In April 1662, Meslie Hirdal, a married woman residing in the settlement of Lonhead in Nairn, became the subject of formal legal scrutiny regarding allegations of witchcraft. The records of her case, indexed as C/LA/3242, document the initiation of proceedings against her on the 13th of April. At this time, the judicial mechanisms of early modern Scotland were heavily engaged in the processing of such accusations, reflecting the complex intersection of local social tensions and the broader ecclesiastical and civil anxieties of the seventeenth century.
The administrative trail left by Meslie’s involvement in the judicial system culminates in the trial records categorized under T/LA/1868. These documents trace the movement of the case from initial accusation toward the formal courtroom proceedings that characterized the witch hunts of the period. While the archival fragments remain sparse, they serve as a record of Meslie’s experience within a legal framework that placed her at the center of a profound communal and jurisdictional confrontation.