Series 3 > Letters of James the Fourth, 1505-1513

XIV
LETTERS OF JAMES IV
‘ There was a Victorian aloofness and reserve about his
predecessors—all great scholars—which made a stranger
somewhat diffident about approaching them at times, but
such an attitude was wholly alien to Hannay’s genial
nature. Newcomers frequently remarked on the pleasant
and homely atmosphere of the Search Room as compared
with other places where it was more formal and official,
and he did not allow any out-of-date regulations or red
tape to stand in the way of a necessary reform.
‘ His tenure of the Curatorship was a very happy one,
and it was with reluctance that he left it for the Fraser
Chair of Scottish History. Most of his spare time was
spent in his old department, and I do not think he was ever
so happy as when pursuing his researches there. His
presence in the room had a tonic effect, and everyone
brightened up immediately he entered, but he was never so
busy that he could not spare the time to discuss a difficulty.
‘ I should like to emphasise that he was more an historian
than an archivist, and could not be considered in the line of
apostolic succession to his immediate predecessors, Dickson,
Maitland Thomson, and Anderson. Hannay was an
historian turned archivist for a period, his interest in
history being always predominant. Perhaps the pre¬
decessor with whom he had most in common was Joseph
Robertson, the first Curator and facile princeps of Scottish
record scholars, and I imagine he would desire no higher
praise than to be deemed a worthy successor to him. He
had his flair for research, though not his gift of exposition.
Probably he recognised his limitations in that respect, for
he would frequently present the result of his researches
and discoveries to other people, rather than exploit them
himself.
‘ The provision of the Public Records (Scotland) Act,
1937, for the appointment of a Records Advisory Council
must have given him great satisfaction, as he had pointed
out in his inaugural lecture the desirability of such a
body. He was appointed a member by the Secretary of
State, and took a very keen interest in all its work. He
did much to foster the technical education of the junior