Margaret Burges (c. 1579 – January 1629), also known as 'Lady Dalyell',[1] was a Scottish businesswoman from Nether Cramond who was found guilty of witchcraft and executed in Edinburgh in 1629.

Personal life

Burges was married to a boatman named John Gillespie before her second husband, John Dalyell.[1] She was a successful figure in middle-class Cramond business, renting property to several tenants and employing a number of servants.[1]

Trial and execution

Burges was first accused of witchcraft following a dispute in front of her home.[2] Burges had sent away a beggar named Elspeth Baird for her 'evil brint.'[3] As revenge, Baird accused Burges of witchcraft. Burges then attempted to clear her name by filing a slander suit, which backfired and led to her trial and eventual execution.[4] From testimony in the slander suit, the Cramond Kirk Session determined there was sufficient evidence against Burges for a formal investigation by the Privy Council.[2] This testimony included a line of questioning with Burges' teenaged servant, who claimed that Burges had kissed her repeatedly on many occasions.[4] Further evidence against Burges was a Devil's mark located on her leg.[1] Following her trial on 27 January 1629 she was strangled and burnt on Castle Hill in Edinburgh.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 The new biographical dictionary of Scottish women. Ewan, Elizabeth. Edinburgh. 2018. p. 62. ISBN 9781474436298. OCLC 1057237368.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. 1 2 Goodare, Julian; Yeoman, Louise; Martin, Lauren; Miller, Joyce (2010). "Survey Database, Survey of Scottish Witchcraft, Scottish History, School of History and Classics, The University of Edinburgh, Scotland". witches.shca.ed.ac.uk. doi:10.7488/ds/100. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  3. ↑ Goodare, Julian; Yeoman, Louise; Martin, Lauren; Miller, Joyce (2010). "Survey Database, Survey of Scottish Witchcraft, Scottish History, School of History and Classics, The University of Edinburgh, Scotland". witches.shca.ed.ac.uk. doi:10.7488/ds/100. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  4. 1 2 Goodare, Julian; Yeoman, Louise; Martin, Lauren; Miller, Joyce (2010). "Survey Database, Survey of Scottish Witchcraft, Scottish History, School of History and Classics, The University of Edinburgh, Scotland". witches.shca.ed.ac.uk. doi:10.7488/ds/100. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
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