The coat of arms of the Isle of Man, blazoned Gules three legs in armour flexed at the knee and conjoined at the thigh, all proper, garnished and spurred or, dates from the late 13th century.

[2] The origin of the triskeles (three dexter legs conjoined at the hips and flexed in triangle) is obscure, but it appears to stem from the Scottish takeover of the island in 1265.

The escutcheon is blazoned: Gules three legs in armour flexed at the knee and conjoined at the thigh, all proper, garnished and spurred or.

In 1405, King Henry IV of England granted the Isle of Man to John Stanley (c. 1350–1414), KG (whose eventual successor in 1485 was created Earl of Derby for his services to Henry VII at the Battle of Bosworth), for the feudal tenure of grand serjeanty, namely of providing to him a pair of peregrine falcons, also to be provided to every future English king on his coronation.

The coat of arms in the Wijnbergen Roll is blazoned (translated): Gules, three mailed legs embowed and conjoined at the thighs argent spurred or.

The last member of that ruling family died in 1265 without a legitimate heir, and the Isle passed into the possession of Alexander III, King of Scotland (d.1286).

The heraldic era in England and Scotland started in about 1215, slightly earlier in Western Europe, and members of the Crovan dynasty are known to have borne ships and lions on their seals;[11] they did not use a triskeles.

[16] Henry invested considerable political capital in his son's new position, and in his efforts to raise funds from taxation to support the dignity of that kingship made himself extremely unpopular with his English nobles, who eventually rebelled.