In the autumn of 1628, Margaret Cowane, a married woman of middling socioeconomic status residing in the Canongate of Edinburgh, became the subject of legal proceedings regarding allegations of witchcraft. Recorded under case file C/EGD/1041, the formal inquiry into her activities began on 27 September 1628. Situated within the distinct jurisdictional and social landscape of the Canongate—a burgh adjacent to the royal seat of Edinburgh—Margaret’s position as a woman of some standing did not insulate her from the judicial scrutiny that defined the period.
Following the initial registration of the case, the matter progressed to a formal legal evaluation under trial record T/LA/503. The records for Margaret provide a window into the institutional mechanisms of the early modern Scottish legal system, tracking the transition from a local accusation to the procedural rigour of a trial. While the specific nature of the charges brought against her remains confined to these archival designations, the documentation marks a significant moment in the social and judicial history of 17th-century Canongate, reflecting the interplay between communal suspicion and the established framework of the law.