In the summer of 1633, the legal machinery of the Scottish state focused its attention upon Jhone Mcalaster Waten, a resident of Wick in the remote northern county of Caithness. On the 31st of July, formal proceedings were initiated against him, marking his entry into the administrative records of the early modern judicial system under case file C/LA/3309. As a male accused during this period, Jhone occupied a distinct demographic within the wider landscape of the Scottish witch trials, which were then intensifying across various jurisdictions.
The transition from initial accusation to judicial scrutiny is evidenced by the subsequent creation of trial record T/LA/2098. While the specific nature of the allegations brought against Jhone remains obscured by the brevity of the surviving documentation, these records serve as a vital testament to the reach of the Scottish courts in the early seventeenth century. Through the formal documentation of his name, residence, and the chronological markers of his case, Jhone remains a documented figure in the complex history of the northern trials, reflecting the administrative rigour with which the authorities addressed suspected cases of maleficium during this era.