Coastal town with easily missed sign of most 'brutal witch trials ever seen'
Coastal town with easily missed sign of most 'brutal witch trials ever seen'
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North Berwick in Scotland is now best known as a seaside town that's perfect for a family getaway - but this wasn't always the case, and the village actually has a rather dark history. In the years before King James VI of Scotland inherited the English throne too, he oversaw a rather brutal witch trial that would go down in history as one of Europe's bloodiest.
Visitors to North Berwick may miss the signs still present today, but those looking carefully while visiting St Andrew's Church may spot a memento mori of a skull and bones, a tribute to those executed on false charges of witchcraft. From 1590 to 1592, between 70 and 200 individuals, mostly women, from North Berwick and its surrounding towns were accused of being witches and subsequently put on trial, tortured and executed.
The events began when the King's betrothed, Anne of Denmark, the sister of King Christian IV of Denmark and Norway, was unable to travel from Norway to Scotland due to stormy weather. This led to James making the treacherous crossing to Norway in 1589.
The royal couple tied the knot in Oslo before journeying back to Scotland. However, terrible storms once again delayed their journey. During this time, there were a number of witch trials going on in nearby Germany, and the combination of this and storms leaving the Royals marooned sparked an interest in witch trials in Demark-Norway.
