In April 1597, Kathrene Fernsche, a 33-year-old woman residing in the parish of Coldstone and Logie-Mar in Aberdeenshire, found herself brought before the authorities under accusations of witchcraft. Recorded under case number C/JO/3096, Kathrene’s legal proceedings were part of a broader, volatile climate of judicial scrutiny within the region during the late sixteenth century. Her proximity to other legal actions of the period is evidenced by the testimony of Jonet Spaldarge, who identified Kathrene as an accomplice during her own trial.
The specific allegations leveled against Kathrene centered on the destruction of property, specifically involving the harm or loss of animals. These charges of maleficium—the causation of harm through supernatural means—were consistent with the prevailing anxieties of the time regarding the protection of livestock and communal livelihoods. Following her appearance in the records of 1597, the documentation pertaining to trial T/JO/1513 captures the formal legal engagement with her case, situating her experience within the complex intersection of local parish life and the Scottish criminal justice system of the early modern era.