In 1591, a Scottish schoolteacher, John Fian, of Prestonpans near Edinburgh, was implicated in what David Pickering in his Dictionary Of Witchcraft said was "Scotland's most famous witch trial".
"Fian was identified as the leader of the coven that was alleged to have plotted the death of James VI of Scotland (later James I of England)," Pickering said.
"On 26 December that year he was arrested on the charges of witchcraft and high treason."
The indictment was nothing if not fanciful, said Pickering.
"(He) had worshipped Satan in North Berwick church, had allowed himself to be transported to various mountains while in a trance, had robbed graves for ingredients to be used in a variety of spells, had broken into houses by breathing on locks to open them, had flown through the air by magic, had raised storms, had cast horoscopes and had seduced a widow through the use of love charms."
There was nothing fanciful about Fian's pre-trial treatment, said Pickering, as the pain was very real.
"The first stage in his torture was a procedure known as thawing, which involved the victim being jerked roughly about by means of a rope securely tied around his head.
"After an hour of this abuse had elicited no response from the accused the torturers switched to the infamous boots, crushing Fian's legs three times in succession before the schoolteacher lost consciousness.
"This lapse into senselessness was blamed as a trick by the Devil to escape further pain, and Fian was searched for charms.
"Two pins were discovered stuck into his tongue (they had probably been put there by the gaolers themselves).
"Using a pair of pincers called a turkas, the schoolteacher's fingernails were broken and pulled off, after which the whole length of two needles was forced into the bloodied nailbeds up to and beyond the first joint, causing the most excruciating pain.
"Incredibly, Fian still refused to confess that he was a witch.
"Recourse was made once more to the boots, and Fian's legs were crushed to the point where 'the blood and marrow spouted forth in great abundance, whereby they were made unserviceable for ever'.
"Although denied the convenience of a confession ... on one of the last Saturdays of January 1591 he was strangled on Edinburgh's Castle Hill and then burned as a witch ..."
