In May 1597, the judicial machinery of early modern Fife turned its attention toward Bettie Adie, a resident of the coastal parish of Kilrenny. Her encounter with the legal system is documented in the records of the Justiciary Court under the reference C/EGD/2508. At a time when the Scottish Kirk and state were increasingly preoccupied with the perceived threat of maleficium, Bettie was formally processed as part of the broader administrative efforts to identify and curb those suspected of engaging with forbidden arts.
While the surviving documentation of the case is sparse, it places Bettie firmly within the context of the intense witch-hunting climate that permeated Fife during the late sixteenth century. The record of her involvement, dated the 16th of May, serves as a testament to the lived experience of women caught in the intersection of local suspicion and formal judicial inquiry. Though the specific details of the accusations against Bettie remain unelaborated in the current register, her case stands as a significant fragment of the historical landscape during a period of rigorous legislative and social scrutiny.