In 1661, the life of Bessie Nicoson of Liberton, Edinburgh, intersected with the legal and religious anxieties of her era, though the details of her experiences remain fragmented and indirect. Unlike those who faced formal trial proceedings with preserved depositions or confessions, Bessie is known to history through her mention as a witch in the records of another individual’s trial. This specific reference, documented in the survey of judicial archives, indicates that her reputation was brought to light within the context of a wider local investigation into alleged sorcery during a period of heightened judicial activity.
Because there is no extant trial record for Bessie, her own voice and the specific accusations leveled against her remain absent from the judicial archive. The historical documentation (C/EGD/428) serves only to confirm that her name was formally recorded alongside the charge of witchcraft during the legal proceedings of 1661. For historians, Bessie represents the many individuals who appear in the margins of the Scottish witch trials, illustrating how an accusation could be transmitted through the testimony of others, leaving a lasting mark in the court records even in the absence of a comprehensive account of her own case.