21st November 2024 – Steven Veerapen, Historian and Author, 7.30 pm at the Holy Trinity Church
James VI and I is known for many things: the Bible, boyfriends, and
witchcraft. In this talk, the latter of these will come under focus – and, in particular, James’s own writings and attitudes will be explored. From his Daemonologie to the 1597 witch hunt (with its whispers of treason) to the Gowrie conspiracy, James’s attitude to witchcraft in Scotland will be scrutinized. So too will be the long legacy of his more lurid beliefs: the validity of accusations and confessions; the devil’s mark; and spectral evidence.
Steven Veerapen was awarded a 1st Class Honours degree from the University of Strathclyde, before graduating with Distinction on the MLitt Renaissance Studies. He was awarded a PhD from Strathclyde in 2014, for a thesis focussing on slander and sedition in Elizabethan law, speech, and writing.
Steven writes fiction and nonfiction, all of it based in his favourite period – the always entertaining, frequently bloody early modern period. His next book will be “Witches: A King’s Obsession” and he has recently signed a contract for a biographical study of Henry VIII (with a focus on that king’s British imperialism)
Publications
Veerapen, S. 2023. The Wisest Fool. Birlinn: Edinburgh.
Veerapen, S. 2023. Of Judgement Fallen. Polygon: Edinburgh.
Veerapen, S. 2022. Of Blood Descended. Polygon: Edinburgh.
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