The judicial records concerning Thomas Lich, a resident of Renfrew, offer a somber glimpse into the legal landscape of mid-17th-century Scotland. On February 26, 1650, Thomas was formally identified within the administrative apparatus of the Scottish witch trials, recorded under case number C/EGD/1363. This period was marked by an intense focus on the suppression of witchcraft, and his appearance in the ledger indicates that the mechanisms of the local kirk session and the civil courts were directed toward him during a time of significant social and religious scrutiny.
Following the initial documentation of the case, the judicial process advanced to the trial stage, cataloged under reference T/LA/1097. While the surviving archives are concise, they confirm that Thomas was subjected to the formal legal proceedings of the era. By situating his experience within the broader context of the 1650 prosecutions, we observe the application of ecclesiastical and secular laws that defined the lived reality for individuals caught in the machinery of Renfrew’s legal system during this volatile period.