In the late summer of 1590, Violet Auchinlek, a woman of significant social standing residing in Crechie, found herself caught within the rigorous machinery of the Scottish judicial system. On 12 July 1590, legal proceedings were initiated against her, centered upon a specific charge of consulting—an accusation that typically implied engagement with illicit occult practitioners or the seeking of forbidden knowledge. As a member of the landed gentry, belonging to the class of lairds and barons, Violet occupied a position of substantial influence, a reality reflected in the extraordinary attention her case drew from the upper echelons of the Scottish nobility.
The legal process advanced toward a formal hearing in the High Court of Justiciary, which, on 19 August 1590, ordered that her trial be conducted at the next justice aire in the Sheriffdom of Aberdeen. Throughout these proceedings, the weight of Violet’s social status remained evident; rather than facing the court in isolation, she was supported by a notable cohort of earls and lords who served as her prolocutors. This direct intervention by such high-ranking figures to provide legal counsel and defense highlights the complex intersection of social privilege and criminal prosecution during this period of early modern Scottish history.