In February 1662, the judicial authorities on the Isle of Bute initiated proceedings against a woman identified as Margrat NcNeill. Recorded within the archival series C/JO/3262, the case against Margrat emerged during a period of heightened sensitivity toward allegations of witchcraft in Scotland. As a resident of Bute, she was brought before the local courts on the 14th of February to face the charges brought against her, marking the beginning of the legal process that would eventually lead to her trial under reference T/JO/1919.
The transition from the initial case file to the formal trial proceedings underscores the systematic nature of seventeenth-century Scottish justice. While the extant documentation provides little insight into the specific depositions or the nature of the alleged maleficium, Margrat’s movement through the judicial system highlights the procedural rigor applied to such accusations during this era. Her experience serves as a testament to the administrative mechanisms that governed the lives and legal outcomes of those caught within the widespread pursuit of witchcraft in the mid-seventeenth century.