Tynwald claims to be over 1,000 years old, and thus the "
oldest continuous parliament" in the world (Iceland's
Althing claims world’s oldest parliament, though with noncontinuous operation). 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, or that any such event resembled the modern-day court. The first record of the place-name occurs in the 13th–14th century
Chronicles of Mann, and the first description of the role and composition of an assembly held on site occurs in the early 15th century.
Medieval period Tynwald originally comprised only the 24 Members of the House of Keys, commonly referred to as "the Keys". There were four members for each of the six
sheadings of the island. The earliest surviving record of the Keys dates from 1417. 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. 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. In 1600 the Keys became a permanent body. Until 1577, the Keys merely declared and interpreted the ancient common law when queries arose. This developed into the power to create new laws, a function that Tynwald adopted around 1610.
17th and 18th centuries In October 1651, during the
English Civil War, the island fell to the
Parliamentary forces, who took over the administration of the government. During this period, Tynwald met only sporadically. Following the
restoration of the monarchy, control of the island was returned to the
Lords of Mann. The Keys saw a reduction in their power at this point, as Tynwald was reconstituted as "the Lord [of Mann], the Governor, the principal officers and the deemsters (who constitute the Lord's Council), and the Commons represented by their Keys." Administration of the government was vested in a
Governor, and the Lords of Mann became absentee landlords. The Keys were unhappy with the changes, and agreed to very few new laws. In 1737, Tynwald obtained further powers in addition to its monopoly on law-making: the agreement of Tynwald would be required for all taxation, in imitation of the constitutional practice of
Great Britain. This was a short-lived arrangement, as in 1765 the Lord of Mann sold his rights over the island to the
British Crown.
Post-revestment Following the
revestment of the
Lordship of Mann into the
British Crown in 1765, the British government assumed all powers to impose and collect taxes. Tynwald was left with no money to spend, and little power, although it was still able to bring about social change by the repeal in 1771 of restrictive labour legislation. As a result, the Keys asked the British government to dissolve Tynwald and to assent to legislation for a new elected parliament, which they hoped would have a stronger voice to challenge the new government of the island, based in distant Whitehall. To this end, the Keys organised a petition of 800 signatures, which was presented to the British government. A Royal Commission was appointed in 1791, but it was not until 1866 that Tynwald finally passed legislation that would see some of its members elected for the first time. However, before 1866 Tynwald's primary function had been that of the island's court of appeal. The House of Keys Election Act 1866 transferred this judicial power to a separate court.
Women in Tynwald Women have been able to stand for election to the House of Keys since the 1919 introduction of universal adult suffrage based on residency. The first woman elected was
Marion Shimmin of the
Manx Labour Party at a by-election in 1933. ==Royal Commission on the Isle of Man==