In 1662, Jean Kerse, a married woman residing in the burgh of Haddington, found herself entangled in one of the most volatile periods of the Scottish witch hunts. Her legal troubles originated from the testimonies of James Welch, a young individual whose denunciations triggered a series of inquiries across the region. Although James was ultimately deemed too young to stand trial himself and was consequently held in imprisonment, the authorities treated his confessions and his specific accusations against others with considerable gravity, leading to formal legal proceedings against Jean under case number C/EGD/558.
The subsequent trial, recorded under reference T/LA/1370, placed Jean at the center of the judicial machinery that defined this era. As part of a larger cohort of individuals implicated by the same source, Jean’s case highlights the mechanisms by which local denunciations were translated into state-sanctioned investigations during the mid-seventeenth century. The proceedings reflect the prevailing administrative approach to such accusations, where the testimony provided by a primary witness, regardless of their own legal status, necessitated a rigorous judicial response that directly impacted the life and liberty of the accused.