In November 1628, the legal machinery of early modern Scotland turned its attention toward Kathrene Stewart, a resident of Bunjedburgh in the county of Roxburgh. Her case, documented under the reference C/EGD/1056, emerged during a period when the Scottish judiciary was increasingly engaged in the prosecution of witchcraft. On the 25th of that month, Kathrene was identified as the subject of an inquiry that would eventually lead her to face trial within the jurisdiction of Roxburgh.
The records concerning T/LA/600 provide the framework for the proceedings brought against Kathrene. As was customary in the seventeenth-century Scottish legal system, the initiation of these judicial processes placed her at the center of a formal investigation regarding allegations of diabolical practice. While the surviving documentation remains sparse, the archival evidence confirms that Kathrene was brought before the local authorities to answer for these charges, marking a significant and life-altering chapter in her history within the Roxburghshire community.