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The Isle of Man and the Vikings

Viking raids on the Isle of Man were followed by colonisation. The island offered plunder from monasteries such as Maughold, and good natural harbours. Its position in the middle of the Irish Sea made an ideal base for raiding. Today the Isle of Man continues to show a stronger Viking influence than anywhere else in Britain.

The remains of Viking forts built on headlands can still be seen at Close ny Chollagh and Cronk ny Merriu. The Manx Museum has an extensive collection of Viking artifacts found locally. At Chapel Hill, Balladoole, a line of stones marks the outline of a ship burial. The ship itself has rotted away, but three hundred nails were found as evidence of its presence. This ship shows that the Vikings who landed in Man were of the hard-line Norse variety. The ship burial seems to have been designed to disrupt recent Christian graves, the ship being laid across the graves so as to destroy them. In the rest of the country the Scandinavian invaders seemed to quickly integrate with local customs, but this did not seem to happen so readily on Man. Perhaps this explains why Man continues to show a greater Viking influence than other areas in the British Isles.

This continuing influence can be seen in the Norse legacy in Man's system of government. The lower house of the Manx government, known as the House of Keys, is Scandinavian in origin. Originally the Norse kingdom of Man and the Western Isles formed a single kingdom of thirty two islands, each of which sent a representative to the House of Keys. In 1156 the Norse lost control of half the Western isles, reducing the number of representatives to twenty four. The Isle of Man remained under direct Scandinavian authority until 1266, and twenty four seats remain in the House of Keys to this day.

The Manx government, or Tynwald, still meets every 5th of July at an open air mound. This tradition of an open air meeting place, where local government business is conducted, pre dates the Viking invasions. Nevertheless this system of government continued in Viking times, and the name of the Tynwald derives from the "Thing", a Scandinavian word for gathering.

The Manx Museum can be found in Douglas. It is open all year 10am - 5pm. Closed on Sundays, 25th - 26th December and 1st January.

Access for the Manx Museum: wheelchair access is good.

Contact:

for the Manx Museum phone: +44 (0) 1624 648000