1.
Legislative Council of the Isle of Man
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The Legislative Council is the upper chamber of Tynwald, the legislature of the Isle of Man. It is often referred to as LegCo, four retire every two years, so four MLCs are elected at a time. An MLC must be at least 21 years old and resident in the Isle of Man, as at 28 February 2017 legislation is under way to change the method by which the Keys elect MLCs. The relevant legislative provisions are to be repealed and replaced by an amendment to the Standing Orders of the House of Keys, formerly, the Lieutenant Governor presided over the Legislative Council and over Tynwald Court. Furthermore, the Church of England Bishop of Sodor and Man, the Bishop is a voting member, the Attorney General is a non-voting member, and the President has the casting vote. The Council does not usually originate legislation, instead, it reviews draft legislation originating from the House of Keys. However the Equality Bill currently going through Tynwald originated in the Council, for many years there has been considerable debate about the functioning of Tynwald, and specifically about the composition, method of election, and functions of the Legislative Council. In the past, a number of reforms were made in the composition of the Legislative Council, in 2016 Lord Lisvane was asked to carry out a review of the functioning of Tynwald. Among his recommendations were, Members of LegCo should continue not to be directly elected, no sitting MHK could be nominated. LegCo should not vote on taxation or appropriation, only exceptionally should MLCs be ministers. The Bishop should continue as an ex officio voting member of LegCo, reforms were slowly made to reduce the number of judicial and religious appointments and these members were slowly replaced by indirectly elected members. In 1917, the Judicature Act introduced by the Legislative Council removed Clerk of the Rolls from the composition of the Council, the Second Deemster lost his seat in the Council. The Governor still presided at joint sittings of Tynwald, the President of Tynwald is also a member of the Legislative Council and presides at its sittings
2.
House of Keys
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The House of Keys is the directly elected lower branch of Tynwald, the parliament of the Isle of Man, the other branch being the Legislative Council. The oldest known reference to the name is in a document of 1417, written by an English scholar in Latin, there is a dispute, however, over the origin of the name. The word keys is thought by some to be an English corruption of a form of the Norse verb kjósa meaning to choose. However, a likely explanation is that it is a mishearing of the Manx-language term for four and twenty, kiare as feed. The Manx-language name of the House of Keys remains Yn Kiare as Feed, see also, Old House of Keys Members are known as Members of the House of Keys. Citizens over the age of 16 may vote, while one must be at least 18 years old, there are 12 constituencies, mainly based on the sheadings and other local government units. Each sends 2 members to the House of Keys, the term of the House of Keys is normally fixed at five years, but provisions exist for dissolution before the expiration of the term. The Speaker of the House of Keys is an MHK chosen to be the presiding officer, the Speaker votes in the House of Keys, but, unlike other members, may abstain, however, where the vote is tied the Speaker must cast the deciding vote. The House of Keys elects most of the members of the Legislative Council, legislation does not usually originate in the Council. Thus, the Keys have much more power than the Council, the House of Keys meets about once each month together with the Legislative Council in a joint session called Tynwald Court. The President of Tynwald, elected by branches, presides over Tynwald Court and over the Legislative Council. Once each year, however, on Tynwald Day, the Isle of Mans national day, the House of Keys usually meets in their chamber in the Legislative Buildings in Douglas. On 14 March 2017 the Keys met in the Old House of Keys in Castletown, for the first time since 1874, from 1 April 2014, Members basic salary, £38,771.00 per annum General expenses allowance, £6,575. House of Keys Elections to the House Enfranchisement @16 years iomelections. com -2006 General Election Access to work & info of members of IoM Tynwald Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Key
3.
Tynwald
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Tynwald, or more formally, the High Court of Tynwald or Tynwald Court is the legislature of the Isle of Man. It is claimed to be the oldest continuous parliamentary body in the world, the Houses sit jointly, on Tynwald Day at St Johns for largely ceremonial purposes, and usually once a month in the Legislative Buildings in Douglas. Otherwise, the two Houses sit separately, with the House of Keys originating most legislation, and the Legislative Council acting as a revising chamber. The name Tynwald, like the Icelandic Þingvellir and Norwegian Tingvoll, is derived from the Old Norse word Þingvǫllr meaning the place of the assembly. Tynwald meets annually on what is called Tynwald Day at a ceremony at Tynwald Hill at St Johns. The Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man presides, unless HM The Queen as Lord of Mann, here, all laws are promulgated and special petitions are received. If an Act of Tynwald is not promulgated at St Johns within 18 months of passage, it becomes null, while Tynwald sits in Douglas, which occurs once a month from October to July, the President of Tynwald, who is chosen by the other members, presides. In some cases, however, Tynwald votes as one body, when Tynwald votes by branches, if a majority of each House approves, the motion is carried. If the Council vote ties, then the President of Tynwald casts the vote in line with the majority vote of the Keys. However, if the Keys approves a motion but the Council disapproves, in this case, the vote is determined by a majority of all the members of Tynwald. If this occurs, the Keys, with its size, is likely to prevail. Normally, both houses of Tynwald must pass a bill before it goes to the sovereign or her representative Lieutenant Governor, representing the Lord of Mann, Assent is granted following consultation with the Privy Council in London coordinated by the Ministry of Justice in the UK. Tynwald claims to be over 1,000 years old, in 1979, the Manx people celebrated the millennium of their parliament. The year was picked arbitrarily by officials there is no evidence indicating that such an assembly was held in 979. Tynwald originally comprised only the 24 Members of the House of Keys, four members were present in the Keys for each of the six sheadings of the island. The earliest surviving record of the Keys dates from 1422, the Keys were not originally an elected body, and membership was for life. When a vacancy arose the remaining members selected the replacement member, in general, membership of the Keys passed down through the leading families on the island. In the 16th century the Keys met irregularly and they were akin to a jury which was summoned from time to time by the Lord of Mann or by the deemsters when they required advice as to the law
4.
Speaker of the House of Keys
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The Speaker of the House of Keys is the principal officer of the House of Keys, the lower house of the Isle of Man legislature. The Speaker is elected from the membership of the House at its first sitting after an election and he is responsible for controlling the procedure of the House and for authoritative interpretation of its standing orders. He sets the business of the House and authorises the order of business of the House for each sitting, the Speaker uses the letters SHK after his name. The Speaker is not entitled to speak in debates in the House, if a vote is tied, convention dictates that he votes to continue debate or retain the status quo. All Speakers from 1750 to 1898 were either members of the Moore or Taubman families or married into them, until 1866, the Keys was unelected. Before the House was first elected in 1867 the role of Speaker was assumed to be for life, thus when Edward Moore Gawne resigned in 1867, he was the first Speaker not to die in office. Since then, although it is possible to resign the office, or nowadays even to fail to be re-elected, since then none have died in office. The current robe was donated by the Speaker of the House of Commons in 1966 to commemorate the centenary of popular elections to the House of Keys. On 27 September 2016, Juan Watterson was elected as Speaker, major Richard Stevenson, c. 1649–c.1660 Edward Christian, c
5.
Juan Watterson
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Juan Paul Watterson BA FCA CMgr FCMI SHK is a Manx politician, who is Speaker of the House of Keys, and a member for Rushen, in the Isle of Man. Born in 1980 to John David Watterson and Alison, he was educated at Rushen Infants School, Rushen Junior School, Watterson was first elected to the House of Keys in 2006 aged 26 years 142 days, making him the second youngest ever MHK. After 10 months as Chairman of the Planning Committee, he was appointed to the Department of Economic Development with special responsibility for the Islands financial services sector. He was re-elected in the 2011 General Election with 3,080 votes, the highest number of votes in the island, and he was appointed the Minister for the Department of Home Affairs, Chairman of the Communications Commission and became the Islands first Armed Forces Champion. At 31 years 102 days, he became the youngest ever member of the Council of Ministers on his appointment as Minister of Home Affairs on 14 October 2011. 2001, 1st class degree in Management from the University of Lincoln 2005, Chartered Accountant 2006,2011, Re-elected to the House of Keys, with 3,080 votes, the largest received by any candidate since 1981. 2016, Elected unopposed to the position of Speaker of the House of Keys, Watterson joined the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme where he is a postgraduate and Honorary Commander. On 1 August 2016 he was appointed Hon, colonel of the Isle of Man Army Cadet Force. Watterson has been married to Helena since March 2010, they have a daughter and son together and live in Port St. Mary, Isle of Man. This was featured in a January 2012 edition of Private Eye and he later apologised for his lapse of judgement in getting a little bit drunk
6.
Isle of Man
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The Isle of Man, also known simply as Mann, is a self-governing crown dependency in the Irish Sea between England and Northern Ireland. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann, the Lord of Mann is represented by a Lieutenant Governor. Foreign relations and defence are the responsibility of the British Government, the island has been inhabited since before 6500 BC. Gaelic cultural influence began in the 5th century and the Manx language, in 627, Edwin of Northumbria conquered the Isle of Man along with most of Mercia. In the 9th century, Norsemen established the Kingdom of the Isles, magnus III, King of Norway, was also known as King of Mann and the Isles between 1099 and 1103. In 1266, the became part of Scotland under the Treaty of Perth. After a period of alternating rule by the kings of Scotland and England, the short form often used in English, Mann, is derived from the Manx Mannin, though sometimes the name is written as Man. The earliest recorded Manx form of the name is Manu or Mana, the Old Irish form of the name is Manau or Mano. Old Welsh records named it as Manaw, also reflected in Manaw Gododdin, the name for an ancient district in north Britain along the lower Firth of Forth. The oldest known reference to the calls it Mona, in Latin, in the 1st century CE, Pliny the Elder records it as Monapia or Monabia. Later Latin references have Mevania or Mænavia, and Eubonia or Eumonia by Irish writers and it is found in the Sagas of Icelanders as Mön. The name is cognate with the Welsh name of the island of Anglesey, Ynys Môn, usually derived from a Celtic word for mountain. The name was at least secondarily associated with that of Manannán mac Lir in Irish mythology, later, a Manannán is recorded as the first king of Mann in a Manx poem. The island was cut off from the islands around 8000 BC. The first residents were hunter gatherers and fishermen, examples of their tools are kept at the Manx Museum. There were also the local Ronaldsway and Bann cultures, during the Bronze Age, burial mounds became smaller. Bodies were put in stone-lined graves with ornamental containers, the Bronze Age burial mounds created long-lasting markers around the countryside. The ancient Romans knew of the island and called it Insula Manavia although it is whether they conquered the island
7.
Politics of the Isle of Man
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The government of the Isle of Man is a parliamentary representative democracy. As a Crown Dependency, it is not subordinate to the government of the United Kingdom, the Monarch of the United Kingdom is also the head of state of the Isle of Man, and generally referred to as The Queen, Lord of Mann. Legislation of the Isle of Man defines the Crown in right of the Isle of Man as separate from the Crown in right of the United Kingdom. Her representative on the island is the Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man, although the Isle of Man is not part of the United Kingdom, its people are British citizens under UK law — there is no separate Manx citizenship. The United Kingdom is responsible for all the external affairs, including citizenship, defence, good governance. The island has no representation at either the UK or EU parliaments, the legislative power of the government is vested in a bicameral parliament called Tynwald, which consists of the directly-elected House of Keys and the indirectly chosen Legislative Council. After every House of Keys general election, the members of Tynwald elect from amongst themselves the Chief Minister of the Isle of Man, executive power is vested in the Lieutenant Governor, the Chief Minister, and the Isle of Mans Council of Ministers. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature, Douglas, the largest town on the Isle of Man, is its capital and seat of government, where the Government offices and the parliament chambers are located. The Head of State is the Lord of Mann, which is a position held by the British monarch. The Lieutenant Governor is appointed by the Queen, on the advice of the UKs Secretary of State for Justice, for a five-year term, the Chief Minister is elected by Tynwald following every House of Keys general election and serves for five years until the next general election. Each Department is run by a Minister who reports directly to the Council of Ministers, the Civil Service has more than 2000 employees and the total number of public sector employees including the Civil Service, teachers, nurses, police, etc. is about 9000 people. This is somewhat more than 10% of the population of the Island, and this does not include any military forces, as defence is the responsibility of the United Kingdom. The Manx legislature is Tynwald, which consists of two chambers, the House of Keys has 24 members, elected for a five-year term in two-seat constituencies by the whole island. The minimum voting age is 16, the Legislative Council has eleven members, the President of Tynwald, Bishop of Sodor and Man, the Attorney General and eight other members elected by the House of Keys for a five-year term. There are also joint sittings of the Tynwald Court, in the 2016 Manx general election, on 22 September, the Liberal Vannin Party won three seats, tying their 2011 results, all 21 remaining seats were won by independents. 12 of the 24 MHKs were newly elected to office, turnout slightly improved from 2011 with 56% of eligible voters turning out, ranging from 40% in Douglas East to 65% in Ayre & Michael. Most Manx politicians stand for election as independents rather than as representatives of political parties, though political parties do exist, their influence is not nearly as strong as in the United Kingdom. Consequently, much Manx legislation develops through consensus among the members of Tynwald, the largest political party is the Liberal Vannin Party, which promotes greater Manx independence and more accountability in Government
8.
Lord of Mann
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For the head of state pre-1504, see King of Mann. The title Lord of Mann is used on the Isle of Man to refer to the islands Lord Proprietor, the current holder of the title is Queen Elizabeth II. The title is not correctly used on its own and this right of Lord Proprietor was revested into the Crown by the Isle of Man Purchase Act 1765 and hence ceased to exist separately. King George III became the first British monarch to rule the Isle of Man as Lord of Mann in 1765, however, for reasons of culture and tradition, the title Lord of Mann continues to be used. For these reasons, the formal usage, as used on the Isle of Man for the Loyal Toast, is The Queen. The title is now Lord of Mann regardless of gender, however, during her reign, Queen Victoria was styled as Lady of Mann. The formal Latin style is Dominus Manniae, prior to 1504, the ruler of the Isle of Man was generally styled King of Mann. The lordship was conferred by letters-patent dated 7 July 1609 upon William Stanley, subsequent succession was under the terms of this grant. Following the resolution of the dispute, it was ruled that the daughters of Ferdinando Stanley were the rightful heirs. He took up the title of Lord of Mann following the passing of an Act of Parliament, by the passage of the Isle of Man Purchase Act 1765 the title of Lord of Mann was revested into the British Crown. It has therefore since been used on the Isle of Man to refer to the reigning Monarch of the United Kingdom, all remaining rights and property of the Dukes of Atholl on the island were sold to the British government in 1828 for the sum of £417,144
9.
Elizabeth II
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Elizabeth II has been Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand since 6 February 1952. Elizabeth was born in London as the eldest child of the Duke and Duchess of York, later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth and her father acceded to the throne on the abdication of his brother Edward VIII in 1936, from which time she was the heir presumptive. She began to undertake duties during the Second World War. Elizabeths many historic visits and meetings include a visit to the Republic of Ireland. She has seen major changes, such as devolution in the United Kingdom, Canadian patriation. She has reigned through various wars and conflicts involving many of her realms and she is the worlds oldest reigning monarch as well as Britains longest-lived. In October 2016, she became the longest currently reigning monarch, in 2017 she became the first British monarch to commemorate a Sapphire Jubilee. Elizabeth has occasionally faced republican sentiments and press criticism of the family, however, support for the monarchy remains high. Elizabeth was born at 02,40 on 21 April 1926, during the reign of her paternal grandfather and her father, Prince Albert, Duke of York, was the second son of the King. Her mother, Elizabeth, Duchess of York, was the youngest daughter of Scottish aristocrat Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and she was delivered by Caesarean section at her maternal grandfathers London house,17 Bruton Street, Mayfair. Elizabeths only sibling, Princess Margaret, was born in 1930, the two princesses were educated at home under the supervision of their mother and their governess, Marion Crawford, who was casually known as Crawfie. Lessons concentrated on history, language, literature and music, Crawford published a biography of Elizabeth and Margarets childhood years entitled The Little Princesses in 1950, much to the dismay of the royal family. The book describes Elizabeths love of horses and dogs, her orderliness, others echoed such observations, Winston Churchill described Elizabeth when she was two as a character. She has an air of authority and reflectiveness astonishing in an infant and her cousin Margaret Rhodes described her as a jolly little girl, but fundamentally sensible and well-behaved. During her grandfathers reign, Elizabeth was third in the line of succession to the throne, behind her uncle Edward, Prince of Wales, and her father, the Duke of York. Although her birth generated public interest, she was not expected to become queen, many people believed that he would marry and have children of his own. When her grandfather died in 1936 and her uncle succeeded as Edward VIII, she became second-in-line to the throne, later that year, Edward abdicated, after his proposed marriage to divorced socialite Wallis Simpson provoked a constitutional crisis. Consequently, Elizabeths father became king, and she became heir presumptive, if her parents had had a later son, she would have lost her position as first-in-line, as her brother would have been heir apparent and above her in the line of succession
10.
Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man
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The Lieutenant Governor is the Vice-regal representative on the Isle of Man of the Lord of Mann. He/she has the power to grant royal assent and is styled His Excellency, in recent times the Governor has been either a retired diplomat or a senior military officer. The official residence of the Governor is Government House, Governors Road, in the past, the Lieutenant Governor wielded judicial, fiscal and executive power on the Island, and around 1900 had more power than any other Governor in the British Empire. However, he lost his role as Head of the Judiciary in 1921, as Head of Government in 1961, as President of the Legislative Council in 1980 and finally as President of Tynwald in 1990. Today the role of Lieutenant Governor is essentially ceremonial, although certain powers under Isle of Man legislation do still fall to the Governor or Governor-in-Council, in October 2005 Tynwald sought to change the title of the Lieutenant Governor to Crown Commissioner. This proposal was sent to the British Department of Constitutional Affairs for submission to the Lord of Mann Elizabeth II for approval, however, in April 2006, after much public disapproval, Tynwald rejected their own proposal and withdrew their request for Royal Assent. Thus the Lieutenant Governor has remained as previously titled, before 2010 the Lieutenant Governor was appointed by the Crown on the advice of a panel led by the Government of the United Kingdom. The new procedure was used for the first time a few months later to choose Sir Paul Haddacks successor, on 16 November 2010 the Isle of Man Government announced the appointment by the Crown of former UK diplomat Adam Wood as the next Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man. His term was scheduled to start on 4 April 2011, he was sworn into office on 7 April 2011 at Castle Rushen in Castletown
11.
Richard Gozney
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Sir Richard Hugh Turton Gozney KCMG CVO KStJ is a British career diplomat. He was Governor and Commander in Chief of Bermuda from 12 December 2007 to 18 May 2012, on 27 May 2016, he was sworn in as Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man. The son of Thomas Leonard Gozney and his wife Elizabeth Margaret Lilian Gardiner, Gozney was educated at Magdalen College School, Oxford and he took a BA degree in Geology in 1973. In 1970, between school and the University, he taught at a school in Kenya. He married Diana Edwina Baird on 24 April 1982 and has two sons, James and Alexander, john Gibraltar and the EC, Aspects of the Relationship Whos Who 2007
12.
David Doyle (judge)
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David Doyle is the First Deemster and Deputy Governor of the Isle of Man. He was appointed in 2010 and was formerly a partner of Dickinson Cruickshank & Co from 1985 onwards and he was called to the Bar in 1982 and the Manx Bar in 1984. In November 2010 it was announced that he would take up the position of First Deemster following the death of Michael Kerruish earlier in the year, Doyle was sworn in on 20 December 2010. In 2010 he produced a book entitled Manx Criminal Law and Procedure dealing with all areas of law in the Isle of Man. On 18 November 2011, he was appointed as a Bencher of Grays Inn, second Deemster, 2003-2010 First Deemster and Clerk of the Rolls, 2010-present
13.
Queen's Counsel
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A Queens Counsel, or Kings Counsel during the reign of a king, is an eminent lawyer who is appointed by the Queen to be one of Her Majestys Counsel learned in the law. The term is recognised as an honorific. Queens Counsel is a status, conferred by the Crown, that is recognised by courts, members have the privilege of sitting within the Bar of court. As members wear silk gowns of a design, the award of Queens Counsel is known informally as taking silk. Appointments are made from within the profession on the basis of merit rather than a particular level of experience. However, successful applicants tend to be barristers, or advocates with 15 years of experience or more, the Attorney-General, Solicitor-General, and Kings Serjeants were Kings Counsel in Ordinary in the Kingdom of England. The first Queens Counsel Extraordinary was Sir Francis Bacon, who was given a patent giving him precedence at the Bar in 1597, the new rank of Kings Counsel contributed to the gradual obsolescence of the formerly more senior serjeant-at-law by superseding it. The Attorney-General and Solicitor-General had similarly succeeded the Kings Serjeants as leaders of the Bar in Tudor times, but the Kings Counsel emerged into eminence only in the early 1830s, prior to when they were relatively few in number. It became the means to recognise a barrister as a senior member of the profession. It became of greater importance to become a KC. The KCs inherited the prestige of the serjeants and their priority before the courts, the earliest English law list, published in 1775, lists 165 members of the Bar, of whom 14 were Kings Counsel, a proportion of about 8. 5%. As of 2010 roughly the same proportion existed, though the number of barristers had increased to about 12,250 in independent practice, in 1839 the number of Queens Counsel was seventy. In 1882, the number of Queens Counsel was 187, the list of Queens Counsel in the Law List of 1897 gave the names of 238, of whom hardly one-third appeared to be in actual practice. In 1959, the number of practising Queens Counsel was 181, in each of the five years up to 1970, the number of practising Queens Counsel was 208,209,221,236 and 262, respectively. In each of the years 1973 to 1978, the number of practising Queens Counsel was 329,345,370,372,384 and 404, in 1989, the number of practising Queens Counsel was 601. In each of the years 1991 to 2000, the number of practising Queens Counsel was 736,760,797,845,891,925,974,1006,1043, the title traditionally depends on the sex of the sovereign. The current Queen, Elizabeth II has had a long reign and it can be assumed that, should the Queen die and the title pass to a descendant, the title will again become KC, as the next three in line to the throne are male heirs. Queens Counsel and serjeants were prohibited, at least from the century, from drafting pleadings alone
14.
Andrew Corlett
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Corlett is the Second Deemster of the Isle of Man. Corlett was a director with the Douglas law firm Simcocks since 2001. He specialised in law, human rights and employment law and was previously a Government Advocate. Corlett graduated in law from Pembroke College, Oxford and was educated at King Williams College on the island
15.
Isle of Man Government
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The Isle of Man Government is the government of the Isle of Man. The formal head of the Isle of Man Government is the Lieutenant Governor, representing Queen Elizabeth II, the executive head is the Chief Minister. Douglas, the largest town on the Isle of Man, is its capital and seat of government, where the Government offices and the parliament chambers are located. The Civil Service has more than 2,000 employees and the number of public sector employees including the Civil Service, teachers, nurses, police. This is somewhat more than 10% of the population of the Island, and this does not include any military forces, as defence is the responsibility of the United Kingdom. The Government consists of 7 departments,9 statutory boards,5 offices, the departments all report directly to the Council of Ministers. Graham Cregeen MHK Chief Executive Officer, Professor Ronald Barr Department of Health and Social Care Minister for Health and Social Care Shirveishagh son Slaynt as Kiarail y Theay, Hon. The existing Departments, except the Treasury and the Departments of Education and Home Affairs, were dissolved, the Council evolved into the Legislative Council, the upper chamber of Tynwald, the parliament of the Isle of Man. After the Revestment in 1765 the Lieutenant Governor and his officials were the agents of the British Government, conflict between the House of Keys and the Lieutenant Governor came to a head during the tenure of Lord Raglan. After World War I the Lieutenant Governor gradually ceded control to Tynwald, an Executive Council, chaired by him and including members of Tynwald, was established in 1949, and gradually thereafter became the effective government of the Island. Finance and the police came under control between 1958 and 1976. In 1990 the Council was renamed the Council of Ministers, during the 19th century several bodies, which came to be known as Boards of Tynwald, were created to exercise functions under democratic control. These included the Board of Education, Highway Board, Asylums Board, Government Property Trustees and Local Government Board
16.
Council of Ministers of the Isle of Man
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The Council of Ministers is the principal executive organ of the Isle of Man Government. Its role is similar to, though not identical with, that of the Cabinet in the United Kingdom, until 1990, its title was the Executive Council. The Executive Council, chaired by the Lieutenant Governor and including members of Tynwald, was established in 1949, in 1990, the Council was renamed the Council of Ministers. The Council of Ministers consists of the Chief Minister and not more than nine ministers, the Chief Minister assigns a minister to each department of the Isle of Man Government. 3Formerly Department of Tourism and Transport - renamed Department of Tourism, Leisure and Transport on 1 October 1990, 4Elevated from the House of Keys to the Legislative Council in 2003 Prior to 1 October 1990 the Council of Ministers was called the Executive Council
17.
Chief Minister of the Isle of Man
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The Chief Minister is the executive head of the Isle of Man Government. The office derives from that of Chairman of the Executive Council, before 1980 the Executive Council was chaired by the Lieutenant Governor, but thereafter the chairman was elected by Tynwald, the parliament of the Isle of Man. The title was changed to Chief Minister in 1986, the Chief Minister is appointed by the Lieutenant Governor on the nomination of Tynwald after a general election of the House of Keys. He holds office until the general election, and is eligible for re-appointment. On a second vote Mr Tony Brown was nominated unopposed, Tony Brown stepped down from the role as Chief Minister on 29 September 2011. His successor from 9 December 2011 was Allan Bell, on 1 August 2016 Allan Bell announced that he would retire, after 32 years representing Ramsey in the House of Keys, following seven years as a Ramsey Commissioner. His successor, Howard Quayle, took office on 4 October 2016, miles Walker MHK Donald Gelling MLC Richard Corkill MHK Allan Bell MHK Donald Gelling MLC Tony Brown MHK Allan Bell MHK Howard Quayle MHK Chief Minister Chairman of the Executive Council
18.
Member of the House of Keys
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The House of Keys is the directly elected lower branch of Tynwald, the parliament of the Isle of Man, the other branch being the Legislative Council. The oldest known reference to the name is in a document of 1417, written by an English scholar in Latin, there is a dispute, however, over the origin of the name. The word keys is thought by some to be an English corruption of a form of the Norse verb kjósa meaning to choose. However, a likely explanation is that it is a mishearing of the Manx-language term for four and twenty, kiare as feed. The Manx-language name of the House of Keys remains Yn Kiare as Feed, see also, Old House of Keys Members are known as Members of the House of Keys. Citizens over the age of 16 may vote, while one must be at least 18 years old, there are 12 constituencies, mainly based on the sheadings and other local government units. Each sends 2 members to the House of Keys, the term of the House of Keys is normally fixed at five years, but provisions exist for dissolution before the expiration of the term. The Speaker of the House of Keys is an MHK chosen to be the presiding officer, the Speaker votes in the House of Keys, but, unlike other members, may abstain, however, where the vote is tied the Speaker must cast the deciding vote. The House of Keys elects most of the members of the Legislative Council, legislation does not usually originate in the Council. Thus, the Keys have much more power than the Council, the House of Keys meets about once each month together with the Legislative Council in a joint session called Tynwald Court. The President of Tynwald, elected by branches, presides over Tynwald Court and over the Legislative Council. Once each year, however, on Tynwald Day, the Isle of Mans national day, the House of Keys usually meets in their chamber in the Legislative Buildings in Douglas. On 14 March 2017 the Keys met in the Old House of Keys in Castletown, for the first time since 1874, from 1 April 2014, Members basic salary, £38,771.00 per annum General expenses allowance, £6,575. House of Keys Elections to the House Enfranchisement @16 years iomelections. com -2006 General Election Access to work & info of members of IoM Tynwald Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Key
19.
Judiciary of the Isle of Man
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The lowest courts in the Isle of Man are the Summary Courts, Coroner of Inquests, Licensing Court, Land Court, etc. These courts are presided over by magistrates, there are two stipendiary magistrates, the High Bailiff and the Deputy High Bailiff, along with lay Justices of the Peace. The superior court of the Isle of Man is the High Court of Justice of the Isle of Man, consisting of a Civil Division, the High Bailiff and the Deputy High Bailiff are ex officio Judicial Officers, and additional Judicial Officers may be appointed. Civil matters are heard at first instance by a single Deemster sitting in the High Court. Criminal proceedings are heard at first instance before either the High Bailiff or the Deputy High Bailiff or a bench of lay magistrates, in less serious cases. More serious criminal cases are heard before a Deemster sitting in the Court of General Gaol Delivery, Civil and criminal appeals are dealt with by the Staff of Government Division. Appeals are usually heard by a Deemster and the Judge of Appeal, final appeal is to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in the United Kingdom. Corren in 1716, several years before revestment, one special case, that also applies to the Channel Islands, is the jurisdiction of the Queens Bench Division of the English High Court over the Island in matters of habeas corpus. Manx law Isle of Man Constabulary Tynwald
20.
Local government in the Isle of Man
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Local government in the Isle of Man was formerly based on six sheadings, which were divided into seventeen parishes. The sheadings are now significant only as, the districts of the Coroners, the origins of the term sheading are unclear. There are three possibilities, from the Norse word skeid – meaning ship-assembly, with each sheading providing men for a warship. From a Celtic word meaning sixth part – with the sheadings having been a 14th-century Scottish introduction, from the Middle English word for an administrative division, scheding – with the sheadings having been introduced following English rule in the late 14th century. The parishes have ecclesiastical roots, and are thought to have introduced to the island in the 11th century from Scotland. Parish boundaries broadly followed physical features such as rivers and watersheds, for example, a mill and its croft, located on the west bank of a river, could be included in the adjoining parish east of the river by a loop in the boundary. However, the Act was not adopted by any of the towns, the boundaries of the town districts have been extended over time to incorporate new developments. In 1989 the office of alderman was abolished, leaving the council composed of the mayor, the 18 councillors are elected from 6 wards, each for a four-year term expiring on 1 May 2012,2016, and so on. The mayor is elected annually by the councillors, usually from their own number, although there are no longer any aldermen, the corporations legal title is unchanged. As its name implies, it is a corporate. The Public Health Act 1884 permitted the creation of elected sanitary authorities for sanitary districts, Port Erin was the only sanitary district so defined. The Local Government Act 1886 provided for elected boards of Village Commissioners, the existing sanitary authority of Port Erin became a board of Commissioners. Port St Mary was created a district in 1890, Laxey and Onchan in 1895. In 1986 the existing district and parish district of Onchan were merged to form a local government district of Onchan under a single body of Commissioners. In 1989 the village district and parish district of Michael were similarly merged, the new districts are village districts. As noted above, Onchan and Michael parish districts have since amalgamated with the corresponding village districts. In 2016 the village district of Laxey and the districts of Lonan. In 1938 the Local Government Board was empowered to create a board consisting of members of two or more local authorities to exercise specified functions of those authorities
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Captain of the Parish
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The Captain of the Parish is an official in each parish in the Isle of Man—formerly the title was Captain of the Parish Militia, but it is now only a titular honour. Historically the Captain of the Parish was authorised to raise his own militia in his parish and had the duty to light beacons informing the parish of an invasion, a Captain of the Parish is referred to by the prenominal title Captain. A person may hold the Captaincy of more than one parish at any one time, the title is held until death, unless it is removed for bad conduct, which has not occurred for many centuries. Although Onchan and Michael are now Districts for local authority purposes, the equivalent title for towns is Captain of the Town, however this title is no longer used
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Elections in the Isle of Man
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The Isle of Man partially elects its legislature at the national level. The High Court of Tynwald consists of two chambers, the House of Keys has 24 members, elected in a general election for a five-year term in 12 two-seat constituencies. The Legislative Council has 11 members, two members and eight other members who are elected from the House of Keys for a five-year term. The Isle of Man lowered its voting age from 18 to 16 in 2006, the House of Keys has 24 members, elected in a General Election for a five-year term in 12 two-seat constituencies. The Legislative Council has 11 members, two members and eight other members who are elected from the House of Keys for a five-year term. Elections took place for the Board of Education until this was dissolved in 2009
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House of Keys constituencies
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The constituencies used for the 1986,1991,1996,2001,2006 and 2011 General Elections for the House of Keys were, Garff and Ayre became one seat constituencies, having previously each had two seats. Onchan constituency was created, having been part of Middle constituency. Middle constituency was created from the parishes of Marown and Braddan, Malew and Santon constituency was created from the parishes of Malew, and Santon. Ramsey gained a seat to become a two seat constituency. The constituencies are not currently known that were used for the 1924,1929,1934,1946,1951,1956,1962,1966,1971,1976,1981 General Elections and these were used for the 1903,1908,1913 and 1919 General Elections. The original constituencies were altered by the Redistribution Act 1893 to the following, These were used for the 1867,1875, and 1881 General Elections
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Legislature
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A legislature is a deliberative assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. Legislatures form important parts of most governments, in the separation of model, they are often contrasted with the executive. Laws enacted by legislatures are known as legislation, legislatures observe and steer governing actions and usually have exclusive authority to amend the budget or budgets involved in the process. The members of a legislature are called legislators, each chamber of legislature consists of a number of legislators who use some form of parliamentary procedure to debate political issues and vote on proposed legislation. There must be a number of legislators present to carry out these activities. Some of the responsibilities of a legislature, such as giving first consideration to newly proposed legislation, are delegated to committees made up of small selections of the legislators. The members of a legislature usually represent different political parties, the members from each party generally meet as a caucus to organize their internal affairs, the internal organization of a legislature is also shaped by the informal norms that are shared by its members. Legislatures vary widely in the amount of power they wield, compared to other political players such as judiciaries, militaries. In 2009, political scientists M. Steven Fish and Matthew Kroenig constructed a Parliamentary Powers Index in an attempt to quantify the different degrees of power among national legislatures, such a system renders the legislature more powerful. Legislatures will sometime delegate their legislative power to administrative or executive agencies, legislatures are made up of individual members, known as legislators, who vote on proposed laws. For example, a legislature that has 100 seats has 100 members, by extension, an electoral district that elects a single legislator can also be described as a seat, as, for, example, in the phrases safe seat and marginal seat. In parliamentary systems of government, the executive is responsible to the legislature which may remove it with a vote of no confidence, names for national legislatures include parliament, congress, diet and assembly. A legislature which operates as a unit is unicameral, one divided into two chambers is bicameral, and one divided into three chambers is tricameral. In bicameral legislatures, one chamber is considered the upper house. In federations, the upper house typically represents the component states. This is a case with the legislature of the European Union. Tricameral legislatures are rare, the Massachusetts Governors Council still exists, tetracameral legislatures no longer exist, but they were previously used in Scandinavia. Legislatures vary widely in their size, among national legislatures, Chinas National Peoples Congress is the largest with 2987 members, while Vatican Citys Pontifical Commission is the smallest with 7
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Tynwald Day
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Tynwald Day is the National Day of the Isle of Man, usually observed on 5 July. On this day, the Islands legislature, Tynwald, meets at St Johns, the session is held partly in the Royal Chapel of St John the Baptist and partly in the open air on the adjacent Tynwald Hill. The meeting, the first recorded instance of which dates to 1417, is known as Midsummer Court and it is attended by members of the two branches of Tynwald, the House of Keys, and the Legislative Council. The Lieutenant Governor, the representative of the Lord of Mann, all bills that have received Royal Assent are promulgated on Tynwald Day, any Act of Tynwald which is not so promulgated within 18 months of passage ceases to have effect. Other proceedings include the presentation of petitions and the swearing in of public officials. Since the first recorded Tynwald Day in 1417, Tynwald Day had traditionally held on 24 June. In 1753, the Isle of Man legislated to replace the Julian Calendar with the Gregorian Calendar after Great Britain had done so in the previous year, making a difference of 11 days. But the legislation retained the Julian Calendar for the purpose of determining Tynwald Day, it provided that Midsummer Tynwald Court shall be holden and kept. Upon or according to the same natural Days upon or according to which the same should have been so kept or holden. in case this Act had never been made. Hence Tynwald Day occurred on 24 June in the Julian Calendar and it was not subsequently moved back to 7 July, even though the Gregorian Calendar is now 13 days ahead of the Julian Calendar as the Gregorian Calendar had no leap day in 1800 or 1900. If Tynwald Day occurs on a Saturday or Sunday, it is commemorated on the next Monday. After the Duke of Atholl presided in 1736, over two centuries passed before a Lord of Mann participated in Tynwald Day ceremonies, George VI presided in 1946, his successor Elizabeth II presided in 1979 and again in 2003. Occasionally another member of the Royal Family may preside, as HRH The Prince Edward did in 1986, the Lieutenant Governor is preceded by the Sword-Bearer, who wears a scarlet uniform and bears the Sword of State. The Sword of State probably dates from the 15th century, the Sword, which is blunt for the sake of safety, displays the Manx triskelion. Members of the House of Keys and of the Legislative Council are also in attendance, the Speaker of the House of Keys wears a wig and black robes with gold decorations. The President of Tynwald wears a wig and blue robes with silver decorations, the Presidents robes also display the triskelion. The Isle of Mans highest judicial officers, the Deemsters, participate in the ceremony, wearing scarlet robes, there are currently three Deemsters, including the First and Second Deemster. Some individuals are invited to attend as Guests of Honour, Guests of Honour include representatives of the United Kingdom and of other nations, usually including the Republic of Ireland and some Scandinavian countries
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St John's, Isle of Man
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St Johns is a small village on the A1 Douglas to Peel road in the central valley of the Isle of Man. Tynwald Day attracts thousands of spectators to watch the ceremony and participate in the Tynwald Fair, the Anglican church in the village is dedicated to St John and the village takes its name from the church. Within the church are reserved seats with name plaques for members of both chambers of the Manx parliament, whilst in the adjacent church hall is an exhibition detailing the history of Tynwald, the village is dominated by Slieau Whallian, a steep hill to its south. The Tynwald National Park is situated on the side of the village. Opposite the church is the site of the ancient pound where stray animals were placed until claimed. If unclaimed after a year and a day became the property of the Lord of Mann. Also displayed on site are large stones from a 2300 BC burial chamber found locally. Since 2003, the former St Johns School building has been used by the Bunscoill Ghaelgagh, Bunscoill Gaelgagh Information about St Johns
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Douglas, Isle of Man
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Douglas is the capital and largest town of the Isle of Man, with a population of 27,938. It is located at the mouth of the River Douglas, the River Douglas forms part of the towns harbour and main commercial port. Douglas was a settlement until it grew rapidly as a result of links with the English port of Liverpool in the 18th century. The town is the Islands main hub for business, finance, legal services, shipping, transport, shopping, the annual Isle of Man TT motorcycle races start and finish in Douglas. In the absence of any data, the origins of the town may be revealed by analysis of the original street. Scholars agree that the name of the town derives from Early Celtic Duboglassio meaning black river and these may be references to the site of the later Nunnery, a little upstream from the port. This suggests that the origins of the nucleus were as a non-urban port. Current speculation links the buildings with the Irish Sea Herring fishery. Other forms of trade grew, and following the Revestment Act 1765, Douglas began to reap the benefits of trans-Atlantic trade. Legitimate merchants who rose to prominence over the period included the Murreys, the Moores, the towns later prosperity was facilitated by the low cost of living, and the favourable legal status enjoyed by English debtors and half-pay officers. The initial growth and development of the town owed much to its natural harbour, over the 18th century, the towns population rose from about 800 in 1710 to nearly 2,500 in 1784. Throughout the 19th century, the towns demographics followed the trends as the United Kingdom. The number of visitors grew from the early 19th century, and from around 1870 onwards. But there were increasingly unsanitary conditions, and poor quality housing, the open sewage, middens, and smell from the harbour at low tide all contributed to the towns uncleanliness. Douglas in the first half of the 19th century often suffered from the destitution of its population and the many epidemics, in particular cholera. However, an Act passed later that decade, which did not include opt-out clauses, was accepted, and in 1860, Douglas elected its first town council, which was predominantly middle class in its makeup. The Town Commissioners could tackle the problems with greater efficiency. The Commissioners also designed to alter the anachronistic architecture of Douglas, built during the era of fishing and trading, the proportion of the Manx population living in Douglas was also expanding, with 35% living there by 1891
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Icelandic language
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Icelandic /aɪsˈlændɪk/ is a North Germanic language, the language of Iceland. It is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of the Germanic languages, historically, it was the westernmost of the Indo-European languages prior to the colonisation of the Americas. Icelandic, Faroese, Norn, and Western Norwegian formerly constituted West Nordic, Danish, Eastern Norwegian, modern Norwegian Bokmål is influenced by both groups, leading the Nordic languages to be divided into mainland Scandinavian languages and Insular Nordic. Most Western European languages have reduced levels of inflection, particularly noun declension. In contrast, Icelandic retains a four-case synthetic grammar comparable to, Icelandic is distinguished by a wide assortment of irregular declensions. Icelandic also has many instances of oblique cases without any governing word, for example, many of the various Latin ablatives have a corresponding Icelandic dative. The vast majority of Icelandic speakers—about 320, 000—live in Iceland, more than 8,000 Icelandic speakers live in Denmark, of whom approximately 3,000 are students. The language is spoken by some 5,000 people in the United States. Notably in the province of Manitoba, while 97% of the population of Iceland consider Icelandic their mother tongue, the language is in decline in some communities outside Iceland, particularly in Canada. Icelandic speakers outside Iceland represent recent emigration in almost all cases except Gimli, Manitoba, the state-funded Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies serves as a centre for preserving the medieval Icelandic manuscripts and studying the language and its literature. Since 1995, on 16 November each year, the birthday of 19th-century poet Jónas Hallgrímsson is celebrated as Icelandic Language Day, the oldest preserved texts in Icelandic were written around 1100 AD. Much of the texts are based on poetry and laws traditionally preserved orally, the most famous of the texts, which were written in Iceland from the 12th century onward, are the Icelandic Sagas. They comprise the historical works and the eddaic poems, the language of the sagas is Old Icelandic, a western dialect of Old Norse. Danish rule of Iceland from 1380 to 1918 had little effect on the evolution of Icelandic, though more archaic than the other living Germanic languages, Icelandic changed markedly in pronunciation from the 12th to the 16th century, especially in vowels. The modern Icelandic alphabet has developed from an established in the 19th century. The later Rasmus Rask standard was a re-creation of the old treatise, with changes to fit concurrent Germanic conventions. Various archaic features, as the letter ð, had not been used much in later centuries, rasks standard constituted a major change in practice. Later 20th-century changes include the use of é instead of je, apart from the addition of new vocabulary, written Icelandic has not changed substantially since the 11th century, when the first texts were written on vellum
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Norwegian language
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Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken mainly in Norway, where it is the official language. Along with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants. These Scandinavian languages, together with Faroese and Icelandic as well as extinct languages. Faroese and Icelandic are hardly mutually intelligible with Norwegian in their spoken form because continental Scandinavian has diverged from them, as established by law and governmental policy, the two official forms of written Norwegian are Bokmål and Nynorsk. The official Norwegian Language Council is responsible for regulating the two forms, and recommends the terms Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk in English. Two other written forms without official status also exist, one and it is regulated by the unofficial Norwegian Academy, which translates the name as Standard Norwegian. Nynorsk and Bokmål provide standards for how to write Norwegian, no standard of spoken Norwegian is officially sanctioned, and most Norwegians speak their own dialects in all circumstances. Thus, unlike in other countries, the use of any Norwegian dialect. Outside Eastern Norway, this variation is not used. From the 16th to the 19th centuries, Danish was the written language of Norway. As a result, the development of modern written Norwegian has been subject to strong controversy related to nationalism, rural versus urban discourse, historically, Bokmål is a Norwegianised variety of Danish, while Nynorsk is a language form based on Norwegian dialects and puristic opposition to Danish. The unofficial form known as Riksmål is considered more conservative than Bokmål, Norwegians are educated in both Bokmål and Nynorsk. A2005 poll indicates that 86. 3% use primarily Bokmål as their written language,5. 5% use both Bokmål and Nynorsk, and 7. 5% use primarily Nynorsk. Thus, 13% are frequently writing Nynorsk, though the majority speak dialects that resemble Nynorsk more closely than Bokmål. Broadly speaking, Nynorsk writing is widespread in western Norway, though not in major urban areas, examples are Setesdal, the western part of Telemark county and several municipalities in Hallingdal, Valdres, and Gudbrandsdalen. It is little used elsewhere, but 30–40 years ago, it also had strongholds in rural parts of Trøndelag. Today, not only is Nynorsk the official language of four of the 19 Norwegian counties, NRK, the Norwegian broadcasting corporation, broadcasts in both Bokmål and Nynorsk, and all governmental agencies are required to support both written languages. Bokmål is used in 92% of all publications, and Nynorsk in 8%
30.
Tingvoll
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Tingvoll is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Nordmøre region, the administrative centre is the village of Tingvollvågen. Other villages include Meisingset, Kvisvik, and Torjulvågen, the municipality covers a peninsula on the mainland as well as a few surrounding islands. Norwegian National Road 70 and European route E39 both run through the municipality, Tingvoll was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. On 1 January 1866, the part of the municipality was separated to form the new municipality of Straumsnes. On 1 January 1874, a part of Stangvik municipality was transferred to Tingvoll, on 1 January 1877, the Tiltereidet and Meisalstranden part of Tingvoll on the west side of the Sunndalsfjorden was transferred to Nesset Municipality. On 1 January 1880, the Torjulvågen area of Halsa Municipality was transferred to Tingvoll, on 1 January 1890, the Rausand area of Tingvoll was transferred to Nesset Municipality. On 1 January 1964, the municipality of Straumsnes and the part of Frei Municipality on the island of Aspøya were merged into Tingvoll, the municipality is named after the old Tingvoll farm, since the first church was built there. The first element is þing which means thing or assembly and the last element is vǫllr which means meadow, before 1918, the name was written Tingvold. The coat-of-arms is from modern times and they were granted on 7 September 1984. The arms show five green oak leaves on a gray background, each leaf represents one of the five main villages in the municipality, Tingvollvågen, Straumsnes, Gyl, Torjulvågen, and Meisingset. The oak leaves are chosen as a symbol for the municipality as Norways northernmost oak forests can be found in the municipality, see also, the coats-of-arms of Eigersund, Nedre Eiker, Songdalen, and Øvre Eiker The Church of Norway has two parishes within the municipality of Tingvoll. It is part of the Indre Nordmøre deanery in the Diocese of Møre, eight or nine centuries ago, Tingvoll was the site of the Nordmøre Ting. There was a field there, which in Norwegian is called voll. It was here that meetings were held, called ting, thus the name Tingvoll, the name has the same origin as the Scottish town of Dingwall, the parliament of the Isle of Man Tynwald, the English town of Thingwall Wirral Peninsula, and Þingvellir in Iceland. Tingvoll Church, also known as the Nordmøre Cathedral, was built around 1180 at the village of Tingvollvågen, Tingvoll Municipality is a peninsula surrounded by the Tingvollfjorden, Vinjefjorden, Freifjorden, Halsafjorden, and Trongfjorden. The municipality also includes some islands including Aspøya, the Bergsøysund Bridge connects Aspøya to the neighboring island of Bergsøya to the west. Tingvoll has been a self declared Eco-municipality since 1990, when the council signed the declaration
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Old Norse
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Old Norse was a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during about the 9th to 13th centuries. These dates, however, are not absolute, since written Old Norse is found well into the 15th century, Old Norse was divided into three dialects, Old West Norse, Old East Norse and Old Gutnish. Old West and East Norse formed a continuum, with no clear geographical boundary between them. For example, Old East Norse traits were found in eastern Norway, although Old Norwegian is classified as Old West Norse, most speakers spoke Old East Norse in what is present day Denmark and Sweden. Old Gutnish, the more obscure dialectal branch, is included in the Old East Norse dialect due to geographical associations. It developed its own features and shared in changes to both other branches. The 12th century Icelandic Gray Goose Laws state that Swedes, Norwegians, Icelanders and Danes spoke the same language, another term used, used especially commonly with reference to West Norse, was norrœnt mál. In some instances the term Old Norse refers specifically to Old West Norse, the Old East Norse dialect was spoken in Denmark, Sweden, settlements in Kievan Rus, eastern England, and Danish settlements in Normandy. The Old Gutnish dialect was spoken in Gotland and in settlements in the East. In the 11th century, Old Norse was the most widely spoken European language, in Kievan Rus, it survived the longest in Veliky Novgorod, probably lasting into the 13th century there. Norwegian is descended from Old West Norse, but over the centuries it has heavily influenced by East Norse. Old Norse also had an influence on English dialects and Lowland Scots and it also influenced the development of the Norman language, and through it and to a smaller extent, that of modern French. Various other languages, which are not closely related, have heavily influenced by Norse, particularly the Norman dialects, Scottish Gaelic. The current Finnish and Estonian words for Sweden are Ruotsi and Rootsi, of the modern languages, Icelandic is the closest to Old Norse. Written modern Icelandic derives from the Old Norse phonemic writing system, contemporary Icelandic-speakers can read Old Norse, which varies slightly in spelling as well as semantics and word order. However, pronunciation, particularly of the phonemes, has changed at least as much as in the other North Germanic languages. Faroese retains many similarities but is influenced by Danish, Norwegian, although Swedish, Danish and the Norwegian languages have diverged the most, they still retain asymmetric mutual intelligibility. Speakers of modern Swedish, Norwegian and Danish can mostly understand each other without studying their neighboring languages, the languages are also sufficiently similar in writing that they can mostly be understood across borders
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Weald
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The Weald /ˈwiːld/ is an area in South East England situated between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It crosses the counties of Sussex, Hampshire, Kent and Surrey, the Weald once was covered with forest, and its name, Old English in origin, signifies woodland. The term is used today, as scattered farms and villages sometimes refer to the Weald in their names. The name Weald is derived from the Old English weald, meaning forest and this comes from a Germanic root of the same meaning, and ultimately from Indo-European. Weald is specifically a West Saxon form, wold is the Anglian form of the word. The Middle English form of the word is wēld, and the spelling is a reintroduction of the Anglo-Saxon form attributed to its use by William Lambarde in his A Perambulation of Kent of 1576. In the Anglo-Saxon period, the area had the name Andredes weald, meaning the forest of Andred, the derived from Anderida. The area is referred to in Anglo-Saxon texts as Andredesleage. The adjective for Weald is Wealden, the Weald is the eroded remains of a geological structure, an anticline, a dome of layered Lower Cretaceous rocks cut through by weathering to expose the layers as sandstone ridges and clay valleys. The oldest rocks exposed at the centre of the anticline are correlated with the Purbeck Beds of the Upper Jurassic. Above these, the Cretaceous rocks, include the Wealden Group of alternating sands and clays – the Ashdown Sand Formation, Wadhurst Clay Formation, Tunbridge Wells Sand Formation and the Weald Clay. The Wealden Group is overlain by the Lower Greensand and the Gault Formation, consisting of the Gault, the rocks of the central part of the anticline include hard sandstones, and these form hills now called the High Weald. The peripheral areas are mostly of sandstones and clays and form a gentler rolling landscape. The Weald–Artois Anticline continues some 40 miles further south-eastwards under the Straits of Dover, many important fossils have been found in the sandstones and clays of the Weald, including, for example, Baryonyx. The famous scientific hoax of Piltdown Man was claimed to have come from a pit at Piltdown near Uckfield. The first Iguanodon was identified after a Mary Mantell unearthed some fossilised teeth by a road in Sussex in 1822 and her husband, Gideon Mantell, noticed they were similar to modern iguana teeth but many times larger, this important find led to the discovery of dinosaurs. Some of the notes in the early part of this section are taken from the High Weald website. Prehistoric evidence suggests that, following the Mesolithic hunter-gatherers, the Neolithic inhabitants had turned to farming, with the Iron Age came the first use of the Weald as an industrial area
33.
Thing (assembly)
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A thing was the governing assembly of a Northern Germanic society, made up of the free people of the community presided over by lawspeakers. Its meeting-place was called a thingstead, the Anglo-Saxon folkmoot or folkmote was analogous, the forerunner to the witenagemot and a precursor of the modern Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Old Norse, Old Frisian, and Old English þing with the assembly is identical in origin to the English word thing, German Ding, Dutch ding. All of these derive from Proto-Germanic *þingą meaning appointed time. The word shift in the meaning of the thing from assembly to object is mirrored in the evolution of the Latin causa to modern French chose, Spanish/Italian/Catalan cosa. In English the term is attested from 685 to 686 CE in the meaning assembly, later it referred to a being, entity or matter. The early sense of meeting, assembly did not survive the shift to Middle English, the meaning of personal possessions, commonly in the plural, first appears in Middle English around 1300. In the pre-Christian clan-culture of Scandinavia the members of a clan were obliged to avenge injuries against their dead, a balancing structure was necessary to reduce tribal feuds and avoid social disorder. It is known from North-Germanic cultures that the institution was the thing, although similar assemblies are reported also from other Germanic peoples. The thing was the assembly of the men and women of a country. There were consequently hierarchies of things, so that the things were represented at the higher-level thing. At the thing, disputes were solved and political decisions were made, the place for the thing was often also the place for public religious rites and for commerce. The thing met at regular intervals, legislated, elected chieftains and kings, and judged according to the law, the things negotiations were presided over by the lawspeaker and the chieftain or the king. In reality the thing was dominated by the most influential members of the community, the heads of clans and wealthy families, Haugating, the Thing for Vestfold in Norway, was located in Tønsberg at Haugar. This site was one of Norways most important places for the proclamation of kings, in 1130, Harald Gille called together a meeting at the Haugating at which he was declared to be King of Norway. Sigurd Magnusson was proclaimed king in 1193 at Haugating, magnus VII was acclaimed hereditary King of Norway and Sweden at the Haugating in August 1319. Main things in Sweden were the Thing of all Swedes, the Thing of all Geats, the island of Gotland had twenty things in late medieval times, each represented at the island-thing called landsting by its elected judge. New laws were decided at the landsting, which also took other decisions regarding the island as a whole, the landstings authority was successively eroded after the island was occupied by the Teutonic Order in 1398
34.
Royal family
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A royal family is the immediate family of a king or queen regnant, and sometimes his or her extended family. However, in common parlance members of any family which reigns by hereditary right are often referred to as royalty or royals and it is also customary in some circles to refer to the extended relations of a deposed monarch and his or her descendants as a royal family. A dynasty is referred to as the House of. As of July 2013, there are 26 active sovereign monarchies in the world who rule or reign over 43 countries in all, in some cases, royal family membership may extend to great grandchildren and more distant descendants of a monarch. In certain monarchies where voluntary abdication is the norm, such as the Netherlands, there is often a distinction between persons of the blood royal and those that marry into the royal family. In certain instances, such as in Canada, the family is defined by who holds the styles Majesty. Under most systems, only persons in the first category are dynasts and this is not always observed, some monarchies have operated by the principle of jure uxoris. In addition, certain relatives of the monarch possess special privileges and are subject to certain statutes, conventions, the precise functions of a royal family vary depending on whether the polity in question is an absolute monarchy, a constitutional monarchy, or somewhere in between. The specific composition of royal families varies from country to country, as do the titles and royal, the composition of the royal family may be regulated by statute enacted by the legislature, the sovereigns prerogative and common law tradition, or a private house law. Public statutes, constitutional provisions, or conventions may also regulate the marriages, names, the members of a royal family may or may not have a surname or dynastic name. Some countries have abolished royalty altogether, as in post-revolutionary France, whilst mediatization occurred in other countries such as France, Italy and Russia, only the certain houses within the former Holy Roman Empire are collectively called the Mediatized Houses
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