Manx National Heritage

Special thanks go to Wendy Thirkettle, Archivist at the Manx Museum, for her kind assistance. 

Isle of Man Post Office

Many thanks to the team at Isle of Man Stamps & Coins for helping us to celebrate the 1417 anniversary with a set of stamps.

A Manx Note Book

Thanks to Frances Coakley for compiling this hugely useful resource: www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/

iMuseum

All newspaper extracts appear courtesy of the iMuseum: https://www.imuseum.im/newspapers/

The iMuseum Newspapers & Publications website can be used for free at the Henry Bloom Noble Library or Manx National Heritage Library and Archives.

Indenture of 1417

An indenture is a medieval style of legal contract that was written in duplicate on the same sheet. The two copies were then separated by cutting along a jagged line, so that the ‘teeth’ of the two parts could later be put back together to confirm authenticity. 

On 18th January 1417 a contract of this type was made between representatives of Sir John Stanley and the 24 Members of the House of Keys.  The contract binds both parties to an agreement that there can be no sanctuary in baronial lands in the Isle of Man, meaning that the barons must produce any offenders on their land to the King. At this time, all the baronial lands in the Island were owned by the Church which, partly due to the uncertainty that had prevailed in the centuries prior to the Stanleys’ lordship, had become very powerful.   The indenture therefore reflects certain provisions codified in the customary laws of 1417 to assert the primacy of the Lord of Man over the Barons, which are later put to use at the meeting of Tynwald in 1422. The indenture is also significant because it provides the earliest extant record of members of the Keys, whose names are listed in the document. The Keys are referred to in Latin, the language of the document, as the Claves Mann and the Claves Legis, the Keys of Man and the Keys of the Law. This suggests that either the English name of the Keys was already well established or that the clerk, mishearing the Manx kiare-as-feed, unwittingly introduced the term with this document.  

One half of the original indenture has been preserved and is kept in the Manx Museum. A facsimile of the indenture was made in the 19th century and reproduced in William MacKenzie’s Legislation by three Stanley Kings of Man (1860).

Translation

THIS Indenture made between Thurstan de Tyldesley and Roger de Haysnap, commissioners of Lord John de Stanley, Lord of Man and the Isles, on the one part, and John Clerk, judge of Mann, William Skerf, Reginald Stevenson, William de Yvennowe, John Rede. Gilbert McWanty, Patrick McIon, Andrew John Mc euyn, Gilbert McHanghan, Patrick McKane, William McAlisandre, Patrick Tomelynson, Gilbert Mc Isak, Gilbert McAndras, Mark McOtter, Donald McCroyne, Donald Mc Brewe, William McCrystyn, William Abelson, Doncan Abelson, John Mcffergus, Hugh McKnalytt, John McSealy, Patrick McHelly, and Andrew Raynesson, the xxiiii keys of Mann, on the other part, witnesseth that the aforesaid xxiiii keys of the law, with the judge of Mann, say, and for the public law declare, that whatever liege tenant or liege tenants of the Lord of Mann shall do or cause to be done any case of felony, and fly or withdraw the Lordship, or remove from the territory of the Lord of Mann into the liberties of the Barons, and he or they shall be required by the Lord of Mann or his ministers, to return to the land to the administration of the law, and if he or they excuse themselves, not consenting to return thence, and if any of their Barons within the Lordship of Mann shall retain him, or her, or them, or they shall retain under the pretexts of their liberty or his liberty, or any other manifest cause, that then he shall forfeit to the Lord, for such offence of retention, in every case above mentioned, lx.s., and he or they shall answer for the body of the before said transgressor, in every case above mentioned, at the jail or prison of the Lord of Mann, and this under the penalty of forfeiting all their liberties into the hands [of the Lord]. Likewise they are to declare and deliver as the common law, that no liege tenant of the Lord, nor any serving within the lordship of Mann, shall depart, remove, nor withdraw from the land of the lord to the land of any of the Barons, for the purpose of delay, without licence of the lord, under the penalty aforesaid for felonies. In testimony of which things both the said xxiiii keys of the law, and also the judge before said, the commissioners have respectively appended their seals. Attested at the castle of Russhen, Tuesday, the 18th day of January, in the year of our Lord 1417, and the fifth of the reign of the lord of Mann.

Commission of 1417

On 27th November 1417, Sir John Stanley declared Thurstan of Tildesley and Roger Haysnap to be his representatives in the Isle of Man and described their powers in a commission. Unlike the indenture, the commission was written in English. The original commission has been preserved and is kept in the Manx Museum. The text of it was reproduced in Mills’ Laws of the Isle of Man (1821).

Transcription

To all Men yat this Letter heren, John of Stanley, Knight, Lord of Manne and Isles, Latham, Knowsley, & Baron of Weston, Gretying in our Lord everlasting. Know Ye we have ordeyned & constitute Thurstan of Tildesley & Roger Haysnap, having my playne power to discharge & charge on & all myn Officers, men, & servants within my Lordship of Manne dwelling, of all offices & occupacions else playnely as I myself were there in proper person. And also I ordeyne & constitute the foresaid Thurstan Roger of the same my general auditours to take, to here, to determine, to enquire, examine, to prove, to charge & discharge all the accumptes of on & all myn Officers, Mynestres, & Servants, within my foresaid Lordship of Manne at such certayne dayes & places as the foresaid auditours lymytyn.And also I ordayne & constitute the foresaid Thurstan & Roger my general Commyssioners to here and to determyn all manner of Treasons, Felonyes, Offences, Concealments, Trespas, Kherells, & all other demands partenying to the Law & Custome of my foresaid Lordship of Manne as well at myn aune sute as at the sute of parties. And whatsoever the foresaid Thurstan & Roger done & ordeyne in all poyntes before rehersed, I hold firm & stabull, & therefore I charge & I command my Lewtenant, the Byshop, the Abbott, all Deemsters, Barons, Reseveyors, Coroners, Cunstabulls, Saudiours, Graives, Bailleves, & all other loyall & true men within my foresaid Lordship of Manne, being present at the bene to the foresaid Thurstan & Roger in all things attendant & obedyant, upon the payne that hereto falls.In Wyttnes of the which thing I have sett to my Seall me wyttness and at my Castell of Rysshen, the 27th day of Novembre the year of Oure Lord, a Thousand four hundred and Seventeen.

First among the customary laws that were written down in 1417 was the procedure for Tynwald Day.  As its description of ‘the Constitution of Old Time’ suggests, this law describes the practice originally established by the Vikings in the 10th century AD.  The name of Tynwald comes from the Old Norse Thingvöllr, meaning meeting place or assembly field, the place where the Vikings met to uphold the law, settle disputes, and make decisions affecting the community. While the function of Tynwald Day has evolved over the centuries, Tynwald continues to this day to meet in the open air once a year, on old midsummer’s day, at Tynwald Hill in St John’s. 

At the same time as the customary law of 1417 describes an age-old ceremony, it also asserts the authority of the Stanleys as the newly established Lords of Man.  The procedure for Tynwald Day, along with the other customary laws that accompany it, vividly represents the desired relationship between the Lord of Man and his subjects, in particular asserting his primacy over the ecclesiastical Barons.

The Procedure for Tynwald Day

While it is generally accepted that the laws of the Isle of Man began to be written down in 1417, the original copies of these laws have unfortunately been lost.  It is not unusual for medieval texts to be known to us through later copies.  Indeed, it may well be the case that the medieval originals were discarded after new copies had been made of them. The Customary Laws of 1417 have been transmitted primarily via 17th and 18th century manuscripts which contain the Manx statutes from 1417. These manuscripts were the basis of a number of printed editions of the statutes made in the late 18th and 19th centuries. The laws have also been transmitted via Parr's Abstracts, a collection of Manx laws in summary, and the Commissioners' Report of 1792.

Manuscripts

British Library Add MS 4149

This manuscript, held in the British Library, contains what is likely to be the earliest surviving copy of the 1417 Customary Laws Act, dating to the first two quarters of the 17th century.  The manuscript contains statutes of the Isle of Man from 1417 to 1570. They appear at the end of the manuscript, which contains transcripts of numerous political and legal documents, most of which concern royal marriages of England.

Scribe

Most of the transcripts in the manuscript were written by Ralph Starkey, a prolific scribe, antiquarian and bookseller who died in 1628. A scribe known only as the Feathery Scribe, on account of his light, wispy hand, also contributed to the manuscript, as did later owner Sir Simonds d’Ewes, mostly in the form of notes.

Owners

The manuscript probably belonged originally to Ralph Starkey, whose collections were bought by Sir Simonds d’Ewes, 1st Baronet, who was a politician, member of the Long Parliament, and supporter of the Parliamentarian cause during the English Civil War.  After his death in 1650, the manuscript appears to have made its way into the hands of an otherwise unknown Hewett, before ending up in the ownership of the English historian Thomas Birch. On his death in 1766, his books and manuscripts were left to the British Museum. 

Manx Museum MS 09191/1/1

This manuscript contains the statutes from 1417 up to a sitting of Tynwald Court on 20th October 1710, which suggests that it is the older of the two manuscripts held in the Manx Museum. It contains a copy of the 1417 indenture.  It has an index at the back of the manuscript that lists the contents of each page one by one. 

Manx Museum MS 0919/1/1 | Clockwise left to right: First page, showing the 1417 customary law; Detail of index; Detail of the indenture

Manx Museum MS 09191/1/2

This manuscript contains the statutes from 1417 up to a sitting of Tynwald Court on 5th July 1763.  It is likely to be a copy of the older manuscript, or one very much like it, since it contains the same glosses in the margins of the text, which function as guidance notes.  Its index appears at the front of the text and is arranged alphabetically by topic.  

Manx Museum MS 0919/1/2 | Clockwise left to right: First page, showing the 1417 customary law; Detail of index; Detail of Tynwald Day procedure

Tynwald Library 941.02-07

This manuscript is very similar, though not identical, in appearance to Manx Museum MS 09191/1/2.  It contains the statutes from 1417 up to a sitting of Tynwald Court on 5th July 1753, and contains a copy of the indenture. It has an index at the front of the text which is arranged alphabetically by topic. This manuscript can be viewed in the Tynwald Library as part of an exhibition on 600 Years of the Customary Laws Act 1417.

Parr’s Abstracts

The Customary Laws of 1417 have also been transmitted via Parr’s Abstracts, a collection of Manx laws in summary. John Parr (1651-1713) was a lawyer, member of the House of Keys, and episcopal registrar who later became a Deemster. In 1679 he presented the newly appointed Lieutenant Governor Robert Heywood with what Parr titled An Abridgement or A Short Tract of the most usefull Lawes, Acts and Ordinances conteyned in the Statute Book of this Isle of Mann. The book was designed to provide an easily accessible overview of the laws current in the Island at the time; as such, the summarised laws are arranged alphabetically by topic.  The law governing the proceedings on Tynwald Day appears under ‘Court of Tynwald’, amongst other ‘Court’ entries. The text is accompanied by references to the Statute Book and other useful information.  Parr’s Abstracts has survived in a number of manuscripts, both contemporaneous and later.

Parr’s Abstracts | Clockwise from left to right: 17th century manuscript; Photocopy of 17th century manuscript; 19th century transcription

Commissioners’ Report of 1792​

In 1791, a Royal Commission was appointed to examine the governance and finances of the Island, after the 4th Duke of Atholl alleged that his family had not received a fair deal under the Isle of Man Purchase Act 1765. The Report reproduced the earliest written laws, noting that they dated from 1417 onwards. The Commissioners concluded that, ‘the laws and ordinances that were enacted in the Island during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, appear by the Manks Statute Book, to have been prescribed by such different powers, or combinations of power, that as precedents of the exercise of Legislative authority, they can have but little weight’.

Printed Editions​

1792 The Statutes and Ordinances of the Isle of Man now in Force. Alphabetically arranged by T. Stowell, Advocate. Most humbly inscribed to the honourable Alexander Shaw, Esq. Lieutenant Governor and Chancellor of the Isle of Man (Douglas: Christopher Briscoe).

The first printed compilation of Manx Statutes.  Described in Lex Scripta as being ‘from the hands of an erudite and eminent lawyer of great talent…on the acknowledged merits of this publication it were perfectly superfluous to offer an eulogium’.

1797 The Statute Laws of the Isle of Man, edited by Christopher Briscoe (Douglas)

The text of this edition was based on the Commissioners’ Report of 1792. The preface to Lex Scripta describes this book in an unflattering way: ‘…its very imperfect and mutilated state, its inferior paper and type, and its want of sufficient document to stamp its accuracy and authenticity, it failed to afford general satisfaction’.   Together with his brother Joseph, Christopher Briscoe ran the printing office that was behind the newspaper the Manx Mercury. In 1783, Joseph printed a collection of Acts of Tynwald passed in 1776 and 1777.

1819 The Lex Scripta of the Isle of Man: Comprehending the Ancient Ordinances and Statute Laws from the Earliest to the present Date, printed at the Manks Advertiser Office for George Jefferson (Douglas, Duke Street)

The text of this edition was based on the Commissioners’ Report of 1792. In the preference, the editor states, ‘…we need no apology for giving the old laws in their ancient, though obsolete terms, conceiving it to be more correct to present the public with a faithful transcript than to attempt any amendment or alteration in a compilation’. This printed edition was the first to include an index.   George Jefferson was the printer of the conservative newspaper the Manks Advertiser, which he ran from 1801 to 1842.  For some time he held a monopoly of printing on the Isle of Man.  He was the uncle and erstwhile employer of Robert Fargher, who relentlessly campaigned for the House of Keys to become a popularly elected body. 

1821 The Ancient Ordinances and Statute Laws of the Isle of Man: carefully copied from, and compared with, the Authentic Records. Together with copious extracts from the several British Statutes which have reference thereto., edited by Mark Anthony Mills Esq (Douglas: Phoenix Press)

Described as ‘perhaps the noblest piece of typographical work ever done by a Manx press’. It was printed on paper made by hand in the Isle of Man, with some of the folios incorporating a three-legs motif.  Mark Anthony Mills (c.1772-c.1823) was a solicitor from Ireland. ‘A rather colourful character’, he tried unsuccessfully to secure a licence to practice in the Isle of Man. In 1812 he was jailed in Castle Rushen for affronting the court, and was apparently whipped by Deemster Heywood. He was the proprietor of the Isle of Man Gazette from 1815 to 1821, when his printing press was seized and sold at public auction to pay off debts. 

1841 The Ancient Ordinances and Statute Laws of the Isle of Man; carefully compiled from, and compared with, the original records, from the earliest date to the year 1841; with a copious index. Edited by George Geneste and John M. Jeffcott (Douglas: J. Quiggin, Custom-House Quay)

This edition is comprised of the text of Mills’ Statutes with additions from 1821 onwards compiled by George Geneste, an advocate, and an index compiled by John. M Jeffcott, advocate and later Member of the House of Keys.  

1860 Legislation by three of the Thirteen Stanleys, Kings of Man. Manx Society Vol. III. Edited, with introduction and notes, by the Rev. William MacKenzie (Douglas)

This book reproduces the laws of 1417 as recorded in British Library Add MS 4149, then held in the British Museum.  The editor considered it to be ‘…a more ancient text…better than those in the printed copies’. Rev. William MacKenzie was a Member of the Free Presbytery of Edinburgh and minister of the Presbyterian Church in Douglas who lived at Strathallan Villa. He also compiled and edited an Index to all the Statute Laws in 1861.  

1883 The Statutes of the Isle of Man, edited by John F. Gill (London: Eyre & Spottiswoode)

This official series of the Statutes was initiated by Sir Henry Brougham Loch, who was Governor of the Isle of Man from 1863 to 1882 and oversaw the reform of the House of Keys.  The editor ‘carefully compared the text with the originals or the authorized copies in the Rolls Office’ and declared it to be ‘the most perfect copy of the Statutes which has ever been published’. The manuscripts on which it is based are those now held in the Manx Museum. Click here to read the 1417 act as printed in Gill's Statutes​.  

Book of Precedents​

Law cases also began to be recorded in 1417.  Extracts from the Sheading Court Rolls of 1417 have been preserved in the 18th century Book of Precedents, compiled around 1725 by John Quayle, then Clerk of the Rolls. The introduction to the compilation gives the following account of the history of writing down the law in the Isle of Man:  

I find mention made in some of our old Records that our first written Laws were in King Orryes Days but what became of those Manuscripts is not certaine: Our Mancks Chronicle tells us that Mary the Daughter of Reginald (who was of the sd King Orryes Line) being Queene of Mann and Countess of Straherne in Scotland was disturbed in the possession of the Isle of Mann by Alexander King of Scotts and that she fled to the King of England Edward the first in the Twenty’th yeare of his Reigne being then at Sct Johns Town in Scotland to Complaine agt the said King of Scotts, and brought with her (as is said) All her Charters & Deeds of the Land of MANN, and in a short time afterwards she dyed, so that it is not improbable, but that what Records or other writeings were then Extant relateing to the Governmt of the Island might at that time be taken away by her & never restored again, for we have no written Laws or any Records now remaining but what have been since Sr John Stanleys time, to whom this Island was given by King Henry the fourth, Anno Dni 1403.

And because all Judgements and Determinations given and made in matters of Law before that time (as we may well believe) were only delivered orally by the Magistrates to the people, and no Memorial or Record made of them, the same there-fore antiently called BREAST-LAWS, But the sd Sr John Stanley and his Successrs Lords of this Isle (to the end that those antient Customary Laws wch before were continued & preserved by way of Tradition from one age to another might the better be made known to the people) took special Care and gave strict Comands from time to time That all such points of Law as were given and delivered by the Deemsters upon the transaction of all Cases of Moment should be Registered in the Court Rolls to remain as a Rule or precedent to future ages, and by that means our said antient Customary Laws have in process of time crept by degrees into writeing, So that from those Books or Court Rolls, We may gather a Summary Accompt of the said Laws.​​​

Translation

The first Records Extant in this Isle (Besides those in the Book of Statutes) are in certaine sheetes of parchment, and begin thus:

1. ISLE OF MAN A.D. 1417 Lord John Stanley Lord of Man and the Isles.

At a Head Court holden there at the Castle on the 4th day of October in the year of Our Lord 1417 and the fourth of the Royalty of the Lord of Man, before John Litherland, Lieutenant, then in that place.

3. The Moar presents a Bloodwipe, said to be proved by him

John McCray (12d) [presented] because, against the peace, he drew blood on Bryan Bullock as was proved by the Moar of the parish of [Holy] Trinity, &c.

4. An Accon for the said Bloodwipe. The party is fined xijS and to make satisfaccon to the other

John McCray complains concerning Bryan Bullock for satisfaction on the grounds that the same man against the peace of the Lord King did make a leap upon the same John and then struck him with a staff, &c., who came and confessed; therefore 12s in fine and to make satisfaction to the other, &c.

5. The like Accon brought by the other party for takeing him by the neck or throat

Also Bryan complains concerning the said John for satisfaction on the grounds that against the peace of our Lord the King he violently took Bryan by the neck and used him evilly, who came and placed himself upon the Enquest through which he was found guilty, therefore 12s in fine and to make satisfaction to the other, &c.

7. A presentment for trespasses in the Calfe Isle

An Inquisition was taken at the same Court concerning trespasses made in le Calfe, upon oath, &c., who say that Thomas de Yvenhow (20d) and Gilbert McWaddy keep 4 pigs, against the order, in le Calfe ; and that Michael Shirlock has two horses, and that John Shirlock cut down a wood in the same place, therefore these men in fine.

10. ANNO 1417 At a Court held as before at the Castle on the tenth day of January of the aforesaid year in the presence of Thurstan de Tyldesley and Rodger Hasnap, commissioners to the Lord of Man and the Isles.

One arraigned for Comitting Robbery on the Highway

To the judgment of the same court it was presented that Brother John Proker had stolen thread and wool worth 14d of the goods and chattels of a certain mendicant from Ireland, and robbed the same man in the highway.