On the 26th of June, 1604, Robert Weir, "sumtyme servande to the Laird
of Dynniepace," was brought to knowledge of an assize. He was "Dilaitit
of airt and pairt of the crewall Murthour of umqle Johnne Kincaid of
Wariestoune; committit the first of Julij, 1600 yeiris."
Verdict. The Assyse, all in ane voce, be the mouth of the said Thomas
Galloway, chanceller, chosen be thame, ffand, pronouncet and declairit
the said Robert Weir to be ffylit, culpable and convict of the crymes
above specifiet, mentionat in the said Dittay; and that in respect of
his Confessioun maid thairof, in Judgement.
Sentence. The said Justice-depute, be the mouth of James Sterling,
dempster of the Court, decernit and ordainit the said Robert Weir to be
tane to ane skaffold to be fixt beside the Croce of Edinburgh, and there
to be brokin upoune ane Row,[6] quhill he be deid; and to ly thairat,
during the space of xxiiij houris. And thaireftir, his body to be tane
upon the said Row, and set up, in ane publict place, betwix the place
of Wariestoune and the toun of Leyth; and to remain thairupoune, ay and
quhill command be gevin for the buriall thairof. Quhilk was pronouncet
for dome.
V
The Memorial before mentioned is, in the original, a manuscript
belonging to the Advocates' Library of Edinburgh. A printed copy was
made in 1828, under the editorship of J. Sharpe, in the same city.
This edition contains, among other more relative matter, a reprint of
a newspaper account of an execution by strangling and burning at the
stake. The woman concerned was not the last victim in Britain of
this form of execution. The honour, I believe, belongs to one Anne
Cruttenden. The account is full of gruesome and graphic detail, but the
observer preserves quite an air of detachment:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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