James Hannay (c.1595 – 1661) was a Scottish clergyman who served as Dean of

St Giles Cathedral St Giles' Cathedral ( gd, Cathair-eaglais Naomh Giles), or the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended ...

. He is best remembered as the unfortunate clergyman struck on the head by a stool thrown by

Jenny Geddes Janet "Jenny" Geddes (c. 1600 – c. 1660) was a Scottish market-trader in Edinburgh who is alleged to have thrown a stool at the head of the minister in St Giles' Cathedral in objection to the first public use of the Church of Scotland ...

after reading from the English

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...

Life

He was born in the

Canongate The Canongate is a street and associated district in central Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. The street forms the main eastern length of the Royal Mile while the district is the main eastern section of Edinburgh's Old Town. It began ...

district of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

the son of John Hannay (d.1604) a bailie and burgess, and his second wife Maus Smyth. John had been an MP in Wigtownshire. John's father was Patrick Hannay of

Sorbie Sorbie ( gd, Soirbidh) is a small village in Wigtownshire, Machars, within the Administration area of Dumfries and Galloway Council, Scotland. It is located midway between Wigtown and Whithorn on the A714 road. Farming forms the principal loca ...

. He studied at

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1582 ...

gaining an MA in 1615. He became minister of

Kilmaurs Kilmaurs () is a village in East Ayrshire, Scotland which lies just outside of the largest settlement in East Ayrshire, Kilmarnock. It lies on the Carmel Water, southwest of Glasgow. Population recorded for the village in the 2001 Census recorde ...

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

in 1620, and was translated to his home parish of Canongate in 1624. However, this predated the building of

Canongate Kirk The Kirk of the Canongate, or Canongate Kirk, serves the Parish of Canongate in Edinburgh's Old Town, in Scotland. It is a congregation of the Church of Scotland. The parish includes the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the Scottish Parliament. It i ...

. The church at this time was continuing to worship in

Holyrood Abbey Holyrood Abbey is a ruined abbey of the Canons Regular in Edinburgh, Scotland. The abbey was founded in 1128 by David I of Scotland. During the 15th century, the abbey guesthouse was developed into a royal residence, and after the Scottish Ref ...

. At this time therefore the parish church was still connected to

Holyrood Palace The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace or Holyroodhouse, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinbu ...

. In 1633 it was Hannay who performed the "coronation" of

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

. This symbolic ceremony (Charles had been king for 8 years) apparently partly rebuilt missing elements of the Abbey to make it look appropriate for this regal function. Probably through this royal connection it was Charles I himself who presented Hannay to Edinburgh Town Council, twice in 1634, for the role of Dean of

St Giles Saint Giles (, la, Aegidius, french: Gilles), also known as Giles the Hermit, was a hermit or monk active in the lower Rhône most likely in the 6th century. Revered as a saint, his cult became widely diffused but his hagiography is mostly lege ...

. The Council accepted this and presented him in March 1635 and he began the role of Dean in April 1635. In the summer of 1635 Hannay went (with other senior Scottish clergy) to London to draft the Scottish Book of Common Prayer. In May 1637 King Charles granted Hannay estates in Kelso for his work on this. Hannay was inevitably a supporter of the Book of Common Prayer. It is an incident on Sunday 23 July 1637 which places Hannay into the national understanding of the history of the Scottish Church. He was equipped with a new Edinburgh publishing by the King's official printer, Robert Young, fresh off the press: the Scottish

. This had been commissioned by

Archbishop Laud William Laud (; 7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was a bishop in the Church of England. Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I in 1633, Laud was a key advocate of Charles I's religious reforms, he was arrested by Parliament in 16 ...

, the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

. Whilst modern eyes (or ears) might not appreciate the fury this incited, the core issue was the book (whilst being a "Scottish" version) was still intrinsically English. The service began with three prayers led by Rev Patrick Henderson from the uncontroversial

Book of Common Order The ''Book of Common Order'' is the name of several directories for public worship, the first originated by John Knox for use on the continent of Europe and in use by the Church of Scotland since the 16th century. The Church published revised ed ...

. As he finished he said he did not think he would be reading ever again. Hannay then took the Scottish Book of Common Prayer to the

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...

(at around 10am). The use of an English rather than Scottish

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

was offensive, and had also sidestepped the control of the presbyteries. Many also saw it as a move back to the

Catholic mass The Mass is the central liturgical service of the Eucharist in the Catholic Church, in which bread and wine are consecrated and become the body and blood of Christ. As defined by the Church at the Council of Trent, in the Mass, "the same Christ ...

. Bishop Lindsay was close to Hannay in his

when the reading sparked a widespread riot in the church. The

Bishop of St Andrews The Bishop of St. Andrews ( gd, Easbaig Chill Rìmhinn, sco, Beeshop o Saunt Andras) was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of St Andrews in the Catholic Church and then, from 14 August 1472, as Archbishop of St Andrews ( gd, Àrd-easbaig ...

and

Bishop of Dunblane The Bishop of Dunblane or Bishop of Strathearn was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Dunblane or Strathearn, one of medieval Scotland's thirteen bishoprics. It was based at Dunblane Cathedral, now a parish church of the Church of Scotland ...

were also present. Infamously

stood up and threw her stool at Hannay's head. Bishop Lindsay had moved to the pulpit to quell the crowd but was pulled out by a Mrs Main. The service had to be terminated. The demonstrators (most of the congregation) were ejected, but remained outside. This incident was a precursor to the

National Covenant The National Covenant () was an agreement signed by many people of Scotland during 1638, opposing the proposed reforms of the Church of Scotland (also known as ''The Kirk'') by King Charles I. The king's efforts to impose changes on the church i ...

of 1638. In April 1638 Hannay was one of three senior ministers who met the Bishops of Edinburgh, Dunblane and Argyll to discuss the way forward. Hannay's position was becoming more and more out of tune with the wider population. In 1639 Hannay was deposed for reading and defending the new service book and refusing the orders of the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

. His activities from 1639 to 1661 are unknown. He died in June 1661. At the Restoration, and the return of a King to the throne (Charles II), his children were granted a pension, reflecting Hannay's continued Royalist support.

Family

He married Isobel Brown (d.1674) who was buried in the Kirk of Holyrood House. They had at least seven children: *Magdalen *John *Martha *William *James *George *Marion (married George Smelholm, servitor to the Earl of Tweeddale: P. C. B., Third Series, i., 517) *Isobel

Bibliography

*Reg. Sec. Sig. *Edin. Counc. and Canongate Reg. (Baptisms) *Baillie's Lett., i. *Stevenson's Hist. *Peterkin's Rec *Wodrow's MSS. *Acts Pari., v., vii. *Maitland Miscell., ii. *Charters of St Giles *Lees' St Giles *Maitland Miscell., iii. *Bannatyne Miscell., iii. *Baillie's Lett., iii.

Memorials

A brass plaque to Hannay was erected in St Giles Cathedral in the late 19th century.

References

;Citations ;Sources * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hannay, James 1595 births 1661 deaths Clergy from Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 17th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland