1.4 Tynwald: a Manx cult-site and institution of pre-Scandinavian origin?

George Broderick, Ph.D., Universität Mannheim

Paper presented as a CMS Seminar in February 2003, final text submitted October 2003

Abstract

It has long been held that the Isle of Man Government - the Tynwald - has its origins rooted in the Scandinavian period of Manx history (10th-13th centuries AD) and regarded as a product of the Vikings during their sojourn in Man at that time. However, a recent re-assessment of the evidence suggests that Tynwald, though bearing a Scandinavian name, may in fact be much older. This article sets out to examine the available evidence - linguistic, historical, archaeological - and suggests that the roots of Tynwald may be found in early societal practices in the British Isles that may extend as far back as the Bronze Age, or even the Neolithic period, and that the institution of Tynwald may have more in common with such sites as Tara and Emain Macha (Navan) than hitherto acknowledged.

This article is also due to be published in Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies 46 (Winter 2003) with the author's copyright.