I had the chance to pause briefly in the beautiful seaside village of Pittenweem today. With its historic properties lining narrow, winding streets and the scenic harbour, it is difficult to think that this was once the place of unimaginable horror.
Yet although I say unimaginable, the more I research the witch trial era the more it is apparent that the levels of brutality and in inhumane treatment of innocent people seen in Pittenweem was common across the country.
The Pittenweem Trial was one of the later ones, which means we are fortunate in that there is quite a lot of information available about it. Some of this makes interesting reading, and different attitudes between those who vehemently believe that the Devil was at work, and those who had adopted more open thoughts are obvious in some of the writings.
The story circulates around a minister fighting, and failing, to have a small group of townsfolk executed and their bodies burned on false charges of witchcraft. He stood against the changing views which were beginning to sweep the country as people began to question whether those accused of being witches really did possess supernatural powers to bring devastation to their local communities.
To secure a charge of witchcraft evidence beyond that previously required was needed and meanwhile many of the villagers were growing impatient at the minister's failure to fulfil his promises. Eventually, a small group took matters into their own hands, either with or without the minister's co-operation, to deliver what they saw as justice. Changing circumstances would go on to save the minister.
And at the centre of the story are families devastated as a result of persecution and murder. Yet they are often the forgotten ones.
I have yet to decide whether to include the Pittenweem case in my upcoming book regarding the witch trials. I prefer to focus on ones which have not already been covered fairly widely. Yet it is a pivotal case in my mind, a changing point in time, and so I will leave the decision until the book is ready for publication.
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