In 1597, Margaret Clerk or Bane was a married, middle-aged howdie (midwife) who lived at Findrack, in the parish of Lumphanan, Aberdeenshire. Everyone for miles around knew Margaret and how she made her living and she in turn knew all of her neighbours and every road, path and track that led to their homes. Over many years she had walked or rode there in all weathers, assisting her fellow parishioners when their bairns were due and after their births. She helped local women, from the lowest-born peasants to the highest-born aristocrats, but as events would prove, the late 16th century was a dangerous time for a woman to be a midwife.
‘Thou art indicted as a common witch’
With the words ‘Thou art indicted as a common witch, by open voice and common fame...’ Margaret was accused of being a witch by eight women at their own trials as having been their accomplice. A commission had been set up in Aberdeen to bring charges of witchcraft against women in the Lumphanan area and John Ross, the local minister, was actively involved in gathering evidence, or ‘dittays’, from neighbours. Sixteen ‘dittays’ of witchcraft were the first stage
