Agnes Finnie (died 6 March 1645) was an Edinburgh shopkeeper and moneylender who was executed for witchcraft on 6 March 1645.
Biography
Finnie, widow of James Robertsone, sold consumer goods, such as fish and cakes in Potterrow, Edinburgh. Finnie is documented as possessing a fiery temper and known for cursing people in the street.[1]
In June 1644, Finnie was arrested on 20 counts of witchcraft and sorcery. While most accused witches were tried within days of their initial arrest, Finnie was held for several months in Old Tolbooth before the trial.[1]
She was tried on 20 December 1644 and executed on the Castle Hill of Edinburgh on Thursday, 6 March 1645.[2] It is estimated that Finnie was age 48 at the time of her death.[3] During the trial, Finnie's daughter Margaret Robertsone was accused of being a witch but was never arrested.[1]
Posthumous petition for pardon
Finnie is among the thousands who were accused and convicted of witchcraft in Scotland, and whose names have been submitted to the Scottish Parliament for a posthumous pardon to the Scottish Parliament.[4] As of February 2025, no pardon has been issued. In 2022, Nicola Sturgeon issued a formal apology for the 'historic injustice' on behalf of the Scottish Government to those accused of witchcraft between the 16th and 18th centuries.[5]
Art work
Agnes Finnie was one of thirteen accused witches who featured in an exhibition called Witches in Word, Not Deed by Carolyn Sutton, held at the Edinburgh Central Library and toured Scotland in 2023.[6]
References
- ^ a b c Craig, Mary (2023). Agnes Finnie: The witch of the Potterrow Port (1st ed.). Edinburgh: Luath Press. p. 8. ISBN 9781804250990.
- ^ "The war on witches". History Extra. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
- ^ Goodare, Julian; Yeoman, Louise; Martin, Lauren; Miller, Joyce (18 August 2010), Survey of Scottish Witchcraft, 1563 - 1736, University of Edinburgh. School of History, Classics and Archaeology, doi:10.7488/ds/100, retrieved 20 February 2025
- ^ "NRS Web Continuity Service". webarchive.nrscotland.gov.uk. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
- ^ "First Minister historic apologies: FOI release". www.gov.scot. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
- ^ edinburghcitylibraries (20 September 2023). "Witches in Word, not Deed – an exhibition at Central Library until 30 November 2023". Tales of One City. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
