In the summer of 1661, Christine Thomson, a woman of middling socioeconomic status residing in the parish of Liberton, Edinburgh, found herself drawn into the machinery of the Scottish judicial system. Recorded formally as an indweller, Christine’s life was intersected by the intense period of legal scrutiny that characterized the mid-17th century. On June 13, 1661, her name was officially entered into the court records under case reference C/EGD/1588, marking the commencement of a process that would subject her to the gravity of the law during a time when accusations of witchcraft were handled with significant administrative rigor.
The documentation regarding Christine indicates a prolonged interaction with the authorities, as her legal proceedings extended well into the following decades. Her trial, indexed under T/JO/1710, confirms that she remained a subject of judicial attention long after her initial appearance in the records of 1661. By detailing her status as an indweller—a term denoting her settled position within the Liberton community—the records provide a glimpse into the circumstances of a woman whose experience reflects the broader, often protracted nature of the witch trials that shaped this period of Scottish history.