Kingdom of Man and the Isles

The Kingdom of Mann and the Isles was a Norse kingdom that existed in the British Isles between 1079 and 1266.

The Kingdom had two parts, Sodor ([Suðr-eyjar] Error: {{Lang-xx}}: text has italic markup (help)), or the South Isles (the Hebrides and Mann), and Norðr ([Norðr-eyjar] Error: {{Lang-xx}}: text has italic markup (help)), or the North Isles (the Orkneys and Shetland).

In 1164 it was split into the Kingdom of the Hebrides and the Kingdom of Mann.

Even today, the Bishop of the Isle of Man is the Bishop of Sodor and Man.

Formation

The kingdom was formed by Godred Crovan when he seized the Isle of Man from other Vikings, probably from Dublin in 1079. In the first two attempts at capturing the island Godred was defeated, it was only with his third try that he was victorious near Ramsey. Previously, the islands had been taken between c.700-900 AD, during the Viking invasions of the British Isles. Up until the arrival of Godred the islands had been administered by the Norse Kingdoms of Dublin and Orkney.

Extent

The Kingdom covered the islands of the northern Irish Sea and off the west coast of mainland Scotland. Specifically, this is:

• The Isle of Man and its surrounding islands
• The Inner Hebrides
• The Outer Hebrides

The later Kingdom of Mann was centred around the Isle of Man but also contained the Outer Hebrides, the Inner Hebrides forming the Kingdom of the Hebrides. The Earldom of Orkney was the furthest extent of the Manx kingdom, which included parts of the Scottish mainland such as Sutherland, Caithness and Inverness. The Kingdom was highly influential in remote western parts of Scotland and eastern parts of Ireland, such as Furness, Whithorn, Argyll and Galloway. At certain times the Kingdom became a domain to the Kings of Dublin and Kings of Jorvik.

The kingdom's end

The two kingdoms were granted to Scotland in 1266, at the Treaty of Perth.

• The Isle of Man was later taken by England, and is now a self-governing Crown dependency.
• The Hebrides have become a region of Scotland.

See also

• List of Kings of the Isle of Man and the Isles
• Earldom of Orkney
• Earl of Orkney
• Diocese of Sodor and Man
• History of the Outer Hebrides

References

• http://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/parishes/diocese/diocese.htm The Diocese of Sodor and Man. History. Map
• http://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/fulltext/dh1893/ch02.htm Diocesan History - CHAPTER II SCANDINAVIAN PERIOD (? 850 — 1275)