Sitting between Ireland and Britian, yet not fully part of either, the Isle of Man is somewhat of an enigma in these isles. Famous for the TT Motorcycle Races, the Isle of Man stretches about 30 miles long by 10 miles wide, and lies roughly equidistant between England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales in the Irish Sea. The Manx cat is a breed of domestic cat originating on the Isle of Man, with a mutation that shortens the tail.
It’s home to one of the six Celtic languages still spoken today, Manx, and it has a population of around 84,069. The Isle of Man is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, retaining a large degree of autonomy but the UK government is responsible for things like the isle's military defence. Its name is thought to be partially derived from Manannán mac Lir, a mythological warrior and king of the Otherworld in Irish and Manx mythology who is often interpreted as a sea god, usually as a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann.
But what is the history of this isle that sits alone in the Irish sea? Well humans have lived on the isle for thousands of years, stretching back to at least 6500BC when hunter-gatherers moved in. The ancient Romans knew of the island and called it Insula Manavia, with a few Roman artifacts found the isle. Ogham inscriptions have been found, an early medieval alphabet that was used to write the early Irish language. It is sometimes referred to as the Celtic tree alphabet.
The Gaelic influence really arrived around the 5th century AD, when Irish missionaries following the teaching of St. Patrick began settling the island, and the Manx language, a branch of the Goidelic languages, emerged. The Isle of Man was conquered by various powers over the centuries however.
Sources: Celtic History Decoded - Half Celtic, Half Viking: The Norse-Gaels, the Kingdom of the Isles and the Gallowglass • Half Celtic, Half Viking: The Norse-Gaels,...
Sitting between Ireland and Britain yet not fully part of either,
the Isle of Man is somewhat of an enigma in these isles.
Famous for the TT motorcycle races, the Isle of Man stretches about 30 miles long by 10 miles wide,
and it is roughly equidistant between England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales in the Irish Sea.
The Maxcat is a breed of domesticated cat originating on the Isle of Man,
with a mutation that shortens the tail. It is home to one of the six remaining Celtic
languages still spoken today in the Forum of Manx, and the island itself has a population
of around 84,000. The Isle of Man has a self-governing British Crown dependency
that still retains a large degree of autonomy, yet the UK government is responsible for things
like defence. Its name is thought to be partially derived from Manannan MacLear,
a mythological warrior and king of the other world in Irish and Manx mythology who is often
interpreted as a sea god, usually as a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann.
But what is the history of this isle that sits alone in the Irish Sea?
Well, humans have lived on the isle for thousands of years, stretching back to around 6,500 BC
when hunter-gatherers moved into the isle. The Romans were aware of the Isle of Man as well,
calling it Insula Minnavia, with a few Roman artefacts found on the isle.
Alkham inscriptions have also been found, an early medieval alphabet that was used to write
the early Irish language. It is sometimes referred to as the Celtic Tree Alphabet.
The Gaelic influence arrived around the 5th century AD when followers of St. Patrick
arrived on the isle, and the Manx language, a branch of the Goidelic languages, emerged.
Now the Isle of Man was invaded by various foreign powers over the centuries.
In 627 AD, for instance, King Edwin of Northumbria invaded and conquered the Isle of Man,
and used the island as a launchpad for raids into Ireland.
In the 8th century, the real party starts, when the Vikings invaded.
They went on to establish a seafaring kingdom known as the Kingdom of the Isles,
which included the Hebrides, the Isle of Man, and the islands of the Clyde,
notably Arran and Bute. These collection of isles were known as the Southern Isles to the Norsemen,
in contrast to the Northern Isles of Shetland and Orkney.
Now the precise extent of the kingdom is not fully clear,
but it probably originated in the Hebrides and then expanded out from there.
Godred Crovan, a Norse-Gael ruler who would go on to rule Dublin as well as the Isles,
conquered the Isle of Man with a force of Hebrideans around 1079 AD.
The Norse are thought to have established the Tynwald, the legislator of the Isle of Man.
At various points, Norway took direct control of the Isle.
Magnus III, for instance, the King of Norway,
reigned as the King of Man in the Isles between 1099 and 1103.
Fun fact, Magnus III was often referred to as barefoot,
meaning bare leg, because he often wore Scottish kilts.
In 1266, the Isle of Man became part of the Kingdom of Scotland after the Treaty of Perth
was signed, ending hostilities between Magnus VI of Norway and Alexander III of Scotland.
The Battle of Ronald's Way took place in 1275 between a Scottish army and the Manx,
and it served as the final attempt by the Manx to re-establish the Norse dynasty,
with the Scottish army victorious on the day.
After a period of alternating rule between the Kings of Scotland and England,
the island came under the feudal lordship of the English Crown in 1399.
The lordship became part of the British Crown in 1765,
but the island had not become part of the Kingdom of Great Britain proper.
It has always retained its internal self-government.
In 1881, Tynwald became the first national legislative body in the world
to give women the right to vote in a general election,
although this excluded married women. During both world wars,
the island was used for the internment of people originating from enemy countries.
The Manx economy is bolstered by its status as a tax haven and offshore banking destination.
Although small, the Isle of Man is a beautiful and fascinating part of these isles,
but who were the Norse Gaels? To find out, please click here.
