Witches in Scottish Literature – Learning Zone Resource
Posted April 10, 2013 6:10 pm by Nicola Stratton | Permalink
Image from 'Newes from Scotland'.
A new resource looking at witches in Scottish literature is now available on the Learning Zone section of the National Library of Scotland website. The Learning Zone is a dedicated area of the NLS website where teachers and learners can find learning resources, web features, images, and collections material relating to curriculum topics.
The Witches in Scottish literature feature looks at seven sources from the collections featuring Scottish witches. The sources illustrate differing treatments of witchcraft in various genres of literature from the last 400 years. Works by James VI, Shakespeare, Burns, James Hogg, John Buchan, Edwin Morgan, and Rona Munro are discussed alongside some historical background on the fascinating history of the witch-hunts in Scotland.
If you would like to learn more why not visit the website or watch a video of Julian Goodare, Reader in History at the University of Edinburgh, talking about the historical context of witch-hunting in Scotland.
The Scottish witch-hunts took place between 1563 and 1736. Over 3,800 Scots were accused of witchcraft and it is likely that around two-thirds of those accused were executed. If you are interested in finding out more about this fascinating subject why not have a look at our