survival of Witchcraft Prosecutions and Witch Belief in South-West Scotland”. The Scottish Historical Review. 85 (1): 52–74. doi:10.3366/shr.2006.0015. ISSN 0036-9241.
- ^ a b Goodare, Julian; Yeoman, Louise; Martin, Lauren; Miller, Joyce (2010-08-18), Survey of Scottish Witchcraft, 1563 – 1736, University of Edinburgh. School of History, Classics and Archaeology, doi:10.7488/ds/100, retrieved 2025-12-02
