In April 1568, the legal apparatus of the Scottish state focused its attention upon Catherine Campbell, a woman residing in the parish of Fowlis, situated within the county of Forfar. Her case, documented under reference number C/LA/3405, emerged during a period of increasing judicial scrutiny regarding supernatural offences in the wake of the Witchcraft Act of 1563. As a resident of Fowlis and Lundie, Catherine lived in a landscape defined by localized kirk sessions and the growing influence of the central justiciary courts in managing perceived threats to social and spiritual order.
Following the initial registration of the case, the proceedings moved toward a formal examination under trial record T/LA/2273. While the specific nature of the allegations brought against Catherine remains documented only by these archival markers, her appearance before the court reflects the broader patterns of early modern criminal proceedings in Scotland. These records serve as the definitive traces of Catherine’s encounter with the legal authorities of her time, preserving her name and the circumstances of her trial within the state archives.