Qualla: Tynwald

Tynwald: Introduction

Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Anne97432, CC BY-SA 3.0. The name comes from Þingvǫllr - Old Norse for the field of the assembly, the place where the thing met. It is the same root that gives Iceland its Þingvellir and Norway its Tingvoll. In the Isle of Man it became Tynwald, and the assembly named after the field has been meeting, in some form or other, for so long that no one can quite agree when it began. What is certain is that on a small hill at St John's, every July, the laws of the island are still read aloud in Manx and English, just as they have been for centuries.

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Image: Anne97432 | CC BY-SA 3.0

Tynwald: Two Chambers, One Court

Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Man vyi, Public domain. Tynwald is bicameral. The directly elected House of Keys originates most legislation; the indirectly chosen Legislative Council acts as a revising chamber. When the two sit together they form Tynwald Court, presided over by a President elected by the members. Most months from Oct...

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Image: Man vyi | Public domain

Tynwald: How Old, Exactly?

Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Franz Höpfner, Public domain. Tynwald claims to be the oldest continuous parliament in the world. Iceland's Althing is older, but its operation was not continuous. The Manx celebrated their parliament's millennium in 1979, but the year was chosen somewhat arbitrarily - there is no evidence of an assembly held...

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Image: Franz Höpfner | Public domain

Tynwald: Medieval Origins, Modern Form

Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Eirik Newth from Oslo, Oslo, CC BY 2.0. Tynwald originally consisted only of the 24 Members of the House of Keys - four for each of the island's six sheadings. The earliest surviving record dates from 1417. The Keys were not elected; membership was for life, and when a vacancy arose the remaining members chose the repl...

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Image: Eirik Newth from Oslo, Oslo | CC BY 2.0

Tynwald: Crown, Reform, and Suffrage

Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Robert Edward Morrison, Public domain. In 1651, during the English Civil War, Parliamentary forces took the island and Tynwald met only sporadically. After the Restoration the Lords of Mann became absentee landlords, and the Keys' power waned. Then in 1765 the Lord of Mann sold his rights to the British Crown. Tynwald...

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Image: Robert Edward Morrison | Public domain