 | |
| Use | Civil andstate flag |
|---|---|
| Proportion | 1:2[1] |
| Adopted | 1 December 1932; 93 years ago (1932-12-01) |
| Design | Atriskelion made up of three armoured legs with golden spurs, in the centre of a red field. |
Theflag of the Isle of Man (Manx:brattagh Vannin) is atriskelion, composed of three armoured legs with goldenspurs, upon a red background. It has been the official flag of theIsle of Man since 1 December 1932 and is based on theManx coat of arms, which dates back to the 13th century.[2]
The three legs are known in Manx asny tree cassyn'the three legs'. The triskelion is an ancient symbol, used by theMycenaeans and theLycians.
Until 1265, the Isle of Man formed part of theKingdom of the Isles, ruled by theCrovan dynasty. The last member of that ruling family died in 1265 without a legitimate heir, when the Isle passed into the possession ofAlexander III, King of Scotland (d.1286). In 1266 sovereignty of the Isle of Man and theHebrides was formally transferred from theKing of Norway to KingAlexander III of Scotland (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 andlions on theirseals,[3] and no evidence exists of their use of thetriskeles. It is possible that the origin of the Manxtriskeles is a knotted device depicted on the coinage of their 10th-centuryViking predecessors on the Isle.[4] However, that device is dissimilar to the Manxtriskeles, and the nearly 300-year gap between its use and the appearance of the Manxtriskeles suggests that there is no connection between the symbols.[3]
The appearance on the Isle of Man of thetriskeles 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 withSicily, well known as a tri-cornered island, and is attested there in proto-heraldry as early as the 7th century BC.[5] The most ancientname of Sicily, then a Greek province, wasTrinacria,[6] meaning in Greek 'three-cornered',triquetra, referring to the triangular shape of the island.[7][better source needed]
In 1250, the GermanicFrederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, died after having ruled Sicily for 52 years.[8] He wasKing of Sicily from 1198,King of Germany from 1212,King of Italy andHoly Roman Emperor from 1220, andKing of Jerusalem from 1225. His mother wasConstance, Queen of Sicily and his father wasEmperor Henry VI of theHouse of Hohenstaufen. Although there is no evidence that thetriskeles was used in Sicily in the 13th century, there is architectural evidence of its use inAustria at that time, almost certainly relating to a personal emblem of Frederick, and almost certainly stemming from his Sicilian connection.[9]
Four years after Frederick's death, the pope invested the Sicilian kingship inEdmund Crouchback (died 1296), the second surviving son ofKing Henry III of England (died 1272),[10] and for about ten years afterwards Edmund was styledKing of Sicily.[8] 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 ofAlexander III of Scotland wasMargaret of England (died 1275), a daughter of Henry III. This familial connection between the English and Scottish royal families might account for the introduction of thetriskeles 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.[11]
FollowingEnglish domination of the isle in 1346, the triskelion was retained and has endured as a symbol of the Isle of Man.[12]
By the mid-19th century, the Manx flag began appearing on merchant ships from the Isle of Man.[13] However, such usage of the flag was not sanctioned by theBoard of Trade and theAdmiralty under Section 105 of the1854 Merchant Shipping Act in favour of theRed Ensign.[13][14] 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.[13]
The flag was officially adopted between 1928 and 1932; however, sources differ on the exact date.[15]
In July 1968, steps were taken to standardise the flag.[12] The feet of thetriskelion were all to be facing in a clockwise direction and the design was to be balanced with one leg directly planted at the bottom.[13] On 27 August 1971, acivil ensign for the Isle of Man was approved by royal proclamation.[16][17] This flag featured a red field with the Union Jack in the canton. The triskelion of Man is emblazoned off centre towards the fly. Another Manx flag in use is the flag ofTynwald, the legislature of the Isle of Man, which has flown outside the Legislative Buildings since 1971.[18]
Certainparishes on the Isle of Man have flags, namelyOnchan,Maughold,Douglas andMalew.
Civil Ensign of the Isle of Man
.svg)
| British Overseas Territories | .svg) | |
|---|---|---|
| Crown Dependencies | ||
