On 16 June 1650, Jean Swan, a resident of the burgh of Irvine in Ayrshire, became the subject of judicial proceedings under the witchcraft statutes of the period. Her case, documented in the High Court of Justiciary records as C/LA/3220, saw her brought before the authorities during a time of intense legal scrutiny regarding charges of sorcery. As was standard practice within the Scottish legal framework of the mid-seventeenth century, the investigation proceeded toward a formal trial, recorded under T/LA/1783, which sought to address the specific allegations brought against her.
Following her apprehension, Jean was subjected to an examination that resulted in a formal confession. While the surviving documentation does not elaborate on the specific content of these admissions, the recording of a confession was a pivotal moment in the legal process of the era. This document remains the primary testimony of Jean’s experience within the seventeenth-century judicial system, marking the conclusion of the formal administrative steps taken against her in the Irvine courts.