What's the oldest parliament in the world

A. The Tynwald, on the Isle of Man. It celebrated its millennium in 1979. The annual outdoor sittings of Tynwald - on St John's Day, 5 July - date to the Viking settlements that began in the 8th Century. No other parliament has such a long unbroken record.< xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Q. So, that's quite a coup for the UK

A. The Isle of Man is not part of the United Kingdom, but a Crown Dependency. (Click here for a feature on the island's history). The Queen is acknowledged as Lord of Mann. She presided at the Millennium parliament in 1979. The Prince of Wales presided in 2000 as her representative.

Q. So how did this all start

A. Norsemen ruled the Isle of Man for 450 years before ceding it to the King of Scotland in 1266. The first recorded meeting of all the people of the island was mentioned in the Manx Chronicles for 1237. The Tynwald administration was so firmly imposed that it continued even when the island's ownership passed between Scotland and England, to the Stanley family of Lancashire and to the Dukes of Atholl, who held it until it came under the British crown in 1765.

Q. So it meets just once a year

A. No - it meets regularly. It's just the ceremony on Tynwald Hill, a stepped conical mound, that's once a year. It's quite a ceremony. Here's an account of the Tynwald of 1736, when the Duke of Atholl was Lord of Mann:

'[The duke and his officers were] well mounted, in fine cloaths ... His Grace was received by his deemsters [judges] in their gowns, the bishop in his habit and vicars general in their surplices ... a company of foot led the procession to and from the chapple ... then the governour with his white staff (the ensign of his office). Next to him the sword of state, carryed by Lord John Murray. [After a religious service] His Grace then returned to the hill or Forum Judiciale, and being there seated in his chair of state, with his barons on each side and his people about him according to their degrees, proclamation was made, and the oath of fidelity administered &c (first reserving due allegiance to the King's majesty) and according to the custom of the City of London, the sheriffs were appointed, and sworn into their office ... then His Grace and the company went to dinner where every thing was provided in great plenty.'

Q. So it's worth a visit

A. Oh yes. Tynwald Hill is in the little village of St John's on the main highway between Douglas and Peel. It is a manmade mound, about 80ft in diameter and 12ft high, set at one end of an open turfed area. The Royal Chapel of St John is at the other end.

Q. And the ceremony itself

A. Again, yes. It has changed very little from the earlier description and is filled with colour and pageantry. The way between the hill and the church is lined by a military band and guard of honour and bedecked with flags. The path is strewn with rushes. After a service in the church, which is relayed to the waiting crowds, the lieutenant governor, accompanied by the Members of the House of Keys - the equivalent of Britain's House of Commons - and of the Legislative Council and other officials proceed from the church and assemble on the hill. The main purpose of the occasion is to read the titles and a brief description of the new laws that have been enacted by the Tynwald Court during the past year. This is done both in English and in Manx.

Q. Interesting

A. Up to a point. The writer Sir Thomas Henry Hall Caine said of the 1893 St John's Day:

The ceremonial is well worth seeing. You may go to the ends of Europe and see nothing of the kind that is half so interesting.

But he added of the proceedings:

[They were] long, tiresome, ineffectual, formless, unimpressive and unpicturesque. The senior Deemster ... read the titles of the new laws in English. Then the Coroner ... recited the same titles in Manx. Hardly anybody heard them; hardly anybody listened.

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Steve Cunningham