page_title: Elspeth Reoch
hierarchical_section_title: Elspeth Reoch
caption_attribution_description: English: Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) on top of Janče hill (800 m), Slovenia. Size of flower is around 3×3 cm. Stack of 9 macro photos.
context_page_description: Elspeth Reoch was an alleged Scottish witch. She was born in Caithness but as a child spent time with relatives on an island in Lochaber prior to travelling to the mainland of Orkney. At that time the Orkney archipelago was under the legal jurisdiction of Scotland which, with the implementation of the Scottish Witchcraft Act of 1563, made witchcraft a capital offence, therefore punishable by death.
  The early years of the 17th century were a time of political turmoil on the islands as the transition of power between Patrick Stewart, 2nd Earl of Orkney and the staunch episcopalian Bishop James Law took place. Once in control, Bishop Law instigated court reforms in 1614 that academics considered had a significant impact on witchcraft trials in Orkney. Any references to a fairy in statements given to interrogators by alleged witches were routinely changed to read devil or demon.
  At her trial in Kirkwall on 12 March 1616 Reoch confessed to charges of witchcraft and deceiving islanders by pretending she was mute.
context_section_description: Elspeth Reoch (died Kirkwall 1616) was an alleged Scottish witch. She was born in Caithness but as a child spent time with relatives on an island in Lochaber prior to travelling to the mainland of Orkney. At that time the Orkney archipelago was under the legal jurisdiction of Scotland which, with the implementation of the Scottish Witchcraft Act of 1563, made witchcraft a capital offence, therefore punishable by death.
  The early years of the 17th century were a time of political turmoil on the islands as the transition of power between Patrick Stewart, 2nd Earl of Orkney and the staunch episcopalian Bishop James Law took place. Once in control, Bishop Law instigated court reforms in 1614 that academics considered had a significant impact on witchcraft trials in Orkney. Any references to a fairy in statements given to interrogators by alleged witches were routinely changed to read devil or demon.
  At her trial in Kirkwall on 12 March 1616 Reoch confessed to charges of witchcraft and deceiving islanders by pretending she was mute. Asserting she had received instructions on how to acquire magical powers when she was twelve years old while she was staying with an aunt in Lochaber, she claimed to have clairvoyance abilities. She also professed to being able to induce or cure illness by reciting chants while plucking petals from the melefour herb. Her lifestyle was that of a wanderer or vagabond who used her magic to support herself.
  Reoch was found guilty and executed by strangulation; her body was burned that afternoon.
caption: The melefour herb was considered to have many magical properties, including curing illnesses and conferring second sight; Reoch plucked petals from it while chanting to create magic spells.
exif: {"Image ImageWidth": "3448", "Image ImageLength": "4592", "Image BitsPerSample": "[8, 8, 8]", "Image PhotometricInterpretation": "2", "Image ImageDescription": "yarrow (Achillea millefolium)", "Image Make": "Panasonic", "Image Model": "DMC-GM1", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image SamplesPerPixel": "3", "Image XResolution": "180", "Image YResolution": "180", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS6 (Windows)", "Image DateTime": "2015:08:03 08:25:24", "Image Artist": "Petar Milo\u0161evi\u0107", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image Rating": "5", "Image Tag 0x4749": "99", "Image XPTitle": "[121, 0, 97, 0, 114, 0, 114, 0, 111, 0, 119, 0, 32, 0, 40, 0, 65, 0, 99, 0, ... ]", "Image XPAuthor": "Petar Miloaevi", "Image PrintIM": "[80, 114, 105, 110, 116, 73, 77, 0, 48, 50, 53, 48, 0, 0, 14, 0, 1, 0, 22, 0, ... ]", "Image Tag 0xC6D2": "[0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, ... ]", "Image Tag 0xC6D3": "[0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, ... ]", "Image Padding": "[]", "Image ExifOffset": "3004", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "5742", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "6297", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/1000", "EXIF FNumber": "8", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Manual", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "200", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Standard Output Sensitivity", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2015:08:01 12:19:47", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2015:08:01 12:19:47", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "4", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "1245723/125000", "EXIF ApertureValue": "6", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "761/256", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "60", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3225", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "4020", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "5628", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Manual Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "120", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "Low gain up", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF Padding": "[]"}