In August 1569, the legal records of St Andrews, Fife, formally identified William Stewart as an individual caught within the machinery of the Scottish justice system during the early years of the post-Reformation era. His case, documented under reference C/EGD/2102, situates him in a period when the Kirk and the state were increasingly preoccupied with the identification and prosecution of those suspected of diabolical practices. As a male accused during this foundational phase of the witch trials, William represents a specific cohort of the accused, often overlooked in favor of the more numerous female defendants of later decades.
Following the initial entry of his case in the summer of 1569, William was subjected to the judicial processes of the time, eventually facing trial under the reference T/LA/1639. The procedural transition from his initial apprehension to his formal appearance before the court reflects the structured, albeit severe, legal environment of sixteenth-century Fife. These records remain the final, surviving account of William’s interaction with the authorities, marking his place in the historical register of those investigated for witchcraft in the early modern period.