INTERVIEW
Glasgow and Edinburgh in the 17th century, the tobacco and East Indies lords of the 18th century – right down to the financiers of the 20th century. Apart from the robber barons of the aristocracy who more or less built up their resources during the medieval period from the monastic lands, there will be hardly any landed family today that doesn’t have a non-landed background through this infiltration. I am intrigued as to how the recent Scottish land reform legislation will work.’
Knight of the realm He has just stepped down from his position as senior research professor at Edinburgh Univer- sity. A recent encounter with an optician left him with only 16 per cent vision in his left eye, which he has described as now possessing ‘no real vision at all’. Yet last week saw him lectur- ing in Ireland and invitations to speak here and there would occupy every day in his diary. Tell- ingly though, as we spoke again on the phone last week there were gurgles and entreaties from an impatient two-year-old, a grandson whom he and his wife Catherine clearly adore. He was delighted with his knighthood but
confessed to taking a week to think about the implications of accepting it before finally doing so. In the end he realised it would also bring pleasure to many people who are close to him.
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‘I was profoundly touched by the reaction of
people in the street. The impact locally has been quite striking and also very humbling. I also discovered that no other Scottish historian has been honoured in this way, which is unbelieva- ble, given the revolution that has been achieved in the subject. I had the most effusive letter from Christopher Smout (Historiographer Royal TC Smout) saying that when he heard I was to be knighted he’d never been so delighted since he got married. And I wrote back and said “you’ve humbled me, as you were the pathfinder”.’ And so this was an honour that was always
going to be difficult to refuse given Scotland’s long refusal to acknowledge the vitality of modern Scottish history. It is a subject, says Sir Tom, that was less studied in our universi- ties than the history of Yorkshire. ‘There ought to have been several knighthoods in this area before now,’ he says. As the nation counts down to 18 Septem-
ber it seems that every person who has ever encountered more than five minutes of fame has been wheeled out to state his preference. The man who has done more than anyone to re-connect Scots to their past is still not saying. ‘My territory is the past,’ is Sir Tom’s cryptic response to those who would solicit his support in the independence campaign. ‘But I will have my say soon enough.’
‘Scottish history was studied less in our universities than the history of Yorkshire’
Image: The 69-year-old has yet to declare which way he will vote in the forthcoming referendum.
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