Cornish kilts and tartans are thought to be a modern tradition started in the early to mid 20th century. The first modern kilt was plain black, and other patterns followed. It is documented that a garment known as a bracca (a reddish checkered tunic) was worn by Celtic people (There were no people called 'Celts' The term 'Celts' is a modern 18th century notion derived from the similarities in what are known as the Celtic languages - spoken extensively in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Man, Cornwall and Brittany, in the past). [1] yet the term Celtae/Galatae was an ethonym of the Gallic peoples according to Greeks and Romans, whom shared a common language route with the what is termed Insular Celtic people in academia. who inhabited the British Isles, the term indicating its appearance. [2] The Welsh word brech means 'checkered' (compare the cognate Scottish Gaelic breac, 'variegated, freckled'), and the word bracca is derived from the Welsh or Cornish word brythen which in English translates as 'striped' or 'checkered'. [3]
Cornish historian L. C. R. Duncombe-Jewell attempted to prove that plain kilts were in use in Cornwall. He discovered carvings of minstrels dressed in what he interpreted as kilts and playing bagpipes on bench ends at Altarnun church, which dated from circa 1510. [4] [5] The earliest historical reference to the Cornish kilt is from 1903, when the aforementioned Duncombe-Jewell appeared in a woad-blue kilt as the Cornish delegate to the Celtic Congress, convening at Caernarvon. John T. Koch in his work Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia mentions a black kilt worn by the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry in combat; however, no historical reference is provided to support this claim.
First created in 1963, the Cornish National tartan was designed by the poet E. E. Morton Nance, nephew of Robert Morton Nance. Each colour of tartan has a special significance or meaning. The white cross on a black background is from the banner of Saint Piran, the patron saint of tinners, which is also used as the flag of Cornwall; [6] Black and gold were the colours of the ancient Kings of Dumnonia; red for legs and beak of the national bird, the Cornish chough, and blue for the blue of the sea surrounding Cornwall. [7] A prototype of the Cornish national tartan was first worn by Morton-Nance in the 1963 Celtic Congress held at Carbis Bay attached to a Clan Douglas kilt that he was wearing for the occasion. The Cornish Hunting Tartan was registered in 1984. [8]
The following Cornish tartans have been registered with the Scottish Tartans Authority (reference numbers shown below), and thus are also included in the newer database of the Scottish Register of Tartans.
National tartans | ||
---|---|---|
Image | Name | Notes |
Cornish National tartan | STA no. 1567 [9] | |
Cornish Hunting tartan | STA no. 1568 [9] | |
Cornish Flag tartan | STA no. 1618 [9] | |
St Piran's Dress tartan | STA no. 1685 [9] | |
Cornish National Day tartan | STA no. 1262 [9] |
Several tartans for Cornish families have been created and registered in modern times, e.g. for family get-togethers and weddings. Most of the following have been registered with the Scottish Tartans Authority or with Scottish Tartans World Register (reference numbers shown below, where applicable), and thus are also included in the newer database of the Scottish Register of Tartans.
Cornish family tartans | ||
---|---|---|
Image | Family | Notes |
Christopher | STA no. 2809 [9] | |
Curnow | STA no. 4084 [9] | |
Jewell | STA no. 7478 [9] | |
Pascoe | ||
Pengelly | STWR no. 3145 [10] | |
Rosevear | STA no. 2541 [9] | |
Southcott |
A kilt is a garment resembling a wrap-around knee-length skirt, made of twill-woven worsted wool with heavy pleats at the sides and back and traditionally a tartan pattern. Originating in the Scottish Highland dress for men, it is first recorded in the 16th century as the great kilt, a full-length garment whose upper half could be worn as a cloak. The small kilt or modern kilt emerged in the 18th century, and is essentially the bottom half of the great kilt. Since the 19th century, it has become associated with the wider culture of Scotland, and more broadly with Gaelic or Celtic heritage.
Tartan is a patterned cloth with crossing horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours, forming simple or complex rectangular patterns. Tartans originated in woven wool, but are now made in other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Scotland, and Scottish kilts almost always have tartan patterns. The earliest surviving samples of tartan-style cloth are around 3,000 years old and were discovered in Xinjiang, China.
Pan-Celticism, also known as Celticism or Celtic nationalism is a political, social and cultural movement advocating solidarity and cooperation between Celtic nations and the modern Celts in Northwestern Europe. Some pan-Celtic organisations advocate the Celtic nations seceding from the United Kingdom and France and forming their own separate federal state together, while others simply advocate very close cooperation between independent sovereign Celtic nations, in the form of Breton, Cornish, Irish, Manx, Scottish, and Welsh nationalism.
Henry Jenner was a British scholar of the Celtic languages, a Cornish cultural activist, and the chief originator of the Cornish language revival.
Highland dress is the traditional, regional dress of the Highlands and Isles of Scotland. It is often characterised by tartan. Specific designs of shirt, jacket, bodice and headwear may also be worn along with clan badges and other devices indicating family and heritage.
Gorsedh Kernow is a non-political Cornish organisation, based in Cornwall, United Kingdom, which exists to maintain the national Celtic spirit of Cornwall. It is based on the Welsh-based Gorsedd, which was founded by Iolo Morganwg in 1792.
The culture of Cornwall forms part of the culture of the United Kingdom, but has distinct customs, traditions and peculiarities. Cornwall has many strong local traditions. After many years of decline, Cornish culture has undergone a strong revival, and many groups exist to promote Cornwall's culture and language today.
The belted plaid is a large blanket-like piece of fabric which is wrapped around the body with the material pleated or, more accurately, loosely gathered and secured at the waist by means of a belt. Typically, a portion of the belted plaid hangs down to about the knees or ankles with the rest of the material being wrapped up around the upper body in a variety of ways and pinned or otherwise secured to keep it in place.
The Cornish people or Cornish are an ethnic group native to, or associated with Cornwall and a recognised national minority in the United Kingdom, which can trace its roots to the Brittonic Celtic ancient Britons who inhabited Great Britain before the Roman conquest. Many in Cornwall today continue to assert a distinct identity separate from or in addition to English or British identities. Cornish identity has been adopted by migrants into Cornwall, as well as by emigrant and descendant communities from Cornwall, the latter sometimes referred to as the Cornish diaspora. Although not included as a tick-box option in the UK census, the numbers of those writing in a Cornish ethnic and national identity are officially recognised and recorded.
Robert Morton Nance (1873–1959) was a British writer and leading authority on the Cornish language, a nautical archaeologist, and joint founder of the Old Cornwall Society.
The history of the modern kilt stretches back to at least the end of the 16th century. The kilt first appeared as the belted plaid or great kilt, a full-length garment whose upper half could be worn as a cloak draped over the shoulder, or brought up over the head as a hood. The small kilt or walking kilt did not develop until the late 17th or early 18th century, and is essentially the bottom half of the great kilt.
Check is a pattern of modified stripes consisting of crossed horizontal and vertical lines which form squares. The pattern typically contains two colours where a single checker is surrounded on all four sides by a checker of a different colour.
Louis Charles Richard Duncombe-Jewell, born Louis Charles Richard Jewell, was a soldier, special war correspondent of The Times and The Morning Post, sportsman and sometimes poet. He was a champion of the Cornish language, having been born at Liskeard in Cornwall. He assumed the additional surname Duncombe in accordance with his grandmother's will in 1895. His parents were members of the Plymouth Brethren, which when they moved to South London brought him into contact with Aleister Crowley. The two remained lifelong associates. Duncombe-Jewell lived at Crowley's Scottish residence 'Boleskine' for several years from 1903. He later converted to Catholicism.
Many different symbols are associated with Cornwall, a region which has disputed constitutional status within the United Kingdom . Saint Piran's Flag, a white cross on a black background is often seen in Cornwall. The Duchy of Cornwall shield of 15 gold bezants on a black field is also used. Because of these two symbols black, white and gold are considered colours symbolic of Cornwall.
The Cornish dialect is a dialect of English spoken in Cornwall by Cornish people. Dialectal English spoken in Cornwall is to some extent influenced by Cornish grammar, and often includes words derived from the Cornish language. The Cornish language is a Celtic language of the Brythonic branch, as are the Welsh and Breton languages. In addition to the distinctive words and grammar, there are a variety of accents found within Cornwall from the north coast to that of the south coast and from east to west Cornwall. Typically, the accent is more divergent from Standard British English the further west through Cornwall one travels. The speech of the various parishes being to some extent different from the others was described by John T. Tregellas and Thomas Quiller Couch towards the end of the 19th century. Tregellas wrote of the differences as he understood them and Couch suggested the parliamentary constituency boundary between the East and West constituencies, from Crantock to Veryan, as roughly the border between eastern and western dialects. To this day, the towns of Bodmin and Lostwithiel as well as Bodmin Moor are considered the boundary.
A maud is a woollen blanket or plaid woven in a pattern of small black and white checks known as Border tartan, Shepherd's check, Shepherd's plaid or Galashiels grey. It was in common use as an item of clothing in the southern counties of Scotland and the northern counties of England until the early twentieth century.
Presented below is an alphabetical index of articles related to Cornwall:
District tartans for the Commonwealth of Australia and for each of its constituent States have been registered in the Scottish Register of Tartans (SRT). Additionally, fashion tartans covering either Australia as a whole, or its capital city, Canberra, have been registered in the SRT, as have district tartans in respect of some of Australia's local government areas.
Jewish tartans, also called Kosher tartans, are tartans made for the Jewish community of Scotland, as well as for Jews around the world.