*Ø* Blogmanac July 5 | Tynwald Day
Pictured: Tynwald Day, 1896
Today they will be partying off the coast of Ireland … or is it off the coast of England … or of Scotland? In the Irish Sea between Britain and Ireland lies the Isle of Man, where men are Manx and proud of it (and so are the women). Man (or Mann) is famous for Manx cats and Grand Prix motor sports, and it is a small island with a big history.
The Isle of Man is not part of the United Kingdom, but a Crown Dependency. Queen Elizabeth II is acknowledged as Lord of Mann, and in 1979 she presided over the millennial celebrations of the Tynwald, the Manx parliament, which is commemorated each year on July 5.
The High Court of Tynwald, as the parliament is known, is of Norse (Viking) origin and at over 1,000 years old is thus the oldest parliament in the world to enjoy an unbroken existence. (Iceland’s Althing was founded earlier but its existence was interrupted.) Tynwald has two branches, the Legislative Council and the House of Keys.
The Legislative Council is the upper branch of Tynwald and its eleven members are either indirectly elected or sit ex officio. The principal function of the Council is the consideration of legislation. The House of Keys is the lower, directly elected branch of Tynwald and originally had 32 members but since about 1156 it has seated a constant membership of 24 ‘Keys’ with a varying size and distribution of constituencies.
The Chronicles of the Kings of Mann and the Isles (held by the British Library despite the requests of the Manx people for their return) tell us that Godred Crovan (who helped Harold invade Britain in 1066) was successful in 1079, on his third attempt, in his invasion of the Isle of Man, and ruled it for 16 years. It is believed that the institution of Tynwald was finally and permanently established during his reign.
Tynwald day was originally held on Midsummer's day (see Wilson’s Almanac 1,000th message – June 25 Old Style – which was Christianised into St John's feast day; with the adoption of the New Style calendar in 1753 the day became July 5th. The order of this ceremony was established in 1417 when the first Stanley king required that the laws of his newly acquired land be set down.
OUR doughtfull and gratious Lord, this is the Condition of old Time, the which we have given in our Days, how yee should be governed on your Tinwald Day. First, you shall come thither in your Royal Array, as a King ought to do, by the Prerogatives and Royalties of the Land of Man. And upon the Hill of Tynwald sitt in a Chaire covered with a Royall Cloath and Cushions, and your Visage into the East, and your Sword before you, holden with the Point upward; your Barrons in the third Degree sitting beside you, and your benificed Men and your Deemsters before you sitting; and your Clarke, your Knights, Esquires and Yeomen, about you in the third Degree; - and the worthiest Men in your Land to be called in before your Deemsters, if you will aske any Thing of them, and to hear the Government of your Land, and your Will; and the Commons to stand without the Circle of the Hill, with three Clearkes in their Surplises …
We also know from records that on October 25, 1247 a convention of all the Manx people took place at Tynwald.
National symbol: the 3-in-1
The national flag of Man is a plain red field with the triskell (or triskelion or trinacria) emblem at its centre. This symbol dates back to the 13th century and is believed to be connected with Sicily, where a similar image was used during the Norman period. In Emblemes et symboles des Bretons et des Celtes (Coop Breizh, 1998), Divy Kervella suggests the triskell is a pagan Celtic symbol of triplicity in unity, and probably originally a solar symbol. Other Celtic examples of the three-in-one include the shamrock; the staff of the Celtic pantheon: Lugh, Daghda (Taran) and Ogme; the triune goddess of three aspects: daughter, wife, and mother; and the three dynamic elements: water, air, and fire.
The triskell is similar to the hevoud, another Celtic symbol, and the Basque lauburu, and might even precede Celtic origins (for instance on the cairn of Bru na Boinne in Ireland).
According to the World Encyclopedia of Flags, by A Znamierovski (1999):
The triskelion (from the Greek "three-legged") is one of the oldest symbols known to mankind. The earliest representations of it were found in prehistoric rock carvings in northern Italy. It also appears on Greek vases and coins from the 6th and 8th centuries BC, and was revered by Norse and Sicilian peoples. The Sicilian version has a representation of the head of Medusa in the center. The Manx people believe that the triskelion came from Scandinavia. According to Norse mythology, the triskelion was a symbol of the movement of the sun through the heavens.
The celebration
Today, at St John’s, citizens of Man will assemble in the open air for an open sitting of the Tynwald parliament. Manx residents who have a grievance for which they have exhausted all the normal channels of appeal, may present a Petition for Redress of Grievance to the Tynwald Court. All day long there will be a fair and colourful folk dancing and carousing.
Happy Tynwald Day!
Pip Wilson's articles are available for your publication, on application. Further details
Receive similar items free each day with a free subscription to Wilson's Almanac ezine. Send a blank email
Pictured: Tynwald Day, 1896
Today they will be partying off the coast of Ireland … or is it off the coast of England … or of Scotland? In the Irish Sea between Britain and Ireland lies the Isle of Man, where men are Manx and proud of it (and so are the women). Man (or Mann) is famous for Manx cats and Grand Prix motor sports, and it is a small island with a big history.
The Isle of Man is not part of the United Kingdom, but a Crown Dependency. Queen Elizabeth II is acknowledged as Lord of Mann, and in 1979 she presided over the millennial celebrations of the Tynwald, the Manx parliament, which is commemorated each year on July 5.
The High Court of Tynwald, as the parliament is known, is of Norse (Viking) origin and at over 1,000 years old is thus the oldest parliament in the world to enjoy an unbroken existence. (Iceland’s Althing was founded earlier but its existence was interrupted.) Tynwald has two branches, the Legislative Council and the House of Keys.
The Legislative Council is the upper branch of Tynwald and its eleven members are either indirectly elected or sit ex officio. The principal function of the Council is the consideration of legislation. The House of Keys is the lower, directly elected branch of Tynwald and originally had 32 members but since about 1156 it has seated a constant membership of 24 ‘Keys’ with a varying size and distribution of constituencies.
The Chronicles of the Kings of Mann and the Isles (held by the British Library despite the requests of the Manx people for their return) tell us that Godred Crovan (who helped Harold invade Britain in 1066) was successful in 1079, on his third attempt, in his invasion of the Isle of Man, and ruled it for 16 years. It is believed that the institution of Tynwald was finally and permanently established during his reign.
Tynwald day was originally held on Midsummer's day (see Wilson’s Almanac 1,000th message – June 25 Old Style – which was Christianised into St John's feast day; with the adoption of the New Style calendar in 1753 the day became July 5th. The order of this ceremony was established in 1417 when the first Stanley king required that the laws of his newly acquired land be set down.
OUR doughtfull and gratious Lord, this is the Condition of old Time, the which we have given in our Days, how yee should be governed on your Tinwald Day. First, you shall come thither in your Royal Array, as a King ought to do, by the Prerogatives and Royalties of the Land of Man. And upon the Hill of Tynwald sitt in a Chaire covered with a Royall Cloath and Cushions, and your Visage into the East, and your Sword before you, holden with the Point upward; your Barrons in the third Degree sitting beside you, and your benificed Men and your Deemsters before you sitting; and your Clarke, your Knights, Esquires and Yeomen, about you in the third Degree; - and the worthiest Men in your Land to be called in before your Deemsters, if you will aske any Thing of them, and to hear the Government of your Land, and your Will; and the Commons to stand without the Circle of the Hill, with three Clearkes in their Surplises …
We also know from records that on October 25, 1247 a convention of all the Manx people took place at Tynwald.
National symbol: the 3-in-1
The national flag of Man is a plain red field with the triskell (or triskelion or trinacria) emblem at its centre. This symbol dates back to the 13th century and is believed to be connected with Sicily, where a similar image was used during the Norman period. In Emblemes et symboles des Bretons et des Celtes (Coop Breizh, 1998), Divy Kervella suggests the triskell is a pagan Celtic symbol of triplicity in unity, and probably originally a solar symbol. Other Celtic examples of the three-in-one include the shamrock; the staff of the Celtic pantheon: Lugh, Daghda (Taran) and Ogme; the triune goddess of three aspects: daughter, wife, and mother; and the three dynamic elements: water, air, and fire.
The triskell is similar to the hevoud, another Celtic symbol, and the Basque lauburu, and might even precede Celtic origins (for instance on the cairn of Bru na Boinne in Ireland).
According to the World Encyclopedia of Flags, by A Znamierovski (1999):
The triskelion (from the Greek "three-legged") is one of the oldest symbols known to mankind. The earliest representations of it were found in prehistoric rock carvings in northern Italy. It also appears on Greek vases and coins from the 6th and 8th centuries BC, and was revered by Norse and Sicilian peoples. The Sicilian version has a representation of the head of Medusa in the center. The Manx people believe that the triskelion came from Scandinavia. According to Norse mythology, the triskelion was a symbol of the movement of the sun through the heavens.
The celebration
Today, at St John’s, citizens of Man will assemble in the open air for an open sitting of the Tynwald parliament. Manx residents who have a grievance for which they have exhausted all the normal channels of appeal, may present a Petition for Redress of Grievance to the Tynwald Court. All day long there will be a fair and colourful folk dancing and carousing.
Happy Tynwald Day!
Pip Wilson's articles are available for your publication, on application. Further details
Receive similar items free each day with a free subscription to Wilson's Almanac ezine. Send a blank email
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