In late November 1626, the legal machinery of seventeenth-century Caithness turned its attention to Marie Lauchtie, a resident of the northern port town of Thurso. Recorded under case file C/EGD/977, Marie was brought before the authorities to answer for allegations of witchcraft, a process that reflected the broader climate of judicial scrutiny prevalent in Scotland during this era. Her experience is formally documented within the trial records under the reference T/LA/447, marking the transition of her case from initial accusation to the structured environment of a legal proceeding.
On the 28th of November 1626, Marie faced the formal processes necessitated by these grave charges. While the sparse nature of these surviving records limits our understanding of the specific testimonies presented against her or the outcome of her trial, they underscore the gravity with which the early modern Scottish state approached such accusations. For Marie, this date represents the point at which her life became a matter of official archive, placing her within the documented history of a period defined by profound anxieties and the rigorous, often fatal, application of criminal law.