Loading AI tools
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.
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]
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.
Wikiwand in your browser!
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
