95-593: The Cornish Killas is a natural region covering most of the county of Cornwall in southwest England . It has been designated as National Character Area 152 by Natural England . Killas is a mining term for the sedimentary rocks of the Devon and Cornwall region. The Cornish Killas forms the main body of the Cornish landmass around the high granite moorlands such as Bodmin Moor and Hensbarrow . Much of central Cornwall
190-565: A folk music tradition that has survived into the present and is well known for its unusual folk survivals such as Mummers Plays , the Furry Dance in Helston played by the famous Helston Town Band , and Obby Oss in Padstow . Newlyn is home to a food and music festival that hosts live music, cooking demonstrations, and displays of locally caught fish. Dumnonia Dumnonia
285-575: A battle was fought between the " Welsh ", presumably those of Dumnonia, and the Anglo-Saxons. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle states: "We fought the Wealas (Cornish) and the Defnas (Devonians) at Gafulforda " (perhaps Galford in west Devon). However, there is no mention of who won or who lost. A further rebellion in 838, when the " West Welsh " were supported by Danish forces, was crushed by Egbert at
380-535: A cross argent'). According to legend Saint Piran adopted these colours from seeing the white tin in the black coals and ashes during his discovery of tin. The Cornish flag is an exact reverse of the former Breton black cross national flag and is known by the same name " Kroaz Du ". Since the 19th century, Cornwall, with its unspoilt maritime scenery and strong light, has sustained a vibrant visual art scene of international renown. Artistic activity within Cornwall
475-525: A first language in the late 18th century. In the 20th and 21st centuries, it has been revived by a small number of speakers. It is closely related to the other Brythonic languages ( Breton and Welsh ), and less so to the Goidelic languages . Cornish has no legal status in the UK. There has been a revival of the language by academics and optimistic enthusiasts since the mid-19th century that gained momentum from
570-708: A large part of the Cornwall National Landscape . The national landscape also includes Bodmin Moor , an upland outcrop of the Cornubian batholith granite formation. The county contains many short rivers; the longest is the Tamar , which forms the border with Devon. Cornwall had a minor Roman presence, and later formed part of the Brittonic kingdom of Dumnonia . From the 7th century, the Britons in
665-668: A large urban centre in south west Devon, is an important location for services such as hospitals, department stores, road and rail transport, and cultural venues, particularly for people living in east Cornwall. Cardiff and Swansea , across the Bristol Channel, have at some times in the past been connected to Cornwall by ferry, but these do not operate now. The Isles of Scilly are served by ferry (from Penzance) and by aeroplane, having its own airport: St Mary's Airport . There are regular flights between St Mary's and Land's End Airport , near St Just, and Newquay Airport ; during
760-680: A raid from the Tamar to Land's End, and the end of Cornish independence. However, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle states that in 825 (adjusted date) a battle took place between the Wealas (Cornish) and the Defnas (men of Devon) at Gafulforda . The Cornish giving battle here, and the later battle at Hingston Down, casts doubt on any claims of control Wessex had at this stage. In 838, the Cornish and their Danish allies were defeated by Egbert in
855-628: A result, in 2005 its promoters received limited government funding. Several words originating in Cornish are used in the mining terminology of English, such as costean , gossan , gunnies , kibbal, kieve and vug . The Cornish language and culture influenced the emergence of particular pronunciations and grammar not used elsewhere in England. The Cornish dialect is spoken to varying degrees; however, someone speaking in broad Cornish may be practically unintelligible to one not accustomed to it. Cornish dialect has generally declined, as in most places it
950-551: A very infertile soil which covers the flat and marshy heaths of the interior of the peninsula. This is home to rare plants, such as the Cornish Heath , which has been adopted as the county flower . Cornwall's only city, and the home of the council headquarters , is Truro. Nearby Falmouth is notable as a port. St Just in Penwith is the westernmost town in England, though the same claim has been made for Penzance , which
1045-607: A victory by the British in Cornwall at Hehil . By about 755, the territory of the " Defnas " was coming under significant pressure from the Saxon army. The campaigns of Egbert of Wessex in Devon between 813 and 822 probably signalled the conquest of insular Dumnonia leaving a rump state in what is today called Cornwall, known at the time as Cerniu , Cernyw , or Kernow , and to the Anglo-Saxons as Cornwall or " West Wales ". In 825
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#17327731083111140-611: Is a gently undulating, slate plateau with little woodland and few hedgerow trees, dissected by a complex pattern of valleys. In places there is little woody vegetation apart from scrub-covered stone hedges dominating the farmland. By contrast, the coastline is richly varied, with rugged, windswept cliffs separating broad, sandy bays. The area is rich in important archaeological and former industrial sites. Evidence of Neolithic and Bronze Age farming settlements abounds, with their round-houses , stone wall field enclosures and meadows bordering upland grazing pastures. Hillforts emerged during
1235-403: Is by F. H. Davey Flora of Cornwall (1909). Davey was assisted by A. O. Hume and he thanks Hume, his companion on excursions in Cornwall and Devon, and for help in the compilation of that Flora, publication of which was financed by him. Cornwall has a temperate Oceanic climate ( Köppen climate classification : Cfb ), with mild winters and cool summers. Cornwall has the mildest and one of
1330-594: Is documented in a dedicated online journal. Local television programmes are provided by BBC South West & ITV West Country . Radio programmes are produced by BBC Radio Cornwall in Truro for the entire county, Heart West , Source FM for the Falmouth and Penryn areas, Coast FM for west Cornwall, Radio St Austell Bay for the St Austell area, NCB Radio for north Cornwall & Pirate FM . Cornwall has
1425-555: Is evidence, based on an entry in the Ravenna Cosmography , that there may have been a sub-tribe in the western part of the territory known as the Cornovii from whose name the first element of the present-day name of Cornwall is probably derived. Following a period of emigration from south-western Britain to north-western Gaul ( Armorica ) in the 5th and 6th centuries, a sister kingdom ( Domnonée in modern French ),
1520-426: Is larger. St Ives and Padstow are today small vessel ports with a major tourism and leisure sector in their economies. Newquay on the north coast is another major urban settlement which is known for its beaches and is a popular surfing destination, as is Bude further north, but Newquay is now also becoming important for its aviation-related industries. Camborne is the county's largest town and more populous than
1615-416: Is now little more than a regional accent and grammatical differences have been eroded over time. Marked differences in vocabulary and usage still exist between the eastern and western parts of Cornwall. Saint Piran 's Flag is the national flag and ancient banner of Cornwall, and an emblem of the Cornish people. The banner of Saint Piran is a white cross on a black background (in terms of heraldry 'sable,
1710-637: Is recognised by Cornish and Celtic political groups as one of the Celtic nations , and is the homeland of the Cornish people . The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, Devon to the east, and the English Channel to the south. The largest urban area in the county is a conurbation that includes the former mining towns of Redruth and Camborne , and the county town
1805-622: Is sometimes encountered, but that spelling is also used for the land of the Damnonii , later part of the Kingdom of Strathclyde , in present-day southern Scotland . The form Domnonia also occurs. The name of the kingdom shares a linguistic relationship with the Breton region of Domnonée ( Breton : Domnonea ). The kingdom is named after the Dumnonii , a British Celtic tribe living in
1900-611: Is the Latinised name for a Brythonic kingdom that existed in Sub-Roman Britain between the late 4th and late 8th centuries CE in the more westerly parts of present-day South West England . It was centred in the area of modern Devon , but also included modern Cornwall and part of Somerset , with its eastern boundary changing over time as the gradual westward expansion of the neighbouring Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex encroached on its territory. The spelling Damnonia
1995-561: Is the city of Truro . The county is rural, with an area of 1,375 square miles (3,562 km ) and population of 568,210. Outside of the Redruth-Camborne conurbation the largest settlements are Falmouth , Penzance , Newquay , St Austell , and Truro. For local government purposes most of Cornwall is a unitary authority area, with the Isles of Scilly having a unique local authority . The Cornish nationalist movement disputes
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#17327731083112090-534: The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 891 as On Corn walum . In the Domesday Book it was referred to as Cornualia and in c. 1198 as Cornwal . Other names for the county include a latinisation of the name as Cornubia (first appears in a mid-9th-century deed purporting to be a copy of one dating from c. 705), and as Cornugallia in 1086. Cornwall forms the tip of the south-west peninsula of
2185-746: The Annales Cambriae , Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , William of Malmesbury 's Gesta Regum Anglorum and De Antiquitate Glastoniensis Ecclesiae , along with texts from the Black Book of Carmarthen and the Red Book of Hergest , and Bede 's Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum as well as "The Descent of the Men of the North" ( Bonedd Gwŷr y Gogledd , in Peniarth MS 45 and elsewhere) and
2280-666: The Book of Baglan . In 577 Ceawlin of Wessex 's victory at the Battle of Deorham caused the Britons of Dumnonia to be cut off by land from their Welsh allies, but since sea travel was not difficult this may not have been a severe loss. Clemen is thought to have been king when the Britons fought the Battle of Beandun in 614. This is most likely to have been at Bindon near Axmouth in Devon. Bampton, Oxfordshire has also been proposed as
2375-653: The A30 which connects Cornwall to the M5 motorway at Exeter , crosses the border south of Launceston , crosses Bodmin Moor and connects Bodmin, Truro, Redruth, Camborne, Hayle and Penzance. Torpoint Ferry links Plymouth with Torpoint on the opposite side of the Hamoaze . A rail bridge, the Royal Albert Bridge built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1859), provides the other main land transport link. The city of Plymouth,
2470-482: The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle into Latin, known as the Chronicon Æthelweardi , describes Cenwalh of Wessex fighting a battle at Posentesburh . Though it appears from the context that this is a battle against Wulfhere of Mercia (which he may have lost), if Posentesburh is identified with Posbury , near Crediton , Devon, then some conflict with the Britons can be postulated. In Willibald 's Life of Saint Boniface
2565-795: The Atlantic Bronze Age system, and which extended over most of the areas of present-day Ireland, England, Wales, France, Spain, and Portugal. During the British Iron Age , Cornwall, like all of Britain (modern England, Scotland, Wales, and the Isle of Man), was inhabited by a Celtic-speaking people known as the Britons with distinctive cultural relations to neighbouring Brittany . The Common Brittonic spoken at this time eventually developed into several distinct tongues, including Cornish , Welsh , Breton , Cumbric and Pictish . The first written account of Cornwall comes from
2660-459: The Battle of Hingston Down at Hengestesdune. In 875, the last recorded king of Cornwall, Dumgarth , is said to have drowned. Around the 880s, Anglo-Saxons from Wessex had established modest land holdings in the north eastern part of Cornwall; notably Alfred the Great who had acquired a few estates. William of Malmesbury , writing around 1120, says that King Athelstan of England (924–939) fixed
2755-733: The Bodmin Manumissions . One interpretation of the Domesday Book is that by this time the native Cornish landowning class had been almost completely dispossessed and replaced by English landowners, particularly Harold Godwinson himself. However, the Bodmin manumissions show that two leading Cornish figures nominally had Saxon names, but these were both glossed with native Cornish names. In 1068, Brian of Brittany may have been created Earl of Cornwall , and naming evidence cited by medievalist Edith Ditmas suggests that many other post-Conquest landowners in Cornwall were Breton allies of
2850-542: The Celtic Sea , part of the Atlantic Ocean, is more exposed and therefore has a wilder nature. The High Cliff , between Boscastle and St Gennys , is the highest sheer-drop cliff in Cornwall at 223 metres (732 ft). Beaches, which form an important part of the tourist industry, include Bude , Polzeath , Watergate Bay , Perranporth , Porthtowan , Fistral Beach , Newquay , St Agnes , St Ives , and on
2945-486: The Channel . There is textual and archaeological evidence that districts such as Trigg were used as marshalling points for "war hosts" from across the region. Although subjugated by about 78 CE, the local population could have retained strong local control, and Dumnonia may have been self-governed under Roman rule. Geoffrey of Monmouth stated that the ruler of Dumnonia, perhaps about the period c. 290 – c. 305,
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3040-565: The Cornish language , Cornwall is Kernow which stems from the same Proto-Celtic root. Humans reoccupied Britain after the last Ice Age . The area now known as Cornwall was first inhabited in the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods. It continued to be occupied by Neolithic and then by Bronze Age people. Cornwall in the Late Bronze Age formed part of a maritime trading-networked culture which researchers have dubbed
3135-478: The Dumnonii often came into conflict with the expanding English kingdom of Wessex . Centwine of Wessex "drove the Britons as far as the sea" in 682, and by 690 St Bonifice , then a Saxon boy, was attending an abbey in Exeter, which was in turn ruled by a Saxon abbot. The Carmen Rhythmicum written by Aldhelm contains the earliest literary reference to Cornwall as distinct from Devon. Religious tensions between
3230-460: The Dumnonii , three of which may have been in Cornwall. However, after 410 AD, Cornwall appears to have reverted to rule by Romano-Celtic chieftains of the Cornovii tribe as part of the Brittonic kingdom of Dumnonia (which also included present-day Devonshire and the Scilly Isles), including the territory of one Marcus Cunomorus , with at least one significant power base at Tintagel in
3325-532: The Industrial Revolution , the tin and copper mines were expanded and then declined, with china clay extraction becoming a major industry. Railways were built, leading to a growth of tourism in the 20th century. The Cornish language became extinct as a living community language at the end of the 18th century , but is now being revived. The modern English name "Cornwall" is a compound of two terms coming from two different language groups: In
3420-618: The River Axe in Dorset, judging by the coin distributions of the Dobunni and Durotriges . In the Roman period there was a provincial boundary between the area governed from Exeter and those governed from Dorchester and Ilchester . Julius Caesar 's Commentarii de Bello Gallico , Book III notes the close trading and military relationship between the continental Veneti of Armorica and
3515-457: The River Looe are both popular with tourists. The interior of the county consists of a roughly east–west spine of infertile and exposed upland, with a series of granite intrusions, such as Bodmin Moor , which contains the highest land within Cornwall. From east to west, and with approximately descending altitude, these are Bodmin Moor, Hensbarrow north of St Austell , Carnmenellis to
3610-478: The Romano-British period. As in other Brythonic areas, Iron Age hillforts , such as Hembury and Cadbury Castle , were refortified in post-Roman times for the use of chieftains or kings, and other high-status settlements such as Tintagel seem to have been reconstructed during the period. Local archaeology has revealed that the isolated enclosed farmsteads known locally as rounds seem to have survived
3705-581: The See of Canterbury in the mid-9th century. Parish organisation was a later development of fully Normanised times . Around 55 CE, the Romans established a legionary fortress at Isca Dumnoniorum , modern Exeter, but west of Exeter the area remained largely un-Romanised. Most of Dumnonia is notable for its lack of a villa system – though there were substantial numbers south of Bath and around Ilchester –, and for its many settlements that have survived from
3800-514: The West Saxon advance, to Lis-Cerruyt (modern Liskeard ). Cornish earls in the 10th century were said to have moved to Lostwithiel after Liskeard was seized. It has been suggested that the rulers of Dumnonia were itinerant, stopping at various royal residences, such as Tintagel and Cadbury Castle, at different times of the year, and possibly simultaneously holding lands in Brittany across
3895-422: The battle of Hingston Down . The Cornish bishop of Bodmin acknowledged the authority of Canterbury in 870 and the last-known Cornish king, Donyarth , died in 875. By the 880s Wessex had gained control of at least part of Cornwall, where Alfred the Great had estates. In about 936, according to William of Malmesbury writing around 1120, Athelstan evicted the Britons from Exeter and the rest of Devon, and set
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3990-577: The constitutional status of Cornwall and seeks greater autonomy within the United Kingdom. Cornwall is the westernmost part of the South West Peninsula , and the southernmost county within the United Kingdom. Its coastline is characterised by steep cliffs and, to the south, several rias , including those at the mouths of the rivers Fal and Fowey . It includes the southernmost point on Great Britain , Lizard Point , and forms
4085-481: The sub-Roman Westcountry , South Wales, Brittany, the Channel Islands, and Ireland through the fifth and sixth centuries. In Cornwall, the arrival of Celtic saints such as Nectan , Paul Aurelian, Petroc , Piran , Samson and numerous others reinforced the preexisting Roman Christianity. The Battle of Deorham in 577 saw the separation of Dumnonia (and therefore Cornwall) from Wales, following which
4180-460: The "Cornish Riviera", is more sheltered and there are several broad estuaries offering safe anchorages, such as at Falmouth and Fowey . Beaches on the south coast usually consist of coarser sand and shingle, interspersed with rocky sections of wave-cut platform . Also on the south coast, the picturesque fishing village of Polperro , at the mouth of the Pol River, and the fishing port of Looe on
4275-424: The 1st-century BC Sicilian Greek historian Diodorus Siculus , supposedly quoting or paraphrasing the 4th-century BCE geographer Pytheas , who had sailed to Britain: The inhabitants of that part of Britain called Belerion (or Land's End) from their intercourse with foreign merchants, are civilized in their manner of life. They prepare the tin , working very carefully the earth in which it is produced ... Here then
4370-551: The AHS Heat Zone 1. Extreme temperatures in Cornwall are particularly rare; however, extreme weather in the form of storms and floods is common. Due to climate change Cornwall faces more heatwaves and severe droughts, faster coastal erosion, stronger storms and higher wind speeds as well as the possibility of more high-impact flooding. Cornish, a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic language family , died out as
4465-565: The Armorican peninsula is assumed to owe its name to descendants originating in insular Cornwall. The territories of the ancient Cornouaille region coincide mostly with the southern part of the French departement of the Finistère , and some of its territorial lands are included in the departements of Côtes d'Armor and Morbihan . At least part of the original territory associated with
4560-563: The Bronze Age and "rounds" existed into the early Medieval period. By the 18th century the landscape was being dramatically changed by mining for tin, copper and china clay and quarrying for granite. Cornwall Cornwall ( / ˈ k ɔːr n w ɔː l , - w əl / ; Cornish : Kernow ; Cornish pronunciation: [ˈkɛrnɔʊ] ; or [ˈkɛrnɔ] ) is a ceremonial county in South West England . It
4655-785: The Dartmoor area). The stannary courts administered equity for the region's tin-miners and tin mining interests, and they were also courts of record for the towns dependent on the mines. The separate and powerful government institutions available to the tin miners reflected the enormous importance of the tin industry to the English economy during the Middle Ages. Special laws for tin miners pre-date written legal codes in Britain, and ancient traditions exempted everyone connected with tin mining in Cornwall and Devon from any jurisdiction other than
4750-623: The Dumnonians (who celebrated celtic Christian traditions) and Wessex (who were Roman Catholic ) are described in Aldhelm's letter to King Geraint . The Annales Cambriae report that in AD 722 the Britons of Cornwall won a battle at "Hehil" . It seems likely that the enemy the Cornish fought was a West Saxon force, as evidenced by the naming of King Ine of Wessex and his kinsman Nonna in reference to an earlier Battle of Llongborth in 710. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle stated in 815 (adjusted date) "and in this year king Ecgbryht raided in Cornwall from east to west." this has been interpreted to mean
4845-495: The Dumnonii was tin mining , the tin having been exported since ancient times from the port of Ictis ( St Michael's Mount or Mount Batten ). Tin working continued throughout Roman occupation and appears to have reached a peak during the 3rd century CE. The area maintained trade links with Gaul and the Mediterranean after the Roman withdrawal, and it is likely that tin played an important part in this trade. Post-Roman imported pottery has been excavated from many sites across
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#17327731083114940-400: The Lizard peninsula is unusual, in that it is mainland Britain's only example of an ophiolite , a section of oceanic crust now found on land. Much of the peninsula consists of the dark green and red Precambrian serpentinite , which forms spectacular cliffs, notably at Kynance Cove , and carved and polished serpentine ornaments are sold in local gift shops. This ultramafic rock also forms
5035-428: The Normans, the Bretons being descended from Britons who had fled to what is today Brittany during the early years of the Anglo-Saxon conquest. She also proposed this period for the early composition of the Tristan and Iseult cycle by poets such as Béroul from a pre-existing shared Brittonic oral tradition. Soon after the Norman conquest most of the land was transferred to the new Breton–Norman aristocracy, with
5130-452: The Phoenicians sailed to Cornwall. In fact, he says quite the opposite: the production of Cornish tin was in the hands of the natives of Cornwall, and its transport to the Mediterranean was organized by local merchants, by sea and then overland through France, passing through areas well outside Phoenician control." Isotopic evidence suggests that tin ingots found off the coast of Haifa , Israel , may have been from Cornwall. Tin, required for
5225-458: The Roman departure from Britain; but they were subsequently replaced, in the 6th and 7th centuries, by unenclosed farms taking the Brythonic toponymic tre(f)- . Exeter, called Caer Uisc in Brythonic, was later the site of an important Saxon minster , but was still partially inhabited by Dumnonian Britons until the 10th century when Æthelstan expelled them. By the mid-9th century, the royal seat may have been relocated further west, during
5320-440: The Roman road system extended into Cornwall with four significant Roman sites based on forts: Tregear near Nanstallon was discovered in the early 1970s, two others were found at Restormel Castle , Lostwithiel in 2007, and a third fort near Calstock was also discovered early in 2007. In addition, a Roman-style villa was found at Magor Farm , Illogan in 1935. Ptolemy 's Geographike Hyphegesis mentions four towns controlled by
5415-424: The South West increasingly came into conflict with the expanding Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex , eventually being pushed west of the Tamar; by the Norman Conquest Cornwall was administered as part of England, though it retained its own culture. The remainder of the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period were relatively settled, with Cornwall developing its tin mining industry and becoming a duchy in 1337. During
5510-419: The St Austell area on 1 April 2009 St Austell was the largest settlement in Cornwall. Cornwall borders the county of Devon at the River Tamar. Major roads between Cornwall and the rest of Great Britain are the A38 which crosses the Tamar at Plymouth via the Tamar Bridge and the town of Saltash , the A39 road (Atlantic Highway) from Barnstaple , passing through North Cornwall to end in Falmouth, and
5605-424: The area became known to the English of neighbouring Wessex as the kingdom of West Wales , and its inhabitants were also known to them as Defnas (i.e. men of Dumnonia). In Welsh , and similarly in the Southwestern Brythonic languages , it was Dyfneint and this is the form which survives today in the name of the county of Devon (Modern Welsh : Dyfnaint , Cornish : Dewnans , Breton : Devnent ). There
5700-486: The arrival of the Saxon invaders in the 7th century, almost entirely due to the large-scale migration of Britons from greater Dumnonia to Armorica at the end of the Roman occupation. J.B. Gover wrote in 1931 that by the middle of the seventh century Devon was a sparsely settled Celtic kingdom due to large-scale emigration to Armorica a century and more earlier, and that once the resistance of its kings had been broken down no considerable native population remained to complicate
5795-496: The boundary between English and Cornish people at the east bank of the River Tamar . While elements of William's story, like the burning of Exeter , have been cast in doubt by recent writers Athelstan did re-establish a separate Cornish Bishop and relations between Wessex and the Cornish elite improved from the time of his rule. Eventually King Edgar was able to issue charters the width of Cornwall, and frequently sent emissaries or visited personally as seen by his appearances in
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#17327731083115890-499: The children of Brychan and saints from Ireland, like Saint Piran ; and Wales, like Saint Petroc or Saint Keyne . There were important monasteries at Bodmin and Glastonbury ; and also Exeter where 5th-century burials discovered near the cathedral probably represent the cemetery of the foundation attended by Saint Boniface (although whether this was Saxon or Brythonic is somewhat controversial). Sporadically, Cornish bishops are named in various records until they submitted to
5985-442: The coast and are also rare in the central upland areas. Summers are, however, not as warm as in other parts of southern England. The surrounding sea and its southwesterly position mean that Cornwall's weather can be relatively changeable. Cornwall is one of the sunniest areas in the UK. It has more than 1,541 hours of sunshine per year, with the highest average of 7.6 hours of sunshine per day in July. The moist, mild air coming from
6080-424: The county town Truro. Together with the neighbouring town of Redruth , it forms the largest urban area in Cornwall, and both towns were significant as centres of the global tin mining industry in the 19th century; nearby copper mines were also very productive during that period. St Austell is also larger than Truro and was the centre of the china clay industry in Cornwall. Until four new parishes were created for
6175-586: The early 6th century. King Mark of Cornwall is a semi-historical figure known from Welsh literature, from the Matter of Britain , and, in particular, from the later Norman-Breton medieval romance of Tristan and Yseult , where he appears as a close relative of King Arthur , himself usually considered to be born of the Cornish people in folklore traditions derived from Geoffrey of Monmouth 's 12th-century Historia Regum Britanniae . Archaeology supports ecclesiastical, literary and legendary evidence for some relative economic stability and close cultural ties between
6270-449: The east bank of the River Tamar as Cornwall's border. Although the chronology of Wessex expansion into all of Dumnonia is unclear, Devon had long been absorbed into England by the reign of Edward the Confessor . The early-12th-century Gesta Herewardi gives the King of Cornwall just before the Norman Conquest as a man named Alef. Two waves of migrations took place to Armorica ( Brittany ) from Dumnonia. Some histories propose
6365-408: The head of Examchester monastery, which can be identified with Exeter, Devon, has a Germanic name (Wulfhard) during the time Boniface studied there. Boniface self-identifies as Anglo-Saxon by birth (using Anglorum in his letter to the English people) and therefore Exeter may have been under West Saxon control at this time, that is, the late 7th century. At this time Dumnonia was sufficiently part of
6460-489: The island of Great Britain , and is therefore exposed to the full force of the prevailing winds that blow in from the Atlantic Ocean. The coastline is composed mainly of resistant rocks that give rise in many places to tall cliffs. Cornwall has a border with only one other county, Devon , which is formed almost entirely by the River Tamar , and the remainder (to the north) by the Marsland Valley . The north and south coasts have different characteristics. The north coast on
6555-417: The known world for Aldhelm , later bishop of Sherborne , to address a letter around 705, to its king Geraint regarding the date of Easter. In 682 Wessex forces "advanced as far as the sea", but it is unclear where this was. In 705 a bishopric was set up in Sherborne for the Saxon area west of Selwood . In 710 Geraint was defeated in battle by King Ine of Wessex, but in 722 the Annales Cambriae claim
6650-503: The late 19th century this siege has not been considered a historical fact. Around 652 Cenwalh of Wessex made a breakthrough against the Dumnonian defensive lines at the battle of Bradford-upon-Avon . The West Saxon victory at the Battle of Peonnum (possibly modern Penselwood in east Somerset), around 658, resulted in the Saxons capturing "as far as the Parrett" and the eastern part of Dumnonia being permanently annexed by Wessex. The entry for 661 in Æthelweard 's translation of
6745-401: The life of the new settlers. The relationship between the new Saxon overlords and the remaining indigenous Britons appears to have been peaceable and many Celtic place-names survive in the county, although not to the extent of that of the neighbouring sub-tribe, the Cornovii , who became modern-day Cornwall. The pre-medieval region of Cornouaille (Breton: Kernev ) in the Brittany region of
6840-401: The lion's share going to Robert, Count of Mortain , half-brother of King William and the largest landholder in England after the king with his stronghold at Trematon Castle near the mouth of the Tamar. Subsequently, however, Norman absentee landlords became replaced by a new Cornish-Norman ruling class including scholars such as Richard Rufus of Cornwall . These families eventually became
6935-509: The merchants buy the tin from the natives and carry it over to Gaul , and after traveling overland for about thirty days, they finally bring their loads on horses to the mouth of the Rhône. The identity of these merchants is unknown. It has been theorized that they were Phoenicians , but there is no evidence for this. Professor Timothy Champion, discussing Diodorus Siculus's comments on the tin trade, states that "Diodorus never actually says that
7030-586: The most important mining areas in Europe until the early 20th century. It is thought tin was mined here as early as the Bronze Age , and copper, lead, zinc and silver have all been mined in Cornwall . Alteration of the granite also gave rise to extensive deposits of China Clay , especially in the area to the north of St Austell, and the extraction of this remains an important industry. The uplands are surrounded by more fertile, mainly pastoral farmland. Near
7125-692: The new rulers of Cornwall, typically speaking Norman French , Breton-Cornish, Latin , and eventually English, with many becoming involved in the operation of the Stannary Parliament system, the Earldom and eventually the Duchy of Cornwall . The Cornish language continued to be spoken and acquired a number of characteristics establishing its identity as a separate language from Breton . The stannary parliaments and stannary courts were legislative and legal institutions in Cornwall and in Devon (in
7220-446: The pre-medieval Breton kingdom of Domnonea , coincides with the modern French department of Côtes-d'Armor. There is debate about the location of Arthur's supposed great victory at the Battle of Mount Badon , where the Britons fought off Anglo-Saxons. Most historians believe this battle, if it was historical, was fought outside the territory, at Bath , for instance. Geoffrey of Monmouth claimed that Arthur's final Battle of Camlann
7315-453: The production of bronze , was a relatively rare and precious commodity in the Bronze Age – hence the interest shown in Devon and Cornwall's tin resources. (For further discussion of tin mining see the section on the economy below .) In the first four centuries AD, during the time of Roman dominance in Britain , Cornwall was rather remote from the main centres of Romanization – the nearest being Isca Dumnoniorum , modern-day Exeter . However,
7410-550: The publication in 1904 of Henry Jenner 's Handbook of the Cornish Language . It is a social networking community language rather than a social community group language. Cornwall Council encourages and facilitates language classes within the county, in schools and within the wider community. In 2002, Cornish was named as a UK regional language in the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages . As
7505-595: The region. An apparent surge in late-5th-century Mediterranean imports is thought to be related to the trade in metals from Cornwall and Wales to the Byzantine Empire . Christianity seems to have survived in Dumnonia after the Roman departure from Britain , with a number of late Roman Christian cemeteries extending into the post-Roman period. In the 5th and 6th centuries the area was allegedly evangelised by
7600-784: The sculptor Barbara Hepworth , at the outbreak of the Second World War . They were later joined by the Russian emigrant Naum Gabo , and other artists. These included Peter Lanyon , Terry Frost , Patrick Heron , Bryan Wynter and Roger Hilton . St Ives also houses the Leach Pottery, where Bernard Leach , and his followers championed Japanese inspired studio pottery. Much of this modernist work can be seen in Tate St Ives . The Newlyn Society and Penwith Society of Arts continue to be active, and contemporary visual art
7695-532: The site, but the claim lacks evidence. According to the Flores Historiarum , attributed incorrectly to Matthew of Westminster , the Britons were still in possession of Exeter in 632, when it was bravely defended against Penda of Mercia until relieved by Cadwallon , who engaged and, according to Geoffrey of Monmouth, defeated the Mercians with "great slaughter to their troops". However, since
7790-584: The south coast Gyllyngvase beach in Falmouth and the large beach at Praa Sands further to the south-west. There are two river estuaries on the north coast: Hayle Estuary and the estuary of the River Camel , which provides Padstow and Rock with a safe harbour. The seaside town of Newlyn is a popular holiday destination, as it is one of the last remaining traditional Cornish fishing ports, with views reaching over Mount's Bay. The south coast, dubbed
7885-493: The south coast, deep wooded valleys provide sheltered conditions for flora that like shade and a moist, mild climate. These areas lie mainly on Devonian sandstone and slate . The north east of Cornwall lies on Carboniferous rocks known as the Culm Measures . In places these have been subjected to severe folding, as can be seen on the north coast near Crackington Haven and in several other locations. The geology of
7980-568: The south of Camborne , and the Penwith or Land's End peninsula. These intrusions are the central part of the granite outcrops that form the exposed parts of the Cornubian batholith of south-west Britain, which also includes Dartmoor to the east in Devon and the Isles of Scilly to the west, the latter now being partially submerged. The intrusion of the granite into the surrounding sedimentary rocks gave rise to extensive metamorphism and mineralisation , and this led to Cornwall being one of
8075-579: The south-east of Britain. The people of Dumnonia would have spoken a Brythonic dialect , the ancestor of modern Cornish and Breton . Irish immigrants, the Déisi , are evidenced by the inscribed stones they have left behind—sometimes written in Ogham , sometimes in Latin, sometimes in both, confirmed and supplemented by place-name studies . Apart from fishing and agriculture , the main economic resource of
8170-568: The south-west at the time of the Roman invasion of Britain , according to Ptolemy 's Geography . Variants of the name Dumnonia include Domnonia and Damnonia , the latter being used by Gildas in the 6th century as a pun on "damnation" to deprecate the area's contemporary ruler Constantine . The name etymologically originates from Proto-Celtic *dubno- '( adjective ) deep; ( noun ) world'. Groups with similar names existed in Scotland ( Damnonii ) and Ireland ( Fir Domnann ). Later,
8265-425: The south-western insular British. In the post Roman period the kingdom of Dumnonia covered Cornwall, Devon and parts of west Somerset. It had close cultural and religious links with Brittany, Wales and Ireland. The cultural connections of the pre-Roman Dumnonii, as expressed in their ceramics, are thought to have been with the peninsula of Armorica across the Channel , and with Wales and Ireland, rather than with
8360-541: The southwest brings higher amounts of rainfall than in eastern Great Britain, at 1,051 to 1,290 mm (41.4 to 50.8 in) per year. However, this is not as much as in more northern areas of the west coast. The Isles of Scilly, for example, where there are on average fewer than two days of air frost per year, is the only area in the UK to be in the Hardiness zone 10. The islands have, on average, less than one day of air temperature exceeding 30 °C per year and are in
8455-609: The stannary courts in all but the most exceptional circumstances. Cornish piracy was active during the Elizabethan era on the west coast of Britain. Cornwall is well known for its wreckers who preyed on ships passing Cornwall's rocky coastline. During the 17th and 18th centuries Cornwall was a major smuggling area. In later times, Cornwall was known to the Anglo-Saxons as "West Wales" to distinguish it from "North Wales" (the modern nation of Wales ). The name appears in
8550-500: The summer season, a service is also provided between St Mary's and Exeter Airport , in Devon. Cornwall has varied habitats including terrestrial and marine ecosystems. One noted species in decline locally is the Reindeer lichen , which species has been made a priority for protection under the national UK Biodiversity Action Plan . Botanists divide Cornwall and Scilly into two vice-counties: West (1) and East (2). The standard flora
8645-480: The sunniest climates of the United Kingdom, as a result of its oceanic setting and the influence of the Gulf Stream . The average annual temperature in Cornwall ranges from 11.6 °C (52.9 °F) on the Isles of Scilly to 9.8 °C (49.6 °F) in the central uplands. Winters are among the warmest in the country due to the moderating effects of the warm ocean currents, and frost and snow are very rare at
8740-714: The theory that this may have resulted in rulers who exercised kingship in both Brittany and Dumnonia, explaining those occurrences of the same names of rulers in both territories. There are also numerous correspondences of Insular Celtic saints, and place names and a close linguistic relationship between Cornish ( Kernowek ) and Breton ( Brezhoneg ). However, the Breton regions of Kernev / Cornouaille (Cornwall) and Domnonée (Devon) have well-established histories including entirely separate rulers from Dumnonia in Britain (see Duchy of Brittany ). While Cornwall retained its language and culture, Devon's had significantly diminished by
8835-635: Was Caradocus . If not an entirely legendary figure, Caradocus would not have been a king in the true sense but may have held a powerful office within the Roman administration. The post-Roman history of Dumnonia comes from a variety of sources and is considered exceedingly difficult to interpret given that historical fact, legend and confused pseudo-history are compounded by a variety of sources in Middle Welsh and Latin . The main sources available for discussion of this period include Gildas 's De Excidio Britanniae and Nennius 's Historia Brittonum ,
8930-607: Was established on the north-facing Atlantic coast of the continent in the region that was to become known as Brittany . Historian Barbara Yorke has speculated that the Dumnonii may have seen the end of the Roman empire as an opportunity to establish control in new areas. Before the arrival of the Romans, the Dumnonii seem to have inhabited the south-west peninsula of Britain as far east as the River Parrett in Somerset and
9025-491: Was initially centred on the art-colony of Newlyn , most active at the turn of the 20th century. This Newlyn School is associated with the names of Stanhope Forbes , Elizabeth Forbes , Norman Garstin and Lamorna Birch . Modernist writers such as D. H. Lawrence and Virginia Woolf lived in Cornwall between the wars, and Ben Nicholson , the painter, having visited in the 1920s came to live in St Ives with his then wife,
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