Kingdom of Cornwall

Kingdom Of Cornwall

The history of Cornwall begins with the pre-Roman inhabitants, including speakers of a Celtic language that would develop into Brythonic and Cornish. Cornwall was part of the territory of the tribe of the Dumnonii which included modern-day Devon and parts of Somerset. After a period of Roman rule, Cornwall reverted to rule by independent Romano-British princes and continued to have a close relationship with Brittany, and Wales as well as southern Ireland which neighboured across the Celtic Sea. After the collapse of Dumnonia, the remaining territory of Cornwall came into conflict with neighbouring Wessex.

By the time of the Norman Conquest, Cornwall had fallen under the control of the Kingdom of England. In 1337, the title Duke of Cornwall was created by the English monarchy, to be held by the king's eldest son and heir. Cornwall, along with the neighbouring county of Devon, maintained Stannary institutions that granted some local control over its most important product, tin, but by the time of Henry VIII most vestiges of Cornish autonomy had been removed as England became an increasingly centralised state under the Tudors. Conflicts with the centre took place with the Cornish Rebellion of 1497 and Prayer Book Rebellion of 1549. By the 18th century, Cornwall was incorporated into the Kingdom of Great Britain along with the rest of England and the Cornish language had gone into steep decline. The industrial revolution brought huge change to Cornwall, as well as the adoption of methodism among the general populace, turning the area nonconformist. Decline of mining in Cornwall resulted in mass emigration overseas and the Cornish diaspora, as well as the start of the Celtic revival resulting in the beginnings of Cornish nationalism in the late 20th century.

Cornwall's Early Medieval history, in particular the early Welsh and Breton references to a Cornish 'king' named Arthur, have featured in such legendary works as Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, predating later Arthurian legend (see the list of legendary rulers of Cornwall).