In January 1604, legal proceedings were formally initiated against Jonet Small, a resident of the coastal parish of Largo in Fife. The official records, catalogued under reference C/EGD/2513, capture a moment in a wider climate of judicial scrutiny that permeated early modern Scotland. The gravity of these proceedings is underscored by the subsequent trial record, T/JO/1689, which indicates that the case progressed through the formal mechanisms of the Scottish legal system of the era.
The reach of Jonet’s case extended well beyond her own trial, as her name appears repeatedly in the testimonies and confessions of others within the region. She was denounced as a figure of relevance in the witch trials involving Agnes Anstruther, Beatrix Traills, Christen Traills, and an individual identified only as Steidmont. These cross-references illustrate how accusations during this period were rarely isolated, often forming interconnected webs of testimony that linked Jonet to a broader community of women facing similar charges in Fife.