In May 1622, Catherine Blair, a resident of Glasgow within the shire of Lanark, found herself at the centre of formal judicial proceedings regarding the crime of witchcraft. The legal documentation catalogued under reference C/EGD/906 marks the commencement of a process that would ultimately bring her before the court in Lanark. As was customary for the period, the transition from local accusation to formal trial necessitated the involvement of provincial authorities, with the subsequent records under reference T/LA/348 confirming that the process reached the seat of the sheriffdom.
The records for Catherine offer a structured glimpse into the administrative rigour of early seventeenth-century Scottish justice. On 3 May 1622, the machinery of the law began its work, moving the case from the jurisdiction of her home in Glasgow to the specific venue of the trial at Lanark. Throughout these proceedings, Catherine remained the subject of an inquiry that reflected the prevailing legal and theological framework of the time, documenting a pivotal moment in her life as she faced the gravity of the charges brought against her in the Lanark court.