In 1704, one of the “Pittenweem Witches” Beatrix Layng met the devil on Ceres Moor. She knew because he appeared as a black dog. This is Ceres Moor today, and my pup, Scout. She is rarely a devil. Layng denied being a witch, but adamant she had been chatting with Satan himself. Layng was released from prison after paying £8 and eventually pardoned by Queen Anne in 1708.
In October 1626, parties after baptisms had gotten so out of hand that Aberdeen made it illegal to “compell any nichtboures to drink any wyn, aill, or beir” that they didn’t want to. Anyone caught pressuring someone to drink was fined £40 (roughly the equivalent of £700 to £900, in 2019).
Tyberius Winchester was a “serial gyser” in Elgin.
His rapsheet:
May 1593- playing the pipes and drums with “rascalls”
Jan 1594- bagpiping after dark, being riotous
Dec 1596- dancing in kirkyard
Jan 1604- riding through town with pillowcase on his head
He was also done in 1604 for “uttering uncomlie speaches the nycht the minister catecheized”.
Also his name was TYBERIUS WINCHESTER and he couldn’t be stopped. Another top-shelf name, like HERCULES ROLLOCK.
The Kirk Session at Elgin tholed no nonsense in their time.
In 1698, someone tried selling their wife…
The wife-selling saga continued.
In 1592, the kirk had an “imaginative” punishment for a poor woman who self-harmed and heard about how splashed feet almost killed someone.
Sometimes they just couldn’t be bothered with naughty people, like Barbara.
In 1614, Elgin asked their bakers to stop stealing the gravestones from the kirkyard to make their bread ovens. It wasn’t their first warning and it’s not clear they stopped!
Pierre de Bocosel de Chastelard (1540-63) was a French poet and creepy stalker of Mary Queen of Scots. On Valentine’s day 1563 he was found under her bed.
Later, he barged in as she was undressing. He was taken to St Andrews and beheaded at the mercat cross.
Lochee was apparently a lawless place in 1879.
In that year the courts weren’t spending much time on your case…
On the 15th December, you got a decision in 48 seconds or less…
BARRING-OUT. n. Tradition where schoolboys staged sit-ins to extend Autumn break. In 1595 the principal of the Royal High School Edinburgh, Hercules Rollock let boys go too far and had to get in the police. A battering ram was used and a student shot a baillie through the forehead.
And we can all agree that Hercules Rollock is an excellent name.
Walter Scott was apparently an expert on this page of the school’s history.
By 1793, apparently nothing had ever happened.
In 1925, a farmer left a gate open and let his horses wander and was fined.
In 1950, a man defrauded a farmer of a dozen eggs to buy back his boots.
GOOL-RIDERS. n. mounted police that checked fields for corn marigolds and collected fines from farmers. A Mediterranean plant, it caused problems in the reign of Alexander II (1214-49)–his statute was still followed in Cargill as late as 1808.
