| The kingdom was formed by Gødred Crovan to reinforce Norse control on the only remaining Viking possesions in the British Isles in 1079. Previously, the islands had been taken between c.700-900 AD, during the Viking invasions of the British Isles. They had been admistred by the Norse Kingdoms of Dublin and Orkney. The Kingdom covered the islands of the northern Irish Sea and off the west coast of mainland Scotland. |  |
The Bishop of Sodor and Man is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Sodor and Man in the Province of York. The diocese covers the Isle of Man. Originally much larger, today Sodor covers just the Isle of Man and its adjacent islets. The diocese was reputedly created by St. Patrick in 447 with the foundation of his cathedral on St. Patrick's Isle at the mouth of the River Neb. Becoming a Norwegian diocese in the 9th century it remained so until the early 16th century.
The Norwegian diocese of Sodor was formed 1154, covering the Hebrides and the other islands along the west coast of Scotland. The name in the original Norse was Súšreyjar or Sudreys, or "southern isles", in contrast to the Noršreyjar, the "northern isles" of Orkney and Shetland. The Isle of Man was included in with these southern isles. This diocese was a part of the archdiocese of Trondheim. The majority of native Scottish Gaelic speakers live on, or come from, the Hebrides. In classical sources, they are referred to as the Ebudae or the Ebudes. The Hebrides began to come under Norse control and settlement already before the 9th century AD. The Norse control of the Hebrides was formalized in 1098 when Edgar of Scotland formally signed the islands over to Magnus III of Norway.
The Bishop of Sodor headed in the Middle Ages and Tudor times the diocese which came to have as its territory of the Isle of Man and its adjacent islets. Originally its jurisdiction was much larger. The early history of this see is extremely obscure. Before 1098 Man seems to have been a distinct see dependent on Dublin. When Man became the head of a separate kingdom, under the suzerainty of Norway, the diocese of Sodor was formed in 1154 by Pope Eugene III and assigned to be part of the Norwegian Province of Nidaros, with seate in the modern Trondheim. This arrangement was confirmed by Pope Anastasius IV in 1154. That year, King Stephen of England dies at Dover, and is succeeded by his adopted son Henry Plantagenet who becomes King Henry II of England, aged 21 and Sweden's King Eric introduces Christianity to Finland...
Norway controlled all these islands until 1266, when they were ceded to Scotland. The Isle of Man was detached from the Scottish islands and came under the suzerainty of the Kings of England in 1334. Thereafter it was held by feudal Lords of Man (the Stanleys, Earls of Derby, from 1406 to 1736 and the Dukes of Atholl from 1736.