In December 1612, the legal machinery of the Scottish state focused its attention upon the spouse of Alexander Burghie, a married woman residing in the coastal burgh of Dunbar, Haddington. The records of the period document her appearance within the judicial system under the designation C/EGD/862, marking the formal commencement of proceedings against her. At this time, the prosecution of witchcraft was a serious matter of ecclesiastical and civil concern, and her case proceeded from these initial accusations to a trial documented under the reference T/LA/217.
While the historical record preserves these administrative markers of the process, it remains silent regarding the specific nature of the allegations brought against Alexander’s spouse. She represents one of the many individuals caught within the intense judicial scrutiny that characterized the era of the Scottish witch trials. The movement of her case through the Dunbar legal apparatus reflects the broader mechanisms of local and national authority during the early seventeenth century, as her identity was subsumed by the formal records of her trial.