In the autumn of 1597, Jonat Leisk, a 55-year-old woman of middling socioeconomic status residing in Fortriefurde, Aberdeen, found herself drawn into the turbulent judicial machinery of the late sixteenth-century Scottish witch trials. Jonat’s case was deeply entangled with the local disputes of her community, specifically concerning a property grievance; records suggest that her son had held a tack from her master, which was subsequently granted to another party, the Crukshanks. This friction likely provided the volatile backdrop to her legal ordeal, as she faced a serious dittay that included allegations of a demonic pact. The accusations were not new, for she had reportedly been suspected of witchcraft for thirty years, and she was even denounced by Andro Man in the context of other trials during this period.
The legal proceedings culminated in Aberdeen on November 21, 1597, under the weight of these long-standing suspicions. However, the trial resulted in a verdict of not guilty for Jonat. The court’s resolution was comprehensive, effectively silencing the accusation by banning the pursuers, the Crukshanks, from taking the matter any further. In an effort to restore order to the community, the court also secured a mutual peace, reassuring the Crukshanks that neither the Leisks nor the other families involved would subject them to further trouble. By the conclusion of the trial, Jonat was cleared of the charges, marking an end to the legal jeopardy that had shadowed her for three decades.
