In the summer of 1590, the legal machinery of the Scottish state focused its attention on Agnes Roy, a woman residing in the parish of Nigg in Sutherland. Her case, documented under the reference C/EGD/49, entered the judicial record on July 22, 1590, marking the beginning of a formal inquiry into her conduct. During this period of early modern Scottish history, such proceedings were often initiated through local investigations that sought to address concerns regarding suspected supernatural influence within the community.
The subsequent path of the proceedings against Agnes is preserved in the trial records designated T/JO/2118 and T/LA/899. These archival entries represent the procedural stages of her prosecution, illustrating the rigorous administrative process that characterized the witch trials of the late sixteenth century. Through these documents, the life of Agnes remains inextricably linked to the broader legal and social climate of Sutherland, where the intersections of community suspicion and ecclesiastical authority dictated the course of such cases.