Agnes Sampson and the Plot to Assassinate the King

that rule. Welcome to Criminalia, I'm Maria tram Marquis and I'm Holly fry To. Witchcraft trials in north Berwick, Scotland were touched off by the confession and testimony of an accused witch named Galus Duncan. You might recognize that name from Diana Gabaldon's fictional Outlander novels and TV series. In real life, though, Gallas was a healer from Trent, Scotland who was employed as domestic help for a man named

David Seaton. Seaton was the local bailiff and played a major role in what was likely the beginning of the Scottish witch trials. Seton observed a few things about Gailis during her time in his employment. She had no schooling, so how was she so well educated in the healing arts, he wondered. He also noted that he was aware Gayless sometimes sneaked away at night, and her whereabouts were unknown. Seaton had grown quite suspicious of her, as we can tell,

and in accused her of practicing witchcraft. She was interrogated by Seton and, according to reports quote with the help of others, to torment her with the tortures of the thumbscrews upon her fingers, which is a grievous torture, and binding and twisting her head with cord of rope, which is a most cruel to were meant also yet she

should not confess anything. Whereupon they suspecting that she had been marked by the devil, as commonly which is are, they searched and found the devil's marked to be on the fore part of her throat. After this was found, she confessed that all her doings was done by the wicked allurements and enticements of the devil, and that she

did them by witchcraft. Thanks to all of that torture, Gallis admitted her guilt, and initially she seemed to be confessing to a meeting between Scottish witches and a witch from Copenhagen, but she did then go on to confess that she went to meetings with other witches. She also divulged that those meetings were held at the kirk of

North Berwick with the Devil in their company. As her interrogation continued, Gallis confessed the purpose of the meeting was actually to plot how to assassinate the king, as they were instructed to do by the Devil. She named many many others during the interrogation, including two fairly distinguished people in the community, a suspected sorcerer who was actually a teacher named John Fion, as well as midwife and local

cunning woman Agnes Sampson. In fact, according to the pamphlet that covered these events, which was called News from Scotland under Torture, Galis named numerous individuals, both women and men, including we quote Agnes Sampson, the eldest witch of them all, dwelling in Haddington's, Agnes Thompson of Edinburgh, Dr Phiam alias John Cunningham, master of the school at Saltpans and Lothian, of whose life and strange acts you shall hear more

largely in the end of this discourse. These were by the said Galis Duncan accused, as also George Mott's wife dwelling in Lothian, Robert Grierson Skipper, and Janet Blandolin's with the Potter's Life of Seaton, the smith at the brig Hollis, with innumerable others in those parts and dwelling in those bounds aforesaid, of whom some are already executed, the rest remained in prison to receive the doom of judgment at

the King's Majesty's will and pleasure. Setons, suspicions and gallis is torture driven confessions are considered to be what ignited the North Berwick witch trials. We've named several accused individuals, but there are many others whose names we just don't know.

According to Scottish academic and historian Christopher Smout, between three thousand and four thousand persons accused of witchcraft may have been killed in Scotland in the years to seventeen o seven, and although the information is not on record, experts generally except that many of the accused actually died from the

injuries that were inflicted upon them during their torture. With that solemn note, we are going to take a break for a word from our sponsor, and when we return we will talk about how authorities got confessions of witchcraft from their detainees. Welcome back to Criminalia. Many of the instruments of torture that were used during these witch trials were extreme. We're now going to be talking about one

called the witches Bridal. Being tried and executed as a witch in early modern Scotland often began with nothing more than a slight or just an insult between a person and their neighbor or someone in their community. Because their records survived, we know as fact that four named people, John phi Am, Agnes Sampson, Barbara Napier and Euphemy Mataelsian were indicted for practicing witchcraft. Agnes and John were both tried quickly. It's estimated that their trials probably took just

a single day each. Let's talk about these trials for a moment. Before the suspects were imprisoned, they would have been interrogated and their depositions would have been taken. The accused and accuser were allowed to confront each other before the trial began, and that sort of face to face confrontation would often also happened during the trial. Similarly, a witness could be confronted by other witnesses. While that may not sound legit through our modern legal system, this was

part of the trial process. And when we're talking about interrogation, that piece could be conducted more than once and accused which would have been given the chance to confess before being interrogated. But many of these confessions, though, happened under extreme torture. It's really hard to know what was real and what was the result of that torture. That confession made under durest would be record it and used as

evidence against them in their trial. There really weren't any rules or limitations on what constituted admissible evidence at a witchcraft trial. Testimonies full of rumor and speculation, along with a person's reputation, were weighed the same as any actual factual evidence, maybe even more so if they were salacious. During Agnes's interrogation, her torturer shaved her head and all of her body hair, and then they fastened a device called a witch's bridle to her head. You may have seen.

This referenced in other historical sources as a gossips bridle, a Brank's bridle, or simply branks, whatever name you know this instrument by. It was very obviously an instrument of torture. It was made of iron and its framework fit around

the head of the victim. There was a bridle bit that was roughly two inches by one inch that's about five centimeters by two w a half centimeters in size, and there were four sharp metal prongs that would slide into the victim's mouth, making it impossible for that person to talk. Two of these spikes pressed against the tongue and two others against the cheeks. In this tool had more than one function. It would obviously silence its wearer, and it would also cause extreme pain. There's actually a

kind of an interesting note about this torture device. This instrument wasn't just used on accused witches at this time. It actually was not unheard of her husbands as a form of public humiliation to muscle wives who they thought gossiped or nagged too much. Some accounts include an additional humiliation. These wives, while wearing a leash with a bell, were then led around the center of town. The earliest known

use of this device is in Scotland during the sixteenth century. I. This was fastened to the wall of her cell by a witch's bridle. She was not allowed to sleep, and she was additionally restricted with a rope tied around her neck. And it was after enduring all of this that she

confessed to fifty three indictments against her. According to the transcript of her interrogation and torture, the record of which was dated January, she confessed that the first time she saw the Devil was after the death of her husband. Motivated by poverty and children to feed, she said she was taken in by his offers of riches as well as revenge on any enemies. He would take care of everything, she continued. It was then she confessed that she took

the devil as her master. She admitted she did summon the devil to ask if a specific noble woman should be allowed to live or die, and she described the devil as appearing as a black dog in her home. The transcript continued with additional confessions. Agnes confessed to making a spell to help a woman deal with her difficult

father in law. She made it was described quote a picture of wax and raised a spirit at a water side beside a briar bush, desiring her to enchant it to serve for his destruction and send it to the said woman to be put under his bed sheet or BedHead. Agnes was sentenced to execution by being burned at the stake, which was the only punishment for witches. We read that the cost of Agnes's execution was accounted for as six pounds,

eight shillings and tenpence. Also, I want to note that you may have noticed that we've referred to slight differences in the date of her execution. The Treasurer's paperwork listed the date as January six, for instance, while the transcript of her interrogation was dated. As we spoke about earlier, the trial was really well recorded, but with more than four years between us and her execution dates, sometimes these

dates aren't exactly perfect. With that in mind, we're going to take a quick break and when we come back we will talk about how the North Berwick witch trials were the first major trials of witchcraft under criminal law. Welcome back to Criminalia. This is when King James the sixth of Scotland starts to seriously seek out traders among his people. King James the sixth of Scotland was paranoid that he would be assassinated, and that made him paranoid

of the dark arts and magical spells. In nine James and his new bride, Princess Anne of Denmark were unable to make their trip from Oslo to their home in Scotland due to dangerous storms that had developed. Party had to turn back, and to the Danes and Ann and

James well, this was clearly the fault of witches. It might be difficult for some of us to believe that the king could have become so convinced that a small group of Scottish women were to blame for conjuring the storm that got in the way of his travel plants, but he did. He ordered those who conspired to assassinate him to be executed. The king became convinced that the

devil was his greatest enemy. In just a few years after these witch trials came to a close, James published a work called Demonology, in which he explored the topics of witchcraft and demonic magic. He also always advocated for the death penalty to be given to any individual who has proven to practice these arts. The North Berwick witch Trials were the first major trial of witchcraft that took

place under criminal law. The Act against Conjurations, Enchantments and Witchcrafts, which if you've been with us since earlier in this season you have heard us talk about, is an example of a high witchcraft sentiment at this time, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth the First of England and twenty eight years before the North Berwick witch Trials, this document made witchcraft punishable as a crime. Specifically, the act of killing or severely injuring a person with the use of

witchcraft was punishable by death. Lesser practices, such as causing a mild injury, were to be punished with one year in prison and to be determined on a case by case basis a number of appearances in the public pillory for a dose of public humiliation. When King James the Sixth of Scotland also became King James the First of England, which took place in sixteen o three, a few years after Agnes had been put to death, he passed a new law that made all forms basically ninety nine percent

of all forms of witchcraft punishable by execution. This act made it illegal to kill or harm an individual with witchcraft, and it also made it illegal to consult with evil spirits quote for any intent or purpose. And it was also illegal to dig up grapes in order to use the dead bodies in witchcraft practices. In the Crowns search for any traitors among its people, James turned his attention to those who were suspicious, at least according to rumor

or to those who were named in criminal interrogations. A man named Dr John Fion mentioned earlier, was a respectable scholar and teacher, and was now accused of being the leader of an assassination plot against the King. Here's how that came to be and how he found himself on the King's radar. So to do that, we have to jump back to Galis and her testimony. Galis Duncan testified that it was John who presided over Sabbaths that were held in North Berwick. There, she testified, the witches danced

about the church always counterclockwise. She detailed before On let them inside, and his key was actually really quite something. Galis described that he entered the building by blowing into the keyhole of the front door. Once inside the church and in the company of the devil. The witch Is planned to kill the King. The devil, as some sources suggest Galis described him, was disguised as a tall man with a rabbit's nose, a hawk speak, a long tail,

and dressed in a black robe and skull cap. According to reports and testimony about John's involvement in sorcery, we quote Fian confessed that by his witchcraft he did be which a gentleman dwelling near the salt pens, where the said doctor kept school, only for being enamored of a

gentlewoman whom he loved himself. By means of which his sorcery, witchcraft and devilish practices, he caused the said gentleman that once in every twenty four hours he fell into a lunacy and madness, and so continued one whole hour together, And for the verity of the same, he caused the gentleman to be brought before the King's Majesty, which was upon the twenty third day of December last, and being in his Majesty's chamber, suddenly he gave a great screech

and fell into madness, sometimes bending himself and sometimes capering so directly up that his head did touch the ceiling of the chamber, to the great admiration of His Majesty and others then present, so that all the gentlemen in the chamber were not able to hold him until they called in more help, who together bound him hand and foot, and suffering the said gentleman to lie still until his fury were past, he within an hour he came again

to himself. John was detained and interrogated. The instruments of torture you used on him may have differed slightly among the accused witches, but the outcome was the same. His fingernails were forcibly removed and thumb screws were put in their place. This torture was known as the pillar winks and used to crush fingers and toes in a vice

kind of device. John was also forced to wear what was called the boot, which was a boot shaped instrument created to squeeze the wearer's feet until their bones shattered. He did confess under torture, but he also recanted after the torture ended, claiming, quote, what he had done and said before was only done in said for fear of

pains which he had endured. John was convicted on the King's explicit orders and the testimony of one woman that being gay less, he was placed in a cart and taken to Castle Hill in Edinburgh, where he and his fellow North Berwick witches were garretted and then burned alive. The accused were arrested and many confessed things like having packs with the devil, devoting themselves to generally doing evil, including poisoning the King and other royals, and attempting to

sink the King's ship. Somewhere between seventy and two hundreds so called witches were put on trial, tortured and executed from the town of north Berwick alone, which hysteria and witchcraft trials continued in Scotland until seventeen thirty five, when it became illegal to try a person as a witch in both Scotland and in England. Instead of sentences that included brutal torture and execution, punishment for purporting to have the powers of a which that became fines or imprisonment

or both. What a terrible story, UM. I would like to follow you into the cauldron and take take, just do something else. Let this terrible story O UM I was in trying to come up with something for this one. I kind of wanted to develop something that hearkened to this idea of coercing people to talk, that also had a little bit of a bite, and so I came up with a drink which I am calling the witches Bridle.

It is not nearly so painful as a witch is Bridle would be, although I'm going to tell you now this drink is not for everybody, and you'll see why in a moment. Okay, So, first of all, the primary version is for coffee drinkers, so if you're not a coffee probably out. But I do have an alcoholic but non coffee version that's easy enough to do. It will start with one ounce of coffee. This is a chill drink,

so you want cold coffee. Then you're gonna put that in a cocktail shaker and add an ounce of double espresso vodka. I like to also throw in like a dot of brown sugar or a splash of brown sugar syrup or vanilla syrup. And then the crowning glory for me, and this is where I'm going to lose people, an ounce of yeager. Mister. Now, before you get weird. Let me just tell you I didn't invent really this combo.

Mine is a variation on a theme. But yeager Meister actually gets used in cocktails in really interesting ways because if you only use a little announced it's not that much.

It kind of offsets other flavors in an interesting way, and you actually don't necessarily get the taster association that you have probably had if your only experience with Yeagermeister is doing so many shots in college that you fall down, which is I think everybody's first assumption, right, I want to see it grow up, so I'm happy to see that it's being used here. It's actually like a very

complex liqueur, right. It has a lot of ingredients, has something like fifty ingredients, and they all will interact with other things differently. So when you add it to something that's coffee based, it has a natural sweetness to it, but it also just brings out other interesting notes in the coffee, depending on what kind of coffee you brewed. So you just literally shake that guy up, pour it and I like it just like that, strained into a cold cocktail glass. But if you want it over rocks,

that's totally fine. You can put it in a rocks glass with ice. You know, it's not a big drink, it's only a few ounces. But I like the fact that you get the energy jolt of coffee which might make you talkative, and the jagger maister and vodka combo will slap you around a little bit too and make it a little looser to tell your your secrets right exactly now. If you don't like coffee, you can do this with tea, and it's easiest. Pie Maria is making a terrified face at the thought of people not like

a coffee. I know people that don't do coffee, And for that one, if you want to make it in an alcoholic version but not a coffee version, you can instead use black teeth. If you drink that, really any kind of tea that has this sort of deeper, spicier flavor rather than like a bright herbal. Just use a plain vodka instead of that double espresso vodka, and then you know your yeager maister goes right in again. Splash of vanilla syrup will help you out. I really like

a brown sugar idea. Oh I love brown sugar in a a little coffee because it just it's got a deeper, more beautiful flavor. The mock tail for this is super simple, although it does I do a little trick here too. You'll still use the coffee, but instead of a coffee flavored vodka, you're just gonna double up the coffee. So two ounces of coffee or tea if you're going that route, three quarters of an ounce of annis syrup and then

one quarter of an ounce of almond syrup. And that isn't going to perfectly replicate what Yeager moister tastes like, but it does bring out some of the key notes and it makes it really interesting and quite lovely. Actually, I would make this in a scaled up ounce of right, I was trying to drink both of these as t

um or an iced coffee. It's super super emmers. That is the witch's bridle, which hopefully reclaims that horrible thing for something slightly more enjoyable that might make you talkative talk but among your friends, really, right one one hopes so. Uh, speaking of talkative, thank you for joining us this week and listening to us talk and talk and talk. It

was a talkie kind of a week here. We will be right back here next week with more Criminalia and more libations, and we hope you join us for all of that. Criminalia is a production of Shonda land Audio in partnership with I heart Radio. For more podcasts from Shonda land Audio, please visit at the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.