''Newes from Scotland - declaring the damnable life and death of Dr. Fian, a notable sorcerer'' is a pamphlet printed in London in 1591, and likely written by James Carmichael, who later advised King James VI on the writing of his book '' Daemonologie''. Carmichael made a claim for payment for fifteen months work attending the examinations of diverse witches. The book describes the

North Berwick witch trials The North Berwick witch trials were the trials in 1590 of a number of people from East Lothian, Scotland, accused of witchcraft in the St Andrew's Auld Kirk in North Berwick on Halloween night. They ran for two years, and implicated over 70 peopl ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and the confessions given before the king, and was published in ''Daemonologie'' by King James in 1597.

Content

Included in the pamphlet is an account of the alleged witches Agnes Sampson, known as the Wise Wife of Keith, and the principal accuser Geillis Duncan. It also described the death of Archibald Douglas, 8th Earl of Angus who was said to have been bewitched to death in a disease so strange his physician could find no cure or remedy. The pamphlet details the initial events leading up to the trials, how each of the suspected witches were found out and captured. This led to the eventual apprehension of Dr. John Fian who was declared a notable

sorcerer Sorcerer may refer to: Magic * Sorcerer (supernatural), a practitioner of magic that derives from supernatural or occult sources * Sorcerer (fantasy), a fictional character who uses or practices magic that derives from supernatural or occult sou ...

, under compact with the devil and the supposed head of the coven. During his examination, he confessed to be the register of the witches under the service of Satan. Afterwards, he renounced his compact with Satan and swore to live an honourable Christian life. He also testified that Satan came to him the same day to convince him to uphold his original pact. Fian stated that he renounced Satan to his face. It was the next day when he confessed what happened that he managed to steal a key to his cell from one of the guards and escaped his imprisonment. After he was recaptured, he was tortured to obtain his confession but denied all his previous confessions. Implements described as used during his interrogation included the

boot A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearl ...

, which crushed his feet and lower legs, with turcas, a type of

pincer Pincer may refer to: *Pincers (tool) *Pincer (biology), part of an animal *Pincer ligand, a terdentate, often planar molecule that tightly binds a variety of metal ions *Pincer (Go), a move in the game of Go *"Pincers!", an episode of the TV series ...

, and needles to forcibly extract his nails. Geillis Duncan's earlier testimony had been secured by the use of pilliwinks.

Historical significance

The pamphlet contains virtually the only contemporary illustrations of Scottish witchcraft and was the earliest Scottish or English printed document dedicated to only covering witchcraft in Scotland. It provided the first descriptions of the '' osculum infame'', also known as the ''kiss of shame'' or the ''obscene kiss'', to the English population. Original copies are kept at

Glasgow University The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in post-nominals; ) is a public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ...

, and in the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

In popular culture

The pamphlet features in the short story "Leave Fast the Knot of Four" by Peter Wise in ''Disturbing the Water'', his collection of themed original ghost stories set around rivers and lakes. Wise, Peter (2024). Wafting Lines Press

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

Digitization of an 1816 facsimile reprint of the pamphlet
from the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

1591 books 16th century in Scotland Books about Scotland Demonological literature Pamphlets Scottish non-fiction literature Witch hunter manuals Witchcraft treatises Witchcraft in Scotland Works by James VI and I {{Scotland-hist-stub