In the spring of 1608, thirty-nine-year-old Beigis Tod of Longniddry in Haddington stood before a court in Edinburgh to answer to serious charges of *maleficium* and participation in unlawful witches’ meetings. Her case, which drew upon accusations originating as early as 1594, positioned her at the center of a web of alleged conspirators; she was identified as an accomplice by several individuals, including Cristiane Tod, Margaret Dune, Johnne Gordoun, and Ersche Marioun, and was further denounced by Jokkie Gray-meill. The prosecution alleged that Beigis had been responsible for significant property damage, specifically targeting boats and stores of ale, alongside the harm caused to victims identified in the records as Fairlie and Wood.
The judicial proceedings on 27 May 1608 concluded with Beigis being cleared of one count, yet convicted of two others. Found guilty by the court, she was sentenced to death. Consistent with the legal practices of the era for such convictions, the sentence was carried out through the method of strangulation followed by burning. Her case remains a documented intersection of communal suspicion, the formal legal apparatus of early modern Scotland, and the severe consequences that followed such judicial determinations.
