In the spring of 1709, the legal authorities in Dumfries concluded a protracted legal process against Elspeth Rule, a woman whose case had been simmering in the local courts for several months. Elspeth had been the subject of two separate *porteous rolls*—the formal indictments issued by the Justiciary Court—which were drawn up in October 1708 and again in 1709. These documents served as the basis for her trial, which took place on May 2, 1709, amidst the broader, shifting landscape of witchcraft prosecutions in early eighteenth-century Scotland.
Following the presentation of the evidence, the court returned a verdict of guilty on May 4, 1709. The sentence imposed upon Elspeth was one of banishment from the region, an outcome that reflected the judicial practices of the era regarding those convicted of such charges. To ensure that her identity and criminal history were recognized beyond the immediate jurisdiction of Dumfries, the sentence was enforced through physical marking: Elspeth was branded on the cheek, a permanent reminder of the judgment passed against her by the court.