Kingdom of Scotland
Tried: 4,000-6,000
Executed: 1,500
Unlike their neighbours, it wasn’t purely maleficium that concerned the Scottish church and crown, it was the act of sorcery itself. From 1563, witchcraft and consulting with witches were crimes against God and the crown – capital offences and therefore punishable by death. The trials were held in secular courts, but the Kirk was an unstoppable force, often responsible for evidence gathering and the prosecution. With James VI’s feelings on the matter well known and