In the spring of 1710, legal proceedings were initiated against Henry Christian, a resident of Risegill in the far north of Caithness. The administrative records of the period, specifically those catalogued under reference C/LA/2983, indicate that the formal case against him was opened on 6 April 1710. Within the context of the Scottish witch trials, which were then in their twilight years, the movement of such a case from its initial filing to the courtroom followed a swift and established ecclesiastical and judicial trajectory.
By 6 May 1710, exactly one month after the case was opened, Henry stood trial as documented in record T/LA/1255. While the specific nature of the allegations brought against him remains obscured by the brevity of the surviving entry, his appearance before the court marks him as one of the individuals caught within the late-stage judicial scrutiny of the early 18th century. His trial reflects the meticulous, if austere, record-keeping practices of a legal system that processed those accused of maleficium or diabolical pacts in accordance with the statutes and social pressures of the era.