Janet Boyman

Janet Boyman, also known as Jonet Boyman or Janet Bowman,[lower-alpha 1] was a Scottish woman accused of witchcraft; she was tried and executed in 1572 although the case against her was started in 1570.[5] Her indictment has been described by modern-day scholars, such as Lizanne Henderson, as the earliest and most comprehensive record of witchcraft and fairy belief in Scotland.[5]

Accusations of witchcraft

Boyman was alleged to have predicted the death of the regent.[2]

Personal life

Scant information is available concerning Boyman's personal life; the trial record shows her as living in Cowgate, a street in Edinburgh.[5] No indication is given of her age but she was married to William Steill.[5]

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Ronald Hutton and others, such as the Survey of Scottish Witchcraft Database, list her as Janet Boyman;[1][2] Henderson refers to her as Jonet Boyman,[3] which is the form used in the criminal records, but Janet Bowman is a further variation.[4]

Citations

  1. ↑ Hutton (2017), p. 219
  2. 1 2 "Janet Boyman (29/12/1572)", Survey of Scottish Witchcraft Database, University of Edinburgh, retrieved 10 March 2018
  3. ↑ Henderson (2011), p. 231
  4. ↑ Anderson (1877), p. 363
  5. 1 2 3 4 Henderson (2011), p. 244

Bibliography

  • Anderson, William (1877), The Scottish nation: or, The surnames, families, literature, honours, and biographical history of the people of Scotland, Fullerton
  • Henderson, Lizanne (2011), "'Detestable slaves of the devil': Changing ideas about witchcraft in sixteenth-century Scotland", in Cowan, Edward J.; Henderson, Lizanne, A History of Everyday Life in Medieval Scotland, 1000 to 1600, Edinburgh University Press, ISBN 978-0748621576
  • Hutton, Ronald (2017), The Witch: A History of Fear, from Ancient Times to the Present, Yale University Press, ISBN 978-0-300-22904-2
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