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Civic Heraldry of the United Kingdom Isle of Man

THE ISLE OF MAN

The Isle of Man is a self-governing island in the Irish Sea, between England and Ireland. It does not form part of the United Kingdom, but is a crown possession with its own parliament. The 'National arms' are shown below, any towns and villages will, however, be placed under the general United Kingdom section for convenience.

Origin/meaning :
The arms were granted on 12 June 1996.
The three legs are the ancient and typical symbol for the Isle of Man. They were adopted in the 13^th century by the local Kings of Man. When in 1266 the Scottish Kings and later the English Kings ruled Man, the symbol never changed. The three legs are widely used by the island government throughout the centuries, such as on coins, stamps and the flag of Man.

The three legs originally are a symbol of the sun, the seat of power and life. Why the symbol was adopted in unknown. Besides Man, the island of Sicily has used the three leg-symbol, but there the legs were naked. The three legs were also used by the Norse Kings of Dublin in the 10^th century. It may be that the Kings of Man were related to these Kings, but that is not sure.

The supporters are a peregrine falcon and a raven. The falcon refers to the granting of Man to Sir John Stanley by King Henry IV in 1405. The Stanley family ruled as Lords of Mann for 360 years until George III assumed the Lordship again. One of the conditions of the charter was that the Lords of Man had to provide two falcons to the King on his Coronation Day. The last time this was practised was at the coronation of George IV in 1822.
The raven is a very common bird on the island and played a major role in the Norse mythology. The island has been ruled by Norse (Viking) Kings for many centuries and the raven, a symbol for the God Odin, was chosen as a symbol thereof.

The motto, which means ''Whithersoever you throw it, it stands firm', has been associated with the island since about 1300.

Literature : Information leaflet provided by the Information Department of the Government of Man.

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