In October 1577, the judicial machinery of the Scottish state focused its attention upon Agnes Neynkeard, a resident of Ross. Her appearance in the historical record is marked by the formal registration of her case, C/JO/3348, on the 25th of that month. This entry serves as a stark administrative remnant of a period when legal proceedings regarding witchcraft were beginning to formalize within the framework of the Scottish courts, reflecting the intersecting concerns of local authorities and the central judiciary during the late sixteenth century.
The subsequent trial of Agnes, documented under reference T/JO/2140, represents the final stage of the legal process initiated against her. While the specific nature of the accusations brought before the court in Ross remains absent from these surviving records, the documentation stands as a testament to the structured way in which such allegations were processed during this era. Through these brief entries, the life of Agnes Neynkeard remains tethered to the broader institutional history of the Scottish witch trials, illustrating the methodical, albeit austere, approach to the adjudication of such cases in 1577.