In the high-stakes political landscape of late sixteenth-century Orkney, John Stewart, the Master of Orkney and brother germane to Patrick, Earl of Orkney, found himself caught in the lethal machinery of a dynastic struggle. On June 24, 1596, John was brought before the court in Edinburgh to answer to accusations of witchcraft. The charges against him were framed within the context of a broader conspiracy; it was alleged that he had employed the services of a witch in a calculated attempt to assassinate his brother, the Earl, alongside several other targeted rivals.
The legal proceedings against John were interconnected with a wider web of accusations, as his name emerged in the testimonies of other individuals caught in the crown's investigation, most notably in the trial of Alesoun Balfour, who identified him as an accomplice. Despite the gravity of these claims and their potential to shift the balance of power in the Northern Isles, the judicial outcome was definitive. Upon the conclusion of the trial in Edinburgh, the court returned a verdict of not guilty for John, effectively clearing him of the specific charges of sorcery brought against him during that turbulent summer.
