On the 22nd of May 1661, the legal machinery of the Scottish state focused its attention upon Agnes Patersone, a resident of the coastal settlement of Fisherrow within the parish of Inveresk, near Edinburgh. At a time when the legal prosecution of witchcraft in Scotland was reaching a frenzied peak, Agnes was formally brought into the judicial system under case reference C/EGD/1965. As an inhabitant of a bustling fishing community, her life intersected with the anxieties of a period deeply invested in the identification and eradication of perceived supernatural threats.
Following the initial registration of her case, Agnes was processed through the High Court of Justiciary, as indicated by trial record T/JO/1821. The transition from her local residence in Fisherrow to the formal environment of a state trial reflects the structured, albeit severe, administrative process that characterized seventeenth-century Scottish jurisprudence. Her path through this judicial framework remains documented in these official archives, serving as a stark reminder of the legal realities facing those accused of witchcraft during the Restoration era.