The chronicle of the kings of Mann and the Isles, compiled by the monks of Rushen Abbey from the twelfth century onward. A Manx document, produced on Manx soil, preserving a Manx understanding of the past. The manuscript now sits in the British Library in London. There have been campaigns to bring it home. It has not come home yet.

The song sung by children on Hop-tu-Naa (31 October) as they carry carved turnips door to door. One of the oldest surviving calendar songs in the Celtic tradition, marking the last night of the old Manx year.

The Traditionary Ballad — sometimes called the Manannan Metrical History or the Manx Chronicle in Verse — is the oldest surviving piece of Manx historical verse. Composed in Manx Gaelic between 1504 and 1522, it was first translated into English by Joseph Train in 1845. The full Manx Gaelic text with literal English translation also appears in the Mona Miscellany (Manx Society Vol. XXI, 1873). The ballad records the tribute paid to Manannán: the rent each landholder paid was a bundle of coarse meadow grass yearly. It describes his protection of the Island: he would set a man standing on a hill to appear as if he were a hundred, "and thus did wild Mannanan protect that Island with all its booty." It names the two places the rushes were carried: South Barrule and Cronk y Voddy. The ballad then records Saint Patrick’s arrival and Manannán’s expulsion, the establishment of Christianity, the succession of bishops and kings, and the coming of the Stanley family. It preserves the ecclesiastical settlement: "for each four quarterlands he made a chapel, for people of them to meet in prayer." It is at once a political chronicle, a record of ancient tribute, and a statement of identity — the Island’s oldest surviving account of itself, in its own language.

Traditional Manx Christmas carols, sung in Manx Gaelic in the parish churches during the Christmas season. The carvals were composed by local poets and sung in the oie'll voirrey, the vigil service on Christmas Eve. They represent a distinctive Manx musical tradition that combined Christian devotion with vernacular poetry in the native language. The carval tradition was one of the cultural practices sustained by Wilson's church and diminished after the institutional supports were withdrawn.

The carved stone crosses from the Norse period are among the finest examples of Norse art in the British Isles. They combine Scandinavian artistic traditions with Christian imagery in a fusion that belongs to neither culture alone but to the Island's distinctive accommodation. The ring-chain patterns, the scenes from Norse mythology carved alongside Christian symbols, and the runic inscriptions represent a people expressing their faith through the artistic language they brought with them. The crosses at Kirk Andreas, Kirk Braddan, and Kirk Michael are the physical evidence of the accommodation working in stone.

Mary's Eve, the vigil service held on Christmas Eve in every parish church. The service was the occasion for the singing of the carvals, the Manx Christmas carols. Young men composed carvals and competed to perform them. The service lasted through the night, combining Christian worship with community gathering and creative expression in the Manx language. The tradition declined as English replaced Manx in the churches, but it represented something the institutional church had sustained: a living connection between faith, language, and community creativity.

The oldest surviving piece of Manx historical verse, copied down between 1504 and 1522 during the time of Thomas, second Earl of Derby. The ballad is composed in Manx Gaelic and was first translated into English by Joseph Train in 1845. Its full title in Manx is Mannanan Beg Mac y Leirr; ny, Slane Coontey jeh Ellan Vannin — "Little Mannanan Son of Leirr; or, A Full Account of the Isle of Man." The ballad opens with Manannán as first ruler of the Island and moves through the coming of Saint Patrick, the establishment of Christianity, the succession of kings and lords, and the arrival of the Stanley family. It is a people’s history, passed from voice to voice across the centuries, preserving memories that no written record kept. The Manannán verses are the earliest Manx-language source for the cloak of mist, the rush tribute, and South Barrule as Manannán’s stronghold. Verse 3 states it plainly: Manannan beg va Mac y Leirr, / Shen yn chied er ec row rieau ee — "Little Mannanan was son of Leirr; he was the first that ever had it." Verse 4 describes the mist: "It was not with his sword he kept it, neither with arrows or bow, but when he would see ships sailing, he would cover it round with a fog." Verse 5 adds the illusion of numbers: he would make a single man standing on a hill appear as if there were a hundred. Verse 6 records the rent: a bundle of coarse meadow grass from every landholder, paid yearly. Verse 7 names the destinations: some rushes went up to the great mountain above Barrule, and some to Mannanan above Keamool — South Barrule and Cronk y Voddy. The ballad also records the ecclesiastical settlement of the Island: "for each four quarterlands he made a chapel, for people of them to meet in prayer." It is at once a political history, a record of tribute, and a statement of identity — the Island’s oldest surviving account of itself.

The song sung during the Hunt the Wren procession on St Stephen's Day, 26 December. Carried from house to house by the wren boys as they process with the wren on a decorated pole. One of the oldest surviving folk songs in the British Isles, connected to the midwinter ritual of hunting the king of the birds.