History
The oldest known reference to the name is in a document of 1417, written by an English scholar in Latin, which refers to Claves Mann and Claves Legis ("The Keys of Mann" and "The Keys of Law"). There is a dispute, however, over the origin of the name. The word "keys" is thought by some to be an English corruption of the Norse word kjósa meaning "chosen". However a more likely explanation is that it is a mishearing of the Manx-language term for "four and twenty", kiare as feed (pronounced kee-air...), the House having always had 24 members. The Manx-language name of the House of Keys remains Yn Chiare as Feed ("The Four and Twenty").
Read more about this topic: House Of Keys
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The reverence for the Scriptures is an element of civilization, for thus has the history of the world been preserved, and is preserved.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“It may be well to remember that the highest level of moral aspiration recorded in history was reached by a few ancient Jews—Micah, Isaiah, and the rest—who took no count whatever of what might not happen to them after death. It is not obvious to me why the same point should not by and by be reached by the Gentiles.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)
“It takes a great deal of history to produce a little literature.”
—Henry James (1843–1916)