The Sad Case of Elspeth Seath
(the Balmerino Witch)
The 17th Century in Fife was neither a time or a place to be accused of witchcraft. Once such unfortunate was Elspeth Seath from Balmerino.
The 15th and 16th centuries saw an extraordinary witch phobia in Fife. Victims were sacrificed to the petty spite and vengeance of accusers. No one, no matter sex, age or social standing was immune from the accusation of consorting with evil spirits. Reputed witches had been persicuted since as early as the 6th century. James VI was a strong calvanist and was reputed to have been bewitched at North Berwick. He authored a treatise on witchcraft entitled "Demonologie" and in the 17th century, the last great persecution took place.
In the mid 17th century Elspeth Seath had been accused of being a witch and the full force of the law then fell upon her head.
"A different way of assessing the effectiveness of "waking" suspected witches is to note what occurred when this method was not or could not be used. One such case occurred in Balmerino on the North coast of Fife, in 1649 and 1650 and gives some fascinating evidence. Elspeth Seath was accused of witchcraft in December 1648 by a dying woman. The Presbytery of Cupar spent a great deal of time collecting evidence about Elspeth but was never able to ward her according to their wishes. By June 14th, 1649 the presbytery had received a warrant from the Justice in Edinburgh to incarcerate and further examine Elspeth. The Magistrates in Cupar would not put Elspeth in prison. They were not convinced, despite assurances, that the parish of Balmerino was going to pay the costs. Instead, they offered to incarcerate Elspeth Seath in the thieves' hole. This was not acceptable to the presbytery. They wanted her kept in close confinement, with no one able to harm her or see her but the presbytery.
The presbytery continued to interrogate Elspeth in order to bring her to a confession. She maintained her innocence. The presbytery also continued in their efforts to persuade the officials in Cupar to incarcerate Elspeth. The presbytery promised that they would appoint some people to watch her at their own expense. Again, they were offered the thieves' hole. The presbytery tried to get the central government to force the officials in Cupar to give way, but they failed. On December 6th, Elspeth appeared for the last time before the presbytery. Because the town of Cupar "wold not assist in warding and watching the said Elspet," she could not be tried. She was told to appear again, if called.
The lack of confession in this case was vital. The inability of the clergy and magistrates in Balmerino, a small parish on the Tay Coast, to force the magistrates in the nearest major centre, Cupar, to incarcerate Elspeth Seath in circumstances acceptable to them made the difference. Why did the presbytery continually refuse the offer of the thieve's hole? Why was the town of Cupar so concerned about the expenses of incarcerating Elspeth Seath in the manner demanded by the presbytery? The presbytery was attempting to "ward and watch" Elspeth and for this, as they themselves stated, particular conditions were required, riot only in terms of space, but the necessity of keeping her in close confinement: "... and put hir in a close prison, wheir none might have accesse to hir, and that they wold appoint some to watch hir upon hir [their?] own expense."26 Without this ability to confine Elspeth under these conditions which are highly suggestive of sleep deprivation, no confession was possible. Without a confession it was more difficult to prove she was a witch."
From Scottish Tradition Vol 27 pp103-104 (2002)