Early Medieval Cornwall:410-1066 AD

Early medieval Cornwall would prove to be one of the last bastions of Celtic Britain. Here the culture of the native Britons survived and even thrived for a time. Old stories tell us that it was here, at this time, that tales of such characters as King Arthur, King Mark of Cornwall, Tristan and Iseult took shape. Were they just myths or were they dimly recalled reflections of a real Cornish history? And how exactly did the Celtic Cornish eventually become subject to the English kings?

This is the story of how the old, post-Roman, Kingdom of Dumnonia fragmented and eventually fell. And of how medieval Cornwall ultimately arose from its remnants. A tale of how English kings came to rule Cornwall. And yet it is also the story of how, despite all this, the Cornish managed to preserve their own distinct cultural identity.

Old Dumnonia

When the Romans departed British shores in 410 AD they left behind an old Roman province known as Dumnonia in the southwest of Britain. These were the lands of a people the Romans called the Dumnonii, and their homeland encompassed Cornwall, Devon, parts of Somerset and, possibly, parts of Dorset.

Map of old Cornwall called Dumnonia — *Approximate borders of Dumnonia c.410 AD*

All the Dumnonii were native Britons who spoke a Brythonic language from which Cornish and Breton eventually derived. In the far southwest of the Dumnonii lands lived a sub-tribe, referred to as the Cornovii. The name ‘Cornovii’ may have meant something like ‘people of the horn’, since Cornwall is a horn shaped peninsula on the far southwestern tip of Britain.

During Roman times, the region had largely been left to its own devices. The Romans were happy to let the locals see to their own affairs, as long as they continued to supply the empire with tin. This arrangement suited both well. The Romans administered the region from Isca Dumnoniorum (Exeter) and never bothered establishing significant Roman settlements further west.

And so, when the Romans left, they left behind a people who’d experienced relatively little Romanisation. Most of the Dumnonii in 410 belonged to a culture and a way of life that had changed only slowly since pre-Roman times.

Change and Transformation

What happened next is poorly understood. Indeed, this is why this period in British history is often referred to as the Dark Ages. The next few centuries saw a significant migration of Germanic peoples (Angles, Saxons and Jutes). In the east of England these peoples began to supplant the native British culture with a new Anglo-Saxon one. And, in time, the Anglo-Saxons began to extend their influence westward.

Records of how exactly this happened are very sketchy. Indeed, we have painfully few records of what happened in the early part of this period. The earliest written account of any significance comes from a British monk called Gildas, writing at around the middle of the 6^th century. That’s a full century and a half after the Romans departed.

Our understanding of post-Roman Britain, only starts coming into sharper focus with sources like the Venerable Bede, writing in the late 7^th century. But, for the 5^th and 6^th century, we have a dearth of sources of any note aside from Gildas.

A 5^th Century Apocalypse

Gildas’ history claims that the old Romano-British world experienced an apocalyptic collapse in the mid-5^th century. A wave of Saxon invaders arrived in Kent and swept across the land, driving the native Britons westward. Burning and pillaging as they went, Gildas’ account of the fate of the Britons makes for grim reading:

“Some of the wretched remnant were consequently captured on the mountains and killed in heaps. Others, overcome by hunger, came and yielded themselves to the enemies, to be their slaves for ever, if they were not instantly slain, which was equivalent to the highest service. Others repaired to parts beyond the sea, with strong lamentation.”

Gildas, De Excidio Britanniae

Sometime in the late 5^th century, the desperate Britons finally managed to stem the tide at the siege of Badon Hill. Gildas is, however, sketchy on the details of what exactly happened and the location of Badon Hill itself remains uncertain.

Gildas, however, had an agenda that should make us wary of his account. He blamed the misfortunes of the Britons on their sinfulness and the unworthiness of their leaders. His narrative assumes the form of a sermon that positions the Saxon invaders as God’s punishment upon the Britons. Is it therefore reliable history? Or little more than a greatly exaggerated fire and brimstone sermon?

Myths and Legends

Looking beyond Gildas for other written accounts of this time we have very little to go on. We have a few old Welsh poems. There are also fragmentary, and often all too brief, entries in old chronicles. We also have much later tales of saints’ lives. Then we have Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain,a detailed epic retelling of old British legends and myths.

Through such sources we hear of the miraculous lives of Cornish saints, like St Piran floating on a millstone from Ireland to Cornwall. We’re told King Arthur was born at Tintagel Castle. We hear that a certain King Mark once ruled Cornwall. And we hear of the tragic love story of Tristram and Iseult.

Geoffrey of Monmouth even relates how, in the late 4^th century, a Roman usurper, Magnus Maximus, led an army of Cornish mercenaries onto the continent. The Cornish, led by the mythical Cynan Meriadoc (also Conan Meriadoc), decided to settle in France rather than return home. This, according to Geoffrey, explains how the Cornish came to emigrate to Brittany (then called Armorica) and became Bretons.

Myth or History?

But Geoffrey was writing in the early 12^th century, many long centuries later. Were his accounts and those that appear in medieval Welsh poetry a reflection of actual history? A collection of greatly exaggerated myths? Or works of fiction? And how much stock can we place on tall tales of saints floating on millstones and miraculously discovering tin?

Very little of what these sources claim are verifiable (and a lot can be refuted). But the Cornish did settle Brittany at some point. Tintagel probably was an important centre of power in 5^th/6^th century Cornwall. St Piran probably was a real historic figure. And King Mark and Tristram may have been more than just myths.

Cornwall and Brittany

One thing that is certain is that the Cornish, at some point, settled the northwestern part of France in what is now Brittany. But when did the migration to Brittany begin? And what prompted it?

Historians have found it hard to accept Geoffrey of Monmouth’s account (that it was a late fourth century phenomenon). Instead, the thinking was more likely that migration occurred much later, possibly reflecting Gildas’ claims that the Britons “repaired to parts beyond the sea” as they fled Saxon incursion. Or, perhaps, the migration even occurred much later (since the Saxons posed little direct threat to the Cornish prior to the 7^th century).

More recent work by historians such as Gwenael Le Duc points to a very early time for the migration. Le Duc believes it began as early as 300AD, earlier than even Geoffrey suggests. If this is so, it would have occurred with the approval and (probably) at the instigation of the Romans. This theory suggests it was part of a planned Roman attempt to settle and develop sparsely populated land in this region of France.

So, where does this leave us when it comes to figures like Conan Meriadoc? Was he a real historic figure from Cornwall’s late Roman past? Or nothing more than a myth? It’s impossible to say.

Post-Roman Dumnonia

Dumnonia, after the Romans departed, showed distinct signs of being a less secure part of the world than it had been before. Iron age forts were already in the process of being re-occupied even before 410. This speaks to a breakdown in central authority and a degree of fragmentation. The old order was failing, and people were feeling less secure.

Nevertheless, despite the fragmentation and uncertainty, Gildas, writing in the mid-6^th century, confirms that Dumnonia was still a distinct polity in his day. Any threat to its stability, at least initially, didn’t come from Germanic invaders. The threat came either from infighting and lawlessness amongst the Britons themselves or from migrants of a different origin.

Cornwall was indeed subject to migration and population change in the 5^th and 6^th centuries, but not from Germans. Cornwall, as well as south Wales, experienced an influx of Irish immigration during this period. The most tangible signs of this are several standing stones carrying inscriptions in ogham (a early Irish script).

Photo of the St Kew Ogham Stone in Cornwall — *St. Kew Ogham Stone*

In southern Wales, the kingdom of Demetia emerged at around this time. Although a Welsh kingdom, it was founded and heavily influenced by an Irish elite. And it would be influences from Ireland, Wales and Brittany that would ultimately play a key role in the Christianisation of Cornwall.

Christianity Comes to Cornwall

Post-Roman Cornwall was decidedly pagan throughout the 5^th century and would remain so for much of the 6^th.

Saint Piran, who is now virtually synonymous with Cornwall, was an Irish missionary who came to Cornwall (probably in the late 5^th century). Perranzabuloe, on the north Cornwall coast, is traditionally associated with Piran and a 7^th century church, associated with him, was established there. St Piran’s story bears witness to an Irish connection in the spread of Christianity.

Another early saint associated with Cornwall was Saint Samson. Samson was a Breton missionary who travelled through Cornwall in the early to mid-6^th century. Samson’s mission saw him preaching to the locals along the Camel-Fowey trade route that linked Wales with Brittany. During this journey, he encountered widespread pagan idol worship; Christianity was very much a novel innovation for the Cornish at this time.

Other stories, linked to the same period, reinforce the view of Cornwall as a largely pagan land. Indeed, Christianity was still strongly and sometimes violently resisted. For example, Tewdwr Mawr, a Breton/Cornish king living in the mid-6^th century, was supposedly responsible for martyring several Irish missionaries.

Overall, the process of conversion took a long time. It was not until the end of the 6^th century/early 7^th century that Christianity really took hold in Cornwall.

Geraint ap Erbin

Geraint ap Erbin is a semi-mythical character who may have been one of Dumnonia’s early kings. It is not certain as to when exactly he lived, although he was perhaps most likely to have been active in the late 5^th / early 6^th century. He appears to have been a king, a chieftain, or perhaps just a renowned warlord.

He may have served as an inspiration for later Welsh and Arthurian tales of Geraint and Enide (or Erec and Enide in Chrétien de Troyes’ version).

In early Welsh poetry, he is remembered as an early Dumnonian hero who was slain by the Saxons at the Battle of Llongborth.

Many believe Llongborth was in fact Portsmouth. This ties in with an early reference in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles which claims that the Saxon leader Port and his sons came to Portsmouth and slew “a Briton, a very noble man” there. The chronicle gives 501 as the date.

If this is true, it means that a Dumnonian nobleman and his retinue had travelled almost 100 miles east of their borders to aid other Britons in their fight against the Saxons.

Hound of the Sea

Another semi-mythical early Dumnonian king is a certain Cynfawr (also known as Cunomorus). His name means something like ‘Hound of the Sea’, which perhaps implies a reputation for naval heroics.

The 9^th century monk, Wrmonoc of Landévennec, believed that Cunomorus was in fact the legendary King Mark, who appears in the Arthurian tale of Tristram and Iseult.

Even more intriguingly, an early standing stone, that could well date back to the 5^th or 6^th century is marked with the following Latin inscription:

DRVSTANVS HIC IACIT CVNORMORI FILIVS

(Here lies Drustan, son of Cunomorus)

‘Drustan’ in this context is an early rendering of ‘Tristram’. Could it possibly be that this incomplete fragment hints at some dimly recalled historic reality behind this famous Arthurian romance?

Some have suggested that, given the location of this stone, Cunomorus may have had his stronghold at the nearby Castle Dore (an old iron age hill fort that had been re-occupied at around this time).

However, Arthurian lore from later in the Middle Ages has King Mark ruling his kingdom from Tintagel Castle. If Cunomorus was King Mark, could he have ruled Cornwall from Tintagel? Come to that, what do we really know about Tintagel in this period? Was it really a Dark Age centre of royal power as later Arthurian mythology would have us believe?

Tintagel Castle

There was a time when historians tended to dismiss post-Roman Tintagel as being little more than a small monastic community. The idea that it was ever an important seat of power in Dark Age Cornwall was largely dismissed.

However, more recent archaeological work has shown that Tintagel was actually a very important stronghold between the 5^th and 7^th century AD:

Although only a tenth of the site has been properly excavated, it is estimated that Tintagel had as many as 100 post-Roman buildings. This means that Tintagel may well have been the largest settlement in Britain between the 5^th and 7^th century!
And Tintagel was rich. Archaeological finds reveal a significant number of high-status items.
Tintagel traded internationally with places as diverse as France, Spain, North Africa and Turkey.
It was importing such luxuries as fine glassware, wine and olive oil.
A piece of inscribed slate proves that there were literate Christians present at Tintagel by the end of the 7^th century. It features writing in no fewer than three languages: Latin, Greek and Celtic.

There is now no doubt that Tintagel could easily have served as a royal stronghold for the Dumnonian kings between the 5^th and 7^th century.

King Constantine

The first Dumnonian king who we can be sure was a genuine historic, as opposed to semi-mythical, figure is King Constantine (Custennin Gorneu). He most likely ruled between 520 and 523 AD. Gildas describes him as “tyrannical whelp of the unclean lioness of Dumnonia” and accuses Constantine of murdering two royal youths. The identity and history of the intriguingly named ‘lioness of Dumnonia’ is, alas, unknown.

Geoffrey of Monmouth identifies Constantine as a relative of King Arthur and claims that he succeeded Arthur as king of the Britons. Such a claim must be regarded as semi-mythical. However, the importance of Tintagel shows that Constantine was certainly a powerful British king in his day.

The 6^th century saw the Christianisation of Cornwall and throughout the century Tintagel continued to flourish. But things were about to change. In 577 AD, an entry in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reads:

“In this year Cuthwine and Ceawlin fought against the Britons and slew three kings, Coinmail, Condidan, and Farinmail, at the place which is called Dyrham; and they captured three cities, Gloucester, Cirencester and Bath.”

As a result, the Saxon Kingdom of Wessex now extended far enough to the west to encroach upon Dumnonia’s borders. Just as concerningly, Dumnonia was now cut off from the Britons of Wales.

The Fall of Dumnonia

The 7th century saw increasing pressure on Dumnonia’s eastern border from the expanding kingdom of Wessex. Things appear to have come to a head in 682, when the Anglo-Saxon chronicles tell us that Centwine launched a major attack against Dumnonia. We are told that he managed to drive his foes as far west as the sea (probably meaning the north Cornish coast in the vicinity of Bude).

Dumnonia appears to have weathered the storm, but the writing was now on the wall. In 710, Inne of Wessex defeated the Dumnonii, slaying their king (another Geraint). This appears to have finally brought large parts of Devon (although perhaps not all) under Saxon control. Certainly, places like Exeter take on an increasingly Anglo-Saxon character from the late 7^th / early 8^th century onwards.

The defeat of Geraint is commonly regarded as the final defeat of Dumnonia. And it is certainly true that the ancient polity of Dumnonia no longer existed after this time.

It is also at around this time, however, that we see references to Cornwall (Cornubia) as a distinct polity start to appear. Old Dumnonia may have gone, but Cornwall survived as an independent indigenous British kingdom.

The Kingdom of Cornwall

Although Geraint was dead, the Cornish were far from defeated. In 722 they won an important victory over the west Saxons at the Battle of Hehil. This proved enough to stem the tide of the Saxon advance for several decades.

We don’t know exactly where this battle was fought. Some have suggested locations in west Cornwall; others have suggested locations as far east as the Culm valley in Devon. Wherever it was, the result was that Cornwall secured its future as an independent kingdom.

Cornwall and Wessex continued to clash as the 8^th century wore on. Nevertheless, Wessex was never able to subdue the Cornish.

In 815 Egbert, then king of Wessex, launched another campaign against Cornwall. The Anglo-Saxon chronicles tell us that he “ravaged in Cornwall, from east to west”. However, this appears to have been a large-scale raid rather than a permanent conquest. Cornwall remained a thorn in his side even after Egbert’s campaign had concluded.

Arrival of the Vikings

In 793 AD Viking raiders sacked the small religious community at Lindesfarne. It marked the beginning of the Viking age and the start of a fierce struggle between Anglo-Saxon England and the Danish invaders.

Photo of replica Viking longships — *The iconic Viking longships*

But for Cornwall the arrival of the Danes was an opportunity rather than a threat. In 835 the Cornish allied themselves with the Danes to drive back Egbert’s West Saxons. Battle was joined at a place called Hingston Down (near Gunnislake on Cornwall’s eastern border). However, the allies were defeated and, according to the Anglo-Saxon chronicles, “put to flight”.

It was a defeat that appears to have secured the western borders of Wessex. After Hingston Down, Wessex and Cornwall settled down to a long period of relative peace.

Cornwall and Wessex in the 9^th Century

The Cornish may have been required to pay the kings of Wessex a tribute of some sort after Hingston Down. However, Cornwall remained independent with its own kings. Indeed, we have record of a Cornish King Dungarth in 872, nigh on four decades after Hingston Down.

The English, for their part, appear to have exerted relatively limited authority over Cornwall during the 9^th century. In fact, no Charters were ever issued by English kings in Cornwall until the 10^th century. They either chose not to, or were unable to, exercise such authority over the Cornish.

When Alfred the Great was raising defensive Burghs against Viking attacks in the late 9^th century, a Burgh was erected at Lydford in Devon, just a few miles east of the Tamar. No works were ever undertaken in Cornwall itself, even though it would have been easy for a Viking fleet to disembark there. This suggests that Alfred and the English still regarded the border with Cornwall as England’s border.

Perhaps the English were even wary of Cornwall. The Cornish had allied themselves with the Danes only a few decades before after all. In fact, there is evidence of an ongoing Scandinavian connection with Cornwall during the 9^th and 10^th Centuries.

The Scandinavian Connection

The Cornish allied themselves directly with the Danes in the early 9^th century. But exactly what was the relationship between the Cornish and the Danes after this time?

A collection of silver objects was discovered buried near an old tin mine just outside St Austell in Cornwall in the late 18^th century. Known as the Trewhiddle Horde, the silver was identified as Anglo-Saxon and contained coins dating to 868 AD. The horde almost certainly came from outside Cornwall, from Wessex and/or Mercia. So how did it end up in Cornwall?

As it happened, the Danes captured west Saxon Exeter in 876, plundering the city in the process. Could the horde therefore represent Viking plunder, taken from Exeter? If so, it would suggest that the Danes saw Cornwall as relatively safe place in which to stow their treasure at this time.

Further evidence of a Scandinavian connection comes in the form of occasional finds that turn up in Cornwall from this time. Cornish pottery of the period has also been found at Scandinavian settlements, showing that trade went both ways. Norse traders would certainly have been interested in Cornish tin and there is evidence of its use in some Viking ships.

Viking Settlement

All this raises an interesting question – did any Vikings settle in Cornwall?

Monumental stonework across Cornwall for the 10^th and 11^th century certainly shows a Scandinavian influence. The best example being a cross at Cardinham (10^th century).

Scandinavian-style graves have also been found in Cornwall. Such graves are very rare outside areas of Norse settlement. Across the British Isles they are mostly found in parts of Scotland and the North of England that were subject to the Danelaw. But in St Buryan in the far southwest of Cornwall graves of this sort as well as Scandinavian metalwork and a brooch have been found. All this points to a local population of Norse settlers.

There is also an intriguing document, dating to the 11^th or 12^th century, in which a Cornish monk demonstrates a fluent command of Norse runes.

However, the relationship between the Cornish and the Danes was not always so friendly. The Anglo-Saxon chronicle records a series of Viking raids in 981 that targeted southwestern coastal communities, including Padstow in Cornwall.

Ruler of the Province of the Britons

It was the English King Athelstan who finally fixed the Cornish border at the Tamar and brought Cornwall more formally under English rule.

Several British/Welsh kings gave allegiance to Athelstan in 922 according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles. Some believe that one of these, a certain King Hywel, was the King of Cornwall.

Later Athelstan expelled the remaining Britons from Exeter and, in 936, fixed the border with Cornwall at the River Tamar.

With these acts Athelstan appears to have finally succeeded in bringing Cornwall under his control. However, there is no record of him deposing any Cornish king, only demanding Cornish allegiance. This allegiance was strong enough for Athelstan’s successor, Edward, to declare himself ‘King of the English and ruler of the province of the Britons’.

So, by 944, Cornwall was identified as a province; still separate from England but nevertheless ruled by an English king.

Danish Rule

In 1013, the Danish King Sweyn Forkbeard annexed England as part of his north European empire. The English briefly resisted Danish rule but, by 1016, Sweyn’s son, Cnut, had secured the throne.

Cnut was crowned King of England but chose not to bring Cornwall under his direct rule. Instead, he granted Cornwall a limited form of autonomy. The Cornish were free to govern their own affairs as long as they paid Cnut an annual tribute, known as the danegeld. This arrangement continued for the duration of his reign until 1035.

Clearly Cnut viewed Cornwall as a separate nation from England and regarded its people differently. Perhaps the fact that Cornwall had maintained more cordial relations with the Danes in past centuries led him to treat the Cornish more favourably. Whatever his reasons, the period between 1016-1035 saw a return to a time of greater Cornish autonomy.

The Norman Conquest

How long Cornwall retained its own line of chieftain-kings is unknown. At the time of the Norman Conquest, however, Cornwall was still governed by a Cornishman. Cadoc (Condor) of Cornwall was acknowledged as having the rank of an earl by the Normans at the time of the Conquest.

The precise nature of the relationship between Cornwall and the English kings prior to the Norman Conquest is still a matter of debate. However, when William of Normandy seized the throne in 1066, the old English order was swept aside. William, as it turned out, had his own plans for Cornwall. A new chapter in Cornwall’s history was about to begin.

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