Isle of Man

:For the native Isle of Man Cat, see Manx Cat.

History

Ancient times to present

The Isle of Man became a Viking outpost/kingdom from circa AD 700 to AD 900. The Norse Kingdom of Mann and the Isles was created by Godred Crovan in 1079. The Isle of Man came under the control of the Scottish crown in 1266, as dictated in the Treaty of Perth. The Island came under English control in the 14th century and to the British crown in 1765.

Related Topics:
Viking - Kingdom of Mann and the Isles - Godred Crovan - 1079 - Scottish - 1266 - Treaty of Perth - 1765

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The Tynwald

The island arguably has the oldest continuous parliament in the world, the Tynwald, nominally founded in 979 AD (both the Icelandic parliament and the Faroese parliament are older, but they were abolished between 1800 and 1845, and 1816 and 1852 respectively).

Related Topics:
Icelandic - Parliament - Faroese - Parliament - 1800 - 1845 - 1816 - 1852

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The Triskelion

The Isle of Man has for centuries used the ancient symbol known as the Triskelion: three bent legs, each with a spur, joined at the thigh. The Triskelion does not appear to have an official definition — Government publications, currency, flags, the tourist authority and others all use different variants. Most, but not all, preserve rotational symmetry. Some run clockwise, others anticlockwise. Some have the uppermost thigh at 12:00, others at 11:30 or 10:00, etc. Some have the knee bent at 90°, some at 60°, some at closer to 120°. Also the degree of ornamentation of the leg wear and spur vary considerably.

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The three legs relate directly to the island's motto — Quocunque Jeceris Stabit, which translates to Whithersoever you throw it, it will stand. Interpretations of the motto often stress stability and robustness in the Manx character. Many schools on the island have adapted the motto to promote perseverance and hard work.

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Variations on the Triskelion are still in use on the coats of arms belonging to the different branches of the ancient Norwegian noble family that ruled Mann up until the 13th century. This particular version belongs to the Skancke branch of the Skanke family. The name stems from skank, the Norwegian version of the word shank. The kinsmen of Magnus III and Godfred Magnuson emigrated to Norway after the failure of the 1275 uprising against the Scots and became knights, landlords and clergy under the Norwegian Crown.

Related Topics:
Skanke - Shank - Godfred Magnuson - 1275 - Knight - Landlord - Clergy

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