The ancient
Brittonic country shares much of its cultural history with neighbouring
Devon and
Somerset in England and
Wales and
Brittany further afield. Historic records of authentic Cornish mythology or history are hard to verify but early examples of the
Cornish language such as the
Bodmin manumissions mark the separation of
Primitive Cornish from
Old Welsh which is often dated to the
Battle of Deorham in 577. Due to language erosion and possible suppression caused by the dominant English language and culture in the later medieval period, many works of Cornish language are thought to have been lost, particularly at the time of the
dissolution of the religious houses of
Glasney College and
Crantock College, which were regarded as repertories of 'Welsh' (i.e., foreign) conservatism by the English. Cornish grievances against the policies of the English government led to the unsuccessful uprisings of the
Cornish Rebellion of 1497 and the
Prayer Book Rebellion of 1549. However, significant portions of the '
Matter of Britain' relate to the people of Cornwall and Brittany as they do to the modern 'Welsh'--this extends from
Geoffrey of Monmouth to the
Mabinogion and the
Breton-derived tales of
King Arthur which make frequent and explicit reference to the geography of the early Brythonic nation, such as his capital at '
Kelliwic in
Cerniw' and the legendary sea fortress of King
Mergh at
Tintagel. By the Shakespearean period, these ancient texts still maintained a currency demonstrated by
King Lear based on the ancient tale of
Leir of Britain which names
Corineus the eponymous founder of the Cornish nation; he traditionally wrestled the giant
Goemagot into the sea at
Plymouth Hoe and claimed the land beyond for his people; the probable origin of the tale of
Jack the Giant Killer. The earliest Cornish literature is in the Cornish language and Cornwall produced a substantial number of
passion plays during the Middle Ages. Many are still extant, and provide valuable information about the language: they were performed in round '
plen a gwary' (place for playing) open-air theatres. There is much traditional
folklore in Cornwall, often tales of giants, mermaids,
piskies or the 'pobel vean' (little people). These are still surprisingly popular today, with many events hosting a 'droll teller' to tell the stories: such myths and stories have found much publishing success, particularly in children's books. The fairy tale
Jack the Giant Killer takes place in Cornwall.
Cornish dialect writing Writing in the
Cornish dialect existed from the 19th century; in the 20th century the revival of interest in the Cornish language led eventually to a few of those who had mastered the latter turning to writing in it. Poems, essays and short stories have also been published in newspapers and magazines e.g.
The Cornish & Devon Post. Then there are literary works in standard English including conversations between dialect speakers, often with a typically Cornish humour.
Cornish World, a colour magazine produced in Cornwall and covering all aspects of Cornish life, has proved popular with the descendants of Cornish emigrants as well as Cornish residents. It includes a column in the Cornish language.
Cornish writers and poets Charles Causley was born in
Launceston and is perhaps the best known of Cornish poets. The Nobel-prizewinning novelist
William Golding was born in
St Columb Minor in 1911, and returned to live near
Truro from 1985 until his death in 1993. Other notable Cornish writers include
Arthur Quiller-Couch, alias "Q", novelist and literary critic;
Jack Clemo, deaf-blind poet;
Ronald Bottrall, modernist poet;
Robert Stephen Hawker, eccentric Victorian poet and priest;
Geoffrey Grigson, poet and critic;
Silas Hocking, prolific novelist; and
D. M. Thomas, novelist and poet.
Poetry written about Cornwall The late
Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman was famously fond of Cornwall and it featured prominently in his poetry. He is buried in the churchyard at
St Enodoc's Church, Trebetherick. The poet
Laurence Binyon wrote "For the Fallen" (first published in 1914) while sitting on the cliffs between Pentire Point and The Rumps and a stone plaque was erected in 2001 to commemorate the fact. The plaque bears the inscription 'For The Fallen Composed on these cliffs 1914'. The plaque also bears the fourth stanza (sometimes referred to as 'The Ode') of the poem. The English-born poet
Sylvia Kantaris returned to the UK in 1971 and settled in
Helston in 1974. She was appointed as Cornwall's first Writer in the Community in 1986.
Novels set in Cornwall Novels or parts of novels set in Cornwall include:
Daphne du Maurier lived in Bodinnick-by-Fowey, Cornwall and many of her novels had Cornish settings, including
Rebecca,
Jamaica Inn, ''
Frenchman's Creek, My Cousin Rachel, and The House on the Strand. She is also noted for writing Vanishing Cornwall''. Cornwall provided the inspiration for "
The Birds", one of her terrifying series of short stories, made famous as a film by
Alfred Hitchcock.
Conan Doyle's ''
The Adventure of the Devil's Foot'' featuring
Sherlock Holmes is set in Cornwall. , according to legend the site of
King Arthur's conception
Howard Spring lived in Cornwall from 1939 and set part or all of various novels in the county. Medieval Cornwall is also the setting of the trilogy by
Monica Furlong Wise Child,
Juniper, and
Colman, as well as part of Charles Kingsley's
Hereward the Wake.
Winston Graham's series
Poldark (and the television series derived from it),
Kate Tremayne's
Adam Loveday series, and
Greenwitch, and
Mary Wesley's
The Camomile Lawn are all set in Cornwall. Writing under the pseudonym of Alexander Kent,
Douglas Reeman sets parts of his
Richard Bolitho and Adam Bolitho series in the Cornwall of the late 18th and the early 19th centuries, particularly in
Falmouth.
Hammond Innes's novel
The Killer Mine also has a Cornish setting.
Charles de Lint, writer of many modern and urban
fairy tales, set his novel
The Little Country in the village of
Mousehole in Cornwall. Chapters 24 and 25 of
J. K. Rowling's
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows take place in Cornwall (the Harry Potter story at Shell Cottage, which is on the beach outside the fictional village of Tinworth in Cornwall).
Over Sea, Under Stone and
Greenwitch from the series of fantasy novels
The Dark Is Rising, by
Susan Cooper, are set in Cornwall. Ciji Ware* set her 1997 novel
A Cottage by the Sea on the Cornish coast.
Sue Limb's
Girl, (Nearly) 16: Absolute Torture is partly set in St Ives on the Cornish coast. Cornwall is featured heavily in the beginning of
The Mists of Avalon by
Marion Zimmer Bradley as the home of Igraine, wife of Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall. The
castle at Tintagel has been said to be where King Arthur was conceived (when Uther Pendragon entered the castle in the form of Gorlois).
Agatha Christie's "
Poirot" short story "The Cornish Adventure" take place in Polgarwith, an (imaginary) small market town in Cornwall. In the
Paddington Bear novels by
Michael Bond the title character is said to have landed at an unspecified port in Cornwall having travelled in a
lifeboat aboard a
cargo ship from darkest
Peru. From here he travels to
London on a train and eventually arrives at
Paddington Station.
Drama and other literary works , carved from the cliffs Cornwall produced a substantial number of
passion plays such as the
Ordinalia during the Middle Ages. Many are still extant, and provide valuable information about the Cornish language. Other notable plays include
Beunans Meriasek and
Beunans Ke, the only two surviving plays written in any of Britain's vernacular tongues that take a saint's life as their subject.
Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch author of many novels and works of literary criticism lived in Fowey: his novels are mainly set in Cornwall. Prolific writer
Colin Wilson, best known for his debut work
The Outsider (1956) and for
The Mind Parasites (1967), lived in
Gorran Haven, a village on the southern Cornish coast, not far from
Mevagissey.
A. L. Rowse, the historian and poet, was born near St Austell.
Thomas Hardy's drama
The Queen of Cornwall (1923) is a version of the Tristan story; the second act of
Richard Wagner's opera
Tristan und Isolde takes place in Cornwall, as do
Gilbert and Sullivan's operettas
The Pirates of Penzance and
Ruddigore. A level of
Tomb Raider: Legend, a videogame dealing with Arthurian legend, takes place in Cornwall at a tacky museum above King Arthur's tomb. The theatre company
Kneehigh Theatre is active in Cornwall. Amateur theatre groups exist in many villages, and the open air
Minack Theatre is well known. The fairy tale "
Jack the Giant Killer" takes place in Cornwall. ==Religion==