2023: Two Islands, Six Legs

1. A tale of two islands

Have you noticed that the flags of the Isle of Man and the Island of Sicily show almost identical three-legged images? After visiting the two islands this year and hearing various possible explanations from different tour guides, on our return home I decided to seek the most likely explanation for this apparent coincidence.

The flag of the Isle of Man wears armour on each of its tree legs		The flag of Sicily has the image of Medusa the Gorgon at its centre

There is no doubt that the Sicilian version of the Triskelion, as it is officially called, is by far the older of the two, having been introduced by the ancient Greeks who lived there from about 750BC. The design of the flag reflects their obsession with the triangular shape of the island, which they called Trinacria (meaning 'three headlands'). You will see that their original emblem, which included Medusa's wings and snake-hair, was considerably scarier than the later flag!

The original Sicilian emblem

Now we must step forward in history by nearly 2000 years, to find Henry II on the throne of England. His sons Richard and John are each destined to become King of England, and his daughter Joan is to become Queen of Sicily by marrying their king William II. She then of course has the Triskelion as her emblem.

Moving on by a generation so that John is King of England, the succession repeats itself so that John's son Henry is destined to become King of England and his daughter Isabella is to become Queen of Sicily by marrying their king Frederick II. She thus also has the Triskelion as her emblem.

A generation later and Henry III is King of England; he is ambitious so rather than merely marrying his daughter into the Sicilian monarchy, he declares that his son Edmund is to be King of Sicily. He has the Pope's blessing to this declaration, but the Sicilians were not so keen on the idea - perhaps because Edmund was only 9 years old, or perhaps because Henry could not afford the price that they demanded for accepting this arrangement.

Henry's daughter Margaret, meanwhile, is probably somewhat disappointed that she will not inherit the privilege of using the Triskelion emblem, but she has instead become Queen of  Scotland after marrying their king Alexander III. Then in the year 1266 there comes the twist in the tale as the Vikings decide that they are no longer interested in ruling the Isle of Man and decide to give it back to the King of Scotland. Henry was very fond on symbolism that emphasised the unity between England and Scotland, so he was keen that the Island should have a new coat of arms that demonstrated its three-way unity with both England and Scotland. The Triskelion was perfect for this purpose - without the picture of Medusa's head of course - and it has remained the emblem of the Isle of Man ever since.

And now, having (perhaps) solved the mystery of the two 3-legged images, it's time to learn a little more about our trips to these two wonderful islands, the Isle of Man and the Island of Sicily ...

Take me to the Isle of Man		Take me to Sicily