In Scotland, the memory of the victims of the witch hunts under debate

“Witches 'Well”, the witches' well, not far from Edinburgh Castle.

RFI / Assa Samaké-Roman

Text by: Assa Samaké-Roman Follow

5 mins

Almost 300 years after the abolition of the Witchcraft Acts, Scotland wants to shed light on and bring justice to the thousands of women accused of being witches and executed.

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From our correspondent in Edinburgh,

On the Royal Mile, the long, historic street that leads to Edinburgh Castle, one of the Scottish capital's most visited attractions, few passers-by notice the presence, against an old stone building, of a fountain, today hui condemned and flowery.

It is

Witches 'Well

, the witches' well in English, created in 1894 by the Scottish artist John Duncan, a major figure of the Celtic renaissance.

There is a plaque on which we read that a few steps away, on the present esplanade of the castle, “ 

many witches have been burned

.

Some of them " 

used their extraordinary power to do evil, while others were misunderstood and wished only good."

 "

For Claire Mitchell QC, a lawyer specializing in the fight against miscarriages of justice and denials of justice, this is far from sufficient.

This is why she launched a

major campaign

, on the occasion of International Women's Rights Day on March 8, 2020, to finally erect a memorial to the victims of witch hunts in Scotland, which 'they are given a pardon, and the country apologizes publicly.

“ 

Today, of course, we cannot go to court to overturn the convictions of these women

,” explains Claire Mitchell, “

so the closest thing is a pardon.

 His aim is to make his campaign known to as many people as possible, and then very soon to petition the Scottish Parliament for the pardon.

Hundreds of years of persecution

The witch hunt was particularly brutal in Scotland, where James VI, who reigned over Scotland and England (as James I) from 1567 to 1625, was convinced he had personally been touched by a spell then that he was trying to return to Scotland from Denmark with his young wife Anne.

It is estimated that 4,000 people have been tried for having practiced witchcraft and made a pact with the devil, the vast majority of them women.

Two thousand five hundred of them were executed, twice as many as in other European countries, and five times as many as in England: the custom was to strangle them, then to take them to the stake before killing them. let it be consumed by the flames.

The relatives of the victims therefore had no remains to bury.

The extent of the charges and executions has recently been brought to light by historians, including Professor Julian Goodare, who teaches at the University of Edinburgh.

Along with other colleagues, since 2003 he has carried out important archival work in the form of the

Survey of Scottish Witchcraft

.

More recently, an

interactive map

allows us to learn more about the people tried for witchcraft, the nature of the charges and where they were executed.

“ 

We feel that people need to talk about it, and they have knowledge on the subject.

Some are true, others are not

 ”, according to the historian.

“ 

For example, it is not fair to say that the majority of those accused of witchcraft were elderly female healers.

They were only occasionally accused, if their neighbors and the authorities believed they had made a pact with the devil.

Some practitioners, who used rituals, herbs and charms, were even at the origin of accusations, especially when they were dealing with a client in bad shape that they believed to be bewitched

.

"

History, truth and justice

If he does not campaign for the creation of a memorial himself, Julian Goodare believes that this debate is part of the one on statues and monuments which has captivated Scottish public opinion for months, and which stepped up with the Black Lives Matter movement in the spring.

“ 

It is important that monuments of memory appeal to people's emotions, and that we understand their meaning well

.

"

For her part, Claire Mitchell was delighted to see that in Bristol, England, demonstrators dismantled the

statue of Edward Colston

, believing that this 18th century English slaver should not be celebrated in public space.

“ 

This is precisely what I am fighting for a memorial

: to remember our history, to speak the truth, and to do justice.

 "

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