The flag of the Isle of Man or flag of Mann ( gv, brattagh Vannin) is a

triskelion A triskelion or triskeles is an ancient motif consisting of a triple spiral exhibiting rotational symmetry. The spiral design can be based on interlocking Archimedean spirals, or represent three bent human legs. It is found in artefacts of t ...

, composed of three armoured legs with golden spurs, upon a red background. It has been the official flag of the

Isle of Mann ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

since 1 December 1932 and is based on the Manx coat of arms, which dates back to the 13th century. The three legs are known in Manx as ' ("the three legs"). The triskelion is an ancient symbol, used by the Mycenaeans and the

Lycia Lycia ( Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; el, Λυκία, ; tr, Likya) was a state or nationality that flourished in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean Sea in what is t ...

ns.

History

Crovan dynasty

Until 1265 the Isle of Man formed part of the

Kingdom of the Isles The Kingdom of the Isles consisted of the Isle of Man, the Hebrides and the islands of the Firth of Clyde from the 9th to the 13th centuries AD. The islands were known to the Norse as the , or "Southern Isles" as distinct from the or Nort ...

, ruled by the

Crovan dynasty The Crovan dynasty, from the late 11th century to the mid 13th century, was the ruling family of an insular kingdom known variously in secondary sources as the Kingdom of Mann, the Kingdom of the Isles, and the Kingdom of Mann and the Isles. The e ...

. The last member of that ruling family died in 1265 without a legitimate heir, when the Isle passed into the possession of

Alexander III, King of Scotland Alexander III (Medieval ; Modern Gaelic: ; 4 September 1241 – 19 March 1286) was King of Scots from 1249 until his death. He concluded the Treaty of Perth, by which Scotland acquired sovereignty over the Western Isles and the Isle of Man. ...

(d.1286). In 1266 sovereignty of the Isle of Man and the

Hebrides The Hebrides (; gd, Innse Gall, ; non, Suðreyjar, "southern isles") are an archipelago off the west coast of the Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner and Outer Hebrid ...

was formally transferred from the

King of Norway The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty kingd ...

to King

Alexander III of Scotland Alexander III (Medieval ; Modern Gaelic: ; 4 September 1241 – 19 March 1286) was King of Scots from 1249 until his death. He concluded the Treaty of Perth, by which Scotland acquired sovereignty over the Western Isles and the Isle of Man. Hi ...

(1241–1286). The heraldic era in England and Scotland started in about 1215, slightly earlier in Western Europe, and members of the Crovan dynasty are known to have borne ships and

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

s on their

seals Seals may refer to: * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means ...

, Wilson (2000) p. 36. and no evidence exists of their use of the ''triskeles''. It is possible that the origin of the Manx ''triskeles'' is a knotted device depicted on the coinage of their 10th-century

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and s ...

predecessors on the Isle. However, that device is dissimilar to the Manx ''triskeles'', and the nearly 300-year gap between its use and the appearance of the Manx ''triskeles'' suggests that there is no connection between the symbols.

Sicilian connection

The appearance on the Isle of Man of the '' Triskeles'' in the last third of the 13th century may well be connected with the regime change on the Isle in 1265, from Crovan to Scots kings. The symbol is anciently closely associated with

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, well known as a tri-cornered island, and is attested there in proto-heraldry as early as the 7th century BC. The most ancient name for Sicily, then a Greek province was '' 'Trinacria''', meaning in Greek ''three-cornered'', triquetra, referring to the triangular shape of the island. In 1250 the Germanic

Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II ( German: ''Friedrich''; Italian: ''Federico''; Latin: ''Federicus''; 26 December 1194 – 13 December 1250) was King of Sicily from 1198, King of Germany from 1212, King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 and King of Je ...

, died after having ruled Sicily for 52 years. Wilson (2000) p. 37. He was

King of Sicily The monarchs of Sicily ruled from the establishment of the County of Sicily in 1071 until the "perfect fusion" in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1816. The origins of the Sicilian monarchy lie in the Norman conquest of southern Italy which ...

from 1198,

King of Germany This is a list of monarchs who ruled over East Francia, and the Kingdom of Germany (''Regnum Teutonicum''), from the division of the Frankish Empire in 843 and the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 until the collapse of the German Emp ...

from 1212,

King of Italy King of Italy ( it, links=no, Re d'Italia; la, links=no, Rex Italiae) was the title given to the ruler of the Kingdom of Italy after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The first to take the title was Odoacer, a barbarian military leader, ...

and Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 and

King of Jerusalem The King of Jerusalem was the supreme ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, a Crusader states, Crusader state founded in Jerusalem by the Latin Church, Latin Catholic leaders of the First Crusade, when the city was Siege of Jerusalem (1099), conqu ...

from 1225. His mother Constance was Queen of Sicily and his father was Henry VI of the

House of Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynasty ...

. Although there is no evidence that the ''triskeles'' was used in Sicily in the 13th century, there is architectural evidence of its use in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

at that time, almost certainly relating to a personal emblem of Frederick, and almost certainly stemming from his Sicilian connection. Four years after Frederick's death the pope invested the Sicilian kingship in

Edmund Crouchback Edmund, Earl of Lancaster and Earl of Leicester (16 January 12455 June 1296) nicknamed Edmund Crouchback was a member of the House of Plantagenet. He was the second surviving son of King Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence. In his ch ...

(died 1296), the second surviving son of Henry III, King of England (died 1272), and for about ten years afterwards Edmund was styled "

". Henry invested considerable political capital in his son's new position, and in his efforts to raise funds from taxation to support the dignity of that kingship made himself extremely unpopular with his English nobles, who eventually rebelled. The wife of Alexander III, King of Scotland, was

Margaret of England Margaret of England (29 September 1240 – 26 February 1275) was Queen of Scots by marriage to King Alexander III. Life Margaret was the second child of King Henry III of England and his wife, Eleanor of Provence, and was born at Windsor Castl ...

(died 1275), a daughter of King Henry III. This familial connection between the English and Scottish royal families might account for the introduction of the ''triskeles'' as a symbol of the Isle of Man. If so, it may well have been adopted as a means to reinforce the regime change on the island. Following English domination of the isle in 1346, the triskelion was retained and endured as a symbol of the Isle of Man. By the mid-19th century the Manx flag began appearing on merchant ships from the Isle of Man. However, such usage of the flag was not sanctioned by the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

and the Admiralty under Section 105 of the 1854 Merchant Shipping Act in favour of the Red Ensign. This decision was reversed by the Admiralty on 4 March 1889 and Manx merchant ships were permitted to fly the Flag of the Isle of Man. The flag was officially adopted between 1928 and 1932, however sources differ. In July 1968 steps were taken to standardise the flag. The feet of the

were all to be facing in a clockwise direction and was to be balanced with one leg directly facing to the bottom. On 27 August 1971 a

civil ensign A civil ensign is an ensign (maritime flag) used by civilian vessels to denote their nationality. It can be the same or different from the state ensign and the naval ensign (or war ensign). It is also known as the merchant ensign or merchant fl ...

for the Isle of Man was approved by royal proclamation. This flag featured a red field with the Union Jack in the canton. The triskelion of Mann is emblazoned off centre towards the fly. Another Manx flag in use is the flag of

Tynwald Tynwald ( gv, Tinvaal), or more formally, the High Court of Tynwald ( gv, Ard-whaiyl Tinvaal) or Tynwald Court, is the legislature of the Isle of Man. It consists of two chambers, known as the branches of Tynwald: the directly elected House ...

, the legislature of the Isle of Man, which has flown outside the Legislative Buildings since 1971.

Gallery

File:Flag of the Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man.svg, Standard of the Lieutenant Governor File:Flag of the Tynwald (Parliament of the Isle Of Man).png, Flag of

File:Civil Ensign of the Isle of Man.svg, Civil Ensign of the Isle of Man File:Flag of the Isle of Man Civil Defence Service.svg, Flag of the Civil Defence Service File:Australian Manx-heritage flag.svg, Manx Australian heritage flag

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Man, Flag of the Isle of Flags introduced in 1932

Flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design emp ...

National flags

Isle An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English. However, there is no clear agreement on what makes an island an isle or its difference, so they are considered synonyms. Isle may refer to: Geography * Is ...

History

Crovan dynasty

Sicilian connection

Gallery

See also

References