Published: Thursday, 17th January, 2008 09:30
Witchcraft in the county
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AFTER a more than a decade as a county headteacher, some would say that David Robertson has had enough experience of ‘little devils’ to last him a lifetime!
So it’s maybe just as well he’s turned his attention to witches, which he explores with some aplomb in his debut book.
Goodnight My Servants All aims to dispel popular misconceptions surrounding the condemnation of hundreds of supposed witches during the 16th and 17th centuries.
Keen historian David, 62, of Forthview Road, Longniddry, spent four years researching this hefty tome of 600 pages, which is jam-packed with records of trials, witness statements, and church records translated into modern-day English.
The former headteacher of Tranent Primary School decided to undertake the massive project in 2001, after being approached by county residents who were fascinated by the subject but had little knowledge of the facts.
“I have always been interested in local history and I often did talks on the subject,” he said. “I found that people kept asking me questions about witchcraft.
“East Lothian was a bit of a witchcraft hotspot and I realised that, in fact, not very much was known about it.”
Debut
Goodnight My Servants All is David’s first book, although he has contributed as a history writer to his local library in the past.
Hours spent perusing records from the National Archives and the National Library of Scotland allowed the father-of-two to uncover a number of hitherto unknown facts about the history of witchcraft in the county.
“A great deal of what is commonly believed about witchcraft in East Lothian is pretty wide of the mark,” he explained.
For example, Marion Lillie, the woman supposedly burnt at the Witches’ Stone, near Spott, almost certainly never stood trial for witchcraft and appears to have died a natural death before being buried in the village kirkyard, says David.
David spent 12 years as headteacher at Tranent Primary School up till he retired in 1996.
He was previously headteacher at Macmerry Primary School.
David has joined the likes of Roy Pugh, county historian and author, whose book on witchcraft, entitled The Deil’s Ain, courted controversy in 2001 by strongly criticising the role played by the Church of Scotland in persecuting supposed witches.
Goodnight My Servants All, published by Grimsay Press, is available to buy online at www.amazon.co.uk, price £35.
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