Etymology[edit]

The Manx name of the Isle of Man is Ellan Vannin: ellan is a Manx word meaning island,
while Vannin is a mutation ofMannin, which may refer to Manannn mac Lir, see below.
The earliest form of Man is Manu or Mana,[6] which appears in the genitive case as Vaninn,
hence Ellan Vannin "Island of Man".
The name Mana/u is related to the figure of Celtic mythology known as Manannn mac
Lir to the Irish and Manawydanto the Welsh.[7]
The name enters recorded history as Mona (Julius Caesar, 54 BC), and is also recorded
as Monapia or Monabia (Pliny the Elder, AD 77), Monda (Ptolemy,
AD 150), Mevania or Mnavia (Orosius, AD 416), and Eubonia or Eumonia by Irish
writers. Welsh records it as Manaw, and in the Sagas of Icelanders it is Mn.[8][9][10][11]
Though the Isle of Man was never incorporated into the Roman Empire, the island was
noted in the Classics where it was called
variously Monapia, M (Monaoida), M (Monarina), Menavi and Mevania.[12] T
he Old Welsh and Old Irish names for the Isle of Man, Manauand Mano, also occur
in Manaw Gododdin, the name for an ancient district in north Britain along the lower Firth
of Forth.[13] The name is probably connected with the Welsh name of the island
of Anglesey, Ynys Mn[14] and possibly with the Celtic root reflected in
Welsh mynydd, Breton menez, and Scottish Gaelic monadh,[14]all of which mean
"mountain" and probably derive from the Proto-Indo-European root *men-, "to tower".
[15] In this case, such a name may have referred to the island apparently rising out of
the Irish Sea on the horizon.[16]

History[edit]
Main article: History of the Isle of Man

The Braaid in central Isle of Man, with remnants of a Celtic-Norseroundhouse and two longhouses, c.
650950 AD

Rising water levels cut the island off from the surrounding islands around 8000 BC.
Evidence suggests that colonisation of the island took place by sea some time
before 6500 BC.[17] The first residents lived in small huts, hunting, fishing and gathering
their food. They used small tools made of flint or bone, examples of which have been
found near the coast. Representatives of these artefacts are kept at the Manx Museum.[18]

The Kingdom of the Isles about the year 1100. Sodor and Mann in red.

The Neolithic Period marked the coming of knowledge of farming, better stone tools and
pottery. It was during this period that megalithic monuments began to appear around the
island. Examples from this period can be found at Cashtal yn Ard nearMaughold, King
Orry's Grave at Laxey, Meayll Circle near Cregneash, and Ballaharra Stones at St John's.
This was not the only Neolithic culture: there were also the local Ronaldsway and Bann
cultures.[19]
During the Bronze Age, the large communal tombs of the megalith builders were replaced
with smaller burial mounds. Bodies were put in stone-lined graves along with ornamental
containers. The Bronze Age burial mounds created long-lasting markers around the
countryside.[20]
The Iron Age marked the beginning of Celtic cultural influence. Large hill forts appeared on
hill summits, and smaller promontory forts along the coastal cliffs, while large timberframed roundhouses were built. It is likely that the first Celts to inhabit the island
were Britons speaking Common Brittonic.[citation needed] Around the 5th century AD, cultural
influence from Ireland and migration precipitated a process of Gaelicisation evidenced
by Ogham inscriptions, giving rise to the Manx language, which is a Goidelic
language closely related to Irish and Scottish Gaelic.[21]
Viking settlement of the Isle of Man began at the end of the 8th century. The Vikings
established Tynwald and introduced many land divisions that still exist.
in 1266 King Magnus VI of Norway ceded the islands, including Mann, to Scotland in the
Treaty of Perth but Scotland's rule over Mann did not become firmly established until 1275,
when the Manx suffered defeat in the decisive Battle of Ronaldsway, near Castletown.
In 1290 King Edward I of England sent Walter de Huntercombe to take possession of Mann,
and it remained in English hands until 1313, when Robert Bruce took it after
besieging Castle Rushen for five weeks. A confused period followed when Mann sometimes
experienced English rule and sometimes Scottish, until 1346, when the Battle of Neville's
Cross decided the long struggle between England and Scotland in England's favour.
English rule was delegated to a series of lords and magnates. The Tynwald passed laws
concerning the government of the island in all respects and had control over its finances,
but was subject to the approval of the Lord of Mann.
In 1866, the Isle of Man obtained a nominal measure of Home Rule.