In the early months of 1662, the legal mechanisms of the Scottish state focused their attention upon Marie Stewart, a resident of Kilbride on the Isle of Bute. On January 28, 1662, Marie was formally processed within the judicial system under case reference C/EGD/1537. This period was marked by a heightened intensity in the pursuit of those suspected of diabolical dealings, as local authorities and kirk sessions sought to address perceived spiritual and societal transgressions within their communities.
Following the initial record of her case, Marie was subjected to the formal procedures of the Justiciary Court, as indicated by the subsequent trial record (T/JO/1906). While the specific depositions and testimonies detailing the accusations brought against her remain sparse in the extant documentation, her involvement in this legal process illustrates the broader patterns of the witch trials that permeated seventeenth-century Scotland. Marie’s experience stands as a documented instance of the intersection between local suspicion and the reach of the High Court of Justiciary during a volatile era of Scottish history.