The World's Oldest Parliament (you'll find it on an island in the Irish Sea) between England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales!
On this day July 18, 1857, our image of the Tynwald Court, on the Isle of Man, was published.
#Tynwald; or the #HighCourtofTynwald; or #TynwaldCourt, is the legislature of the #IsleofMan.
It claims to be the oldest continuous parliamentary body in the world.
The name Tynwald is derived from 'Old Norse' meaning the meeting place of the assembly.
A tricameral form of #government, it is made up of the #HouseofKeys a directly elected body.
The #LegislativeCouncil made up of eight members elected by the House of Keys and three ex officio members appointed by office, namely the President of Tynwald, the #Anglican #BishopofSodorandMan, and the Attorney General for the #IsleofMan.
Those two bodies form the tricameral legislature when they meet as the #TynwaldCourt (usually monthly) and annually on #TynwaldDay at an open-air ceremony at Tynwald Hill at St John's.
The #Manx government website states, "The observer at St. John's on 5th July, the Manx National Day, watches a ceremony which has continued unchanged, except in detail, for more than 1,000 years.
The annual outdoor sittings of Tynwald, the #ManxParliament, date back to the #Vikingsettlements which began in the eighth century of the first millennium AD. No other parliament in the world has such a long unbroken record."
It seems, therefore, whilst Northumbrian monks were praying "From the fury of the Northmen, O Lord deliver us," those same Vikings were establishing the world's oldest surviving parliament!
The Isle of Man is a British Crown dependency and as such has internal self-government and is not represented in the House of Commons.
The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of #LordofMann and who is represented by a lieutenant governor.
The defence of the Isle of Man is the responsibility of the United Kingdom.
Our #antiqueprint is courtesy of #FrontispieceLtd of #canarywharf #TowerHamlets #e14