Holiday Cottages Cornwall
          

A BRIEF HISTORY OF  CORNWALL


The history oif ancient Cornwall before the Romans arrived  is difficult to determine because of the scarcity  of  written sources and the difficulties analysing the other evidences of the past.
Cornwall is a land of legend and is of course associated with the legend of King Arthur. In pre Roman days Cornwall was for a time a  Celtic  lspeaking region and Cornish derived from this Celtic language and flourished until comparatively recently.  In the times
of Queen Elizabeth 1 around 1590 Cornish was very widely spoken and the last native speaker probably died in Queen Victorias reign. Cornish may also have been spoken in parts of Devon.  Roman remains have been found in a few places in Cornwall.
Before the Romans came, the tribe  named  the  Dumnoni ruled Cornwall and Devon but as time went by the Anglo Saxon kingdoms of England gradually took over Devon and Cornwall and back in these days many kings woiuld claim to rule in different parts of England when in fact for all practical purposes their were  local  leaders in power who wielded the real power.
It is hard to determine how much influence was exercised by the Romans in Cornwall  and how much of a presence they had and it is still unknown why the Romans had such large military forces permanently stationed in  Great Britain which was large when you consider the relative unimportance of the islands.


tintagel the ruinsOne of the most famous associations that Cornwall has is the link with the legend of king Arthur and  some think it is possible that King Arthur may have had a base in Cornwall , perhaps at Tintagel and that he fought against invaders of England who were settling in  Great Britain after the Roman withdrawal.
Tintagel -  the ruins


Before Roman times Cornwall was important as a tin producer with large reserves and was mined during the Bronze Age.
During the Iron Age the  ancient Britons with their celtic culture lived in Cornwall  and the first  recorded mention of the county in history was made by an historian  named Diodonus Siculus around the first century BC  who mentioned the production and exporting of tin.

After the Romans left the Dumnoni tribe ruled Devon and Cornwall and the part of the tribe that lived in Cornwall were called the Cornovi and the Anglo Saxon name for this area  was  Cornweal from which the county name is derived.
Around the time of King Harold  Cornwall had in theory  been taken over by the English Kingdom but it is not known how direct the rule was and what the true political position was at the time.
Cornwall was a Kingdom in the 6 th century AD.    The  Britons managed to defeat the Saxons  in 721 AD but were defeated in 838   AD.  

In 1336  the Black Prince was given the title The Duke Of Cornwall and much later during the English Civil War  Launceston town  was a base  for troops being very near to Devon and there was a battle at Launceston in 1643.
Of course Cornwall is a part of England and has developed a tourist industry and the county of cornwall has holiday cottage accommodation  in the 21 st century.