In the Irish Sea

Vikings on the Isle of Man

This site is made on the island, and the island’s Viking Age is not a footnote. It has a living assembly place, a dense scatter of carved stones, and burials such as Balladoole.

The same period saw settlements arise in the Orkney, Faroe and Shetland islands, the Hebrides, and the Isle of Man. Britannica

Tynwald Hill at St John's is the traditional meeting place of the Manx parliamentary assembly, dating back at least 1,000 years. Manx Nat. Heritage The parliament of the island has its origins in the things of the Viking Age: a thing (pronounced "ting") is a Viking gathering or assembly. Manx Nat. Heritage Manx National Heritage describes Tynwald as a living legacy of the Viking era. Manx Nat. Heritage

The Vikings called an outdoor meeting place thingvollr, "assembly field." From this word comes the name Tynwald. Manx Nat. Heritage

The hill is an artificial mound, with sods of earth from each parish forming each tier. Manx Nat. Heritage Tynwald Hill is one of four known Viking assembly sites on the Isle of Man. Manx Nat. Heritage The other known assembly sites were Castle Rushen, Kirk Michael and Keeill Abban. Manx Nat. Heritage

In 1979 the Manx people celebrated its millennium as a continuous parliament. Manx Nat. Heritage

A wealthy burial at Balladoole in Arbory is among the Viking Age finds on the Isle of Man. Manx Nat. Heritage

We do not claim Tynwald is “the oldest parliament in the world.” That ranking is argued over, and other assemblies — Iceland’s Althing among them — are part of the same conversation. What Manx National Heritage does say, and what we repeat, is that the island celebrated a millennium of continuous parliament in 1979, and that Tynwald has its origins in a Viking Age thing.