On April 25, 1597, the judicial machinery of Aberdeen turned its focus toward a woman named Jonet Cleraucht. Her case, documented under the reference C/JO/3091, emerged during a period of heightened concern regarding witchcraft within the burgh, a time when local magistrates and ecclesiastical authorities were actively pursuing individuals suspected of engaging in maleficium. As an inhabitant of Aberdeen, Jonet was subject to the jurisdiction of the town’s courts, which played a central role in the legal proceedings that defined the Scottish witch hunts of the late sixteenth century.
Following the initial filing of her case, Jonet was brought before the authorities for her trial, recorded under reference T/JO/1503. The transition from accusation to formal trial reflected the standard procedural progression for those suspected of witchcraft during this era. While the specific charges brought against her remain preserved within the archival records of the 1597 Aberdeen trials, her experience remains a significant entry in the historical narrative of early modern Scottish justice, marking her place among the many individuals whose lives were intersected by the legal anxieties of the time.