The Occult Laboratory: Magic, Science and Second Sight in Late Seventeenth-Century Scotland

Michael Hunter

doi:10.1017/9781846150104

The uncanny ability of certain individuals to foresee future events had long been regarded as a characteristic of the Scottish Highlands, but in the late seventeenth century interest in the phenomenon came to a head, stimulated by English scientific and philosophical curiosity about magic, particularly second sight.

The natural philosopher Robert Boyle and other English savants investigated these Highland beliefs; they found the region a kind of laboratory, strange yet accessible, where data about unusual beliefs could be collected and theories tested. Scottish authors were also stimulated to write accounts of second sight, notably John Fraser, Dean of the Isles, and the Highland minister, Robert Kirk (1644-92), in his famous work, The Secret Commonwealth. These and other texts are included in this book, making available crucial information about belief systems which might otherwise never have been recorded, and illuminating changing contemporary attitudes towards the relationship between the natural and the supernatural.

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Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-iv
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Contents
pp v-vi
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Acknowledgments
pp vii-viii
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Introduction
pp 1-32
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Introductory Notes on the Texts
pp 33-50
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1 - Robert Boyle’s notes on his interview with Lord Tarbat, 3 October 1678
pp 51-53
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2 - ‘A Collection of Highland Rites and Customs’
pp 54-76
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3 - Robert Kirk’s The Secret Commonwealth and his ‘A Short Treatise of the Scotish-Irish Charms and Spells’
pp 77-117
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4 - James Garden’s letters to John Aubrey
pp 118-159
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5 - Samuel Pepys’s collection of letters on second sight
pp 160-186
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6 - John Fraser’s ∆ϵυτϵϱοσϰoπια
pp 187-204
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7 - Edward Lhuyd’s and Robert Wodrow’s questionnaires and the responses of John Fraser and John MacLean
pp 205-216
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Textual Notes
pp 217-228
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Appendix: Quotations of biblical passages cited in the texts above
pp 229-232
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Bibliography
pp 233-237
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Glossary
pp 238-240
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Index
pp 241-247
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The Occult Laboratory

Magic, Science and Second Sight in Late Seventeenth-Century Scotland

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Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-iv

Contents
pp v-vi

Acknowledgments
pp vii-viii

Introduction
pp 1-32

Introductory Notes on the Texts
pp 33-50

1 - Robert Boyle’s notes on his interview with Lord Tarbat, 3 October 1678
pp 51-53

2 - ‘A Collection of Highland Rites and Customs’
pp 54-76

3 - Robert Kirk’s The Secret Commonwealth and his ‘A Short Treatise of the Scotish-Irish Charms and Spells’
pp 77-117

4 - James Garden’s letters to John Aubrey
pp 118-159

5 - Samuel Pepys’s collection of letters on second sight
pp 160-186

6 - John Fraser’s ∆ϵυτϵϱοσϰoπια
pp 187-204

7 - Edward Lhuyd’s and Robert Wodrow’s questionnaires and the responses of John Fraser and John MacLean
pp 205-216

Textual Notes
pp 217-228

Appendix: Quotations of biblical passages cited in the texts above
pp 229-232

Bibliography
pp 233-237

Glossary
pp 238-240

Index
pp 241-247

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Magic, Science and Second Sight in Late Seventeenth-Century Scotland

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