History of Cornwall |
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"Duke of Cornwall" appears as a title in pseudo-historical authors such as Geoffrey of Monmouth. The list is patchy and not every succession was unbroken. Indeed, Monmouth repeatedly introduces Dukes of Cornwall only to promote them to the Kingship of the Britons and thus put an end to their line as (merely) dukes. As adjuncts or supporting roles to the kings of the Britons, the legendary dukes of Cornwall are considered part of the vast Matter of Britain, and can also be found in other stories, such as Culhwch and Olwen , the Prose Tristan, Havelok the Dane , and Gesta Herewardi . Antiquaries such as Richard Carew ( Survey of Cornwall , 1602) and John Williams (the Book of Baglan , 1600–1607) also provide lists of legendary rulers of Cornwall, often combining the above with other sources.
As a result, these lists are more often thought of as a conglomeration of various Celtic rulers, Celtic warlords, and mythical heroes. If the lists of kings of Britain are legendary, then the list of dukes must be considered still more a genealogical and historical legend with no solid basis in the view of most historians. The titles given for the rulers also vary, even within sources; Monmouth's History, has the title fluctuating between "duke" (dux Cornubiae) and "king" (rex Cornubiae), and Carew wrote that before the Norman Conquest "these titles of honour carry a kinde of confusednes, and rather betokened a successive office, then an established dignity. The following ages received a more distinct forme, and left us a certeyner notice." [1]
Name | Title | Notes | Approximate time frame | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|
Corineus | Duke [lower-alpha 1] | First ruler of Cornwall; given the land by Brutus [lower-alpha 2] | 1154 BC [lower-alpha 1] | Historia Regum Britanniae ; Survey of Cornwall |
Gwendolen | Queen | Daughter of Corineus; became queen regnant of Britain [lower-alpha 2] | Historia Regum Britanniae | |
Gorbonian | Duke | Son of Camber; also became chief governor of Cambria [lower-alpha 3] | Book of Baglan folios 84, 305 | |
Difnwall Hen | Duke | Son of Gorbonian; also one of or the chief governor of Cambria [lower-alpha 3] | Book of Baglan folios 84, 306 | |
Kingen | Duke | Son of Difnwall Hen; also chief governor of Cambria [lower-alpha 3] | Book of Baglan folios 84, 306 | |
Aser | Duke | Son of Kingen; also chief governor of Cambria [lower-alpha 3] | Book of Baglan folios 84, 306 | |
Bledhud | Duke | Son of Aser; also chief governor of Cambria [lower-alpha 3] | Book of Baglan folios 84, 306 | |
Henwin | Duke | Son of Bledhud; also chief governor of Cambria; [lower-alpha 3] Duke under King Leir; [lower-alpha 2] husband of Leir's daughter Regan [lower-alpha 2] [lower-alpha 3] or Gonorille, [lower-alpha 1] and with her ruled half of Britain [lower-alpha 3] | 899 BC [lower-alpha 1] | Historia Regum Britanniae; Survey of Cornwall; Book of Baglan folios 84, 306 |
Cunedagius | Duke [lower-alpha 2] | Son of Henwin; duke of Cornwall under Queen Cordelia; became king of Britain; [lower-alpha 2] built a temple to Apollo in Cornwall [lower-alpha 1] | 832 BC [lower-alpha 1] | Historia Regum Britanniae; Survey of Cornwall |
Antonius | Duke | Great-great-grandson of Henwin; second son of Gorwst, king of Britain [lower-alpha 3] | Book of Baglan folios 83, 306 | |
Aedhmawr | Duke | Son of Antonius [lower-alpha 3] | Book of Baglan folios 83, 306, 307 | |
Prydan | Duke | Son of Aedhmawr [lower-alpha 3] | Book of Baglan folios 83, 307 | |
Kynfarch | Duke | Son of Prydan [lower-alpha 3] | Book of Baglan folios 83, 307 | |
Cloten | King/ [lower-alpha 2] [lower-alpha 1] Duke/Prince [lower-alpha 3] | Son of Kynfarch; [lower-alpha 3] ruled Cornwall during the pentarchy after Ferrex and Porrex [lower-alpha 2] | 528 BC [lower-alpha 1] | Historia Regum Britanniae; Survey of Cornwall; Book of Baglan folios 83, 165, 307 |
Dyfnwal Moelmud | King/ [lower-alpha 2] Duke [lower-alpha 3] | Son of Cloten; unites Britain as its king [lower-alpha 2] [lower-alpha 3] | c. 400 BC [lower-alpha 3] | Historia Regum Britanniae; Survey of Cornwall; Book of Baglan folios 83, 165, 307 |
Belinus | Son of Dyfnwal Moelmud; became king of Britain, and direct ruler of Loegria, Kambria, and Cornwall, [lower-alpha 2] as his appanage; brother of Brennus [lower-alpha 1] | 430 BC [lower-alpha 1] | Historia Regum Britanniae; Survey of Cornwall | |
Tasciovanus | Duke | Son of King Lud; made duke by his uncle King Cassibelanus; [lower-alpha 2] [lower-alpha 1] succeeds him as king of Britain [lower-alpha 2] | 96 BC [lower-alpha 1] | Historia Regum Britanniae; Survey of Cornwall |
Thanor | King | Contemporary with Joseph of Arimathea [lower-alpha 4] | c. 1st century AD | Prose Tristan |
Asclepiodotus | Duke | Duke under Allectus; [lower-alpha 2] becomes king of Britain [lower-alpha 2] [lower-alpha 1] | 231 AD [lower-alpha 1] | Historia Regum Britanniae; Survey of Cornwall |
Conan Meriadoc | Duke | Nephew of Octavius; became king of Armorica [lower-alpha 1] | 329 AD [lower-alpha 1] | Survey of Cornwall |
Salomon | Duke | Father of Corinius who was said to have attended the Synod of Arles [lower-alpha 1] | 351 AD [lower-alpha 1] | Survey of Cornwall |
Sources diverge leading up to the time of King Arthur, with Caradoc placed either during the time of Arthur (as in the Welsh Triads, and later tradition), soon before Gorlois (Carew's Survey of Cornwall ), or before his brother Dionotus as Caradocus in the Historia Regum Britanniae . The Book of Baglan provides an entirely different set of ancestors leading up to Gorlois, while other sources, such as Culhwch and Olwen and the Prose Tristan, replace Gorlois altogether with Ricca and Mark respectively.
Name | Title | Notes | Approximate time frame | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|
Arthur | Chief lord | Chief lord of the "three tribal thrones of the Island of Prydain": Celliwig in Cornwall, Pen Rhionydd in the north, and Mynyw in Wales | Peniarth MS 54, triad 1 | |
Caradawg Vreichvras | Chief elder | Arthur's chief elder for Cornwall; also one of the "three cavaliers of battle of the Island of Prydain" | Peniarth MS 54, triads 1, 16 |
Name | Title | Notes | Approximate time frame | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|
Caradocus | Duke/King | Duke under King Octavius; put forward Maximianus as king of Britain and was king of Cornwall under him | Historia Regum Britanniae | |
Dionotus | King | Brother of Caradocus; made regent of Britain during Maximianus' campaigns | Historia Regum Britanniae | |
Gorlois | Duke | Duke under kings Aurelius Ambrosius and Uther; first husband of Igraine, Arthur's mother | Historia Regum Britanniae | |
Cador | Duke/King | Ruler of Cornwall as one of four kings under King Arthur | Historia Regum Britanniae | |
Constantine | Son of Cador; kinsman of King Arthur, who he succeeds as king of Britain | 542 AD | Historia Regum Britanniae |
Name | Title | Notes | Approximate time frame | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|
Dionethus | Duke/King | Sent Saint Ursula and 11,000 handmaids to Conan Meridock in Armorica; also called Dionotus | 383 AD | Survey of Cornwall |
Moigne | Duke | Brother of Aurelius and Uter-Pendragon; governor of the realm under Emperor Honorius | 433 AD | Survey of Cornwall |
Carodoc | Duke | Tasked by Octavius to found the University of Cambridge | 443 AD | Survey of Cornwall |
Gorlois | Duke | Husband of Igerna with whom Uter-Pendragon had Arthur and Amy | 500 AD | Survey of Cornwall |
Cador | Earl | Killed King Childerick of the Saxons who invaded after being banished by Arthur | 526 AD | Survey of Cornwall |
Marke | King | In the time of Arthur | Survey of Cornwall |
Name | Title | Notes | Approximate time frame | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|
Owen | Duke | Direct descendant of Dyfnwall Moelmud; son of Maxentius, king of Britain and emperor of Rome | c. 4th century AD | Book of Baglan folios 82, 276, 309 |
Moure | Duke | Son of Owen; also called Mour or Moor | Book of Baglan folios 82, 276, 309 | |
Golor | Duke | Son of Moure; also called Solor | Book of Baglan folios 82, 276, 309 | |
Pendoff the Great | Duke | Son of Golor; also duke of Wessex; also called Pendof or Pendaff the Great | Book of Baglan folios 81, 276, 309 | |
Sortogus | Duke | Son of Pendoff | Book of Baglan folios 81, 276, 309 | |
Gurleis | Duke/Prince | Son of Sortogus; married Eigyr, a descendant of Joseph of Arimathea's sister; also called Goulisor or Gwrleis | Book of Baglan folios 81, 276, 309 | |
Cador | Duke/Prince | Son of Gurleis | Book of Baglan folios 81, 276 |
Name | Title | Notes | Approximate time frame | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|
Arthur | Has his court at Celliwig in Cornwall | c. 6th century AD | Culhwch and Olwen | |
Ricca | Chief Elder | Father of Arthur's half-brother Gormant | c. 6th century AD | Culhwch and Olwen |
Gwyn Hywar | Overseer | Overseer or steward of Cornwall and Devon; one of the nine who plotted the Battle of Camlann | c. 6th century AD | Culhwch and Olwen |
Name | Title | Notes | Approximate time frame | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tador | Duke | Husband of Arthur's mother; killed at Castle an Dinas | William Worcester's Itineraries, 1478, Castle an Dinas |
Name | Title | Notes | Approximate time frame | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|
Felix | King | Many generations after Thanor | c. late 5th century AD | Prose Tristan |
Mark of Cornwall | King | Son of Felix, and uncle of Tristan | c. early 6th century AD | Prose Tristan |
Name | Title | Notes | Approximate time frame | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|
King Cornwall | King | Unnamed magician-king of Cornwall; fathered a daughter with Guinevere; beheaded by King Arthur | "King Arthur and King Cornwall" |
Name | Title | Notes | Approximate time frame | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|
Blederic | Duke | Duke at the time Augustine arrives; dies leading the Britons in war against the Saxon King Ethelfrid of Northumbria | 597 AD | Historia Regum Britanniae |
Name | Title | Notes | Approximate time frame | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|
Godrich | Earl | Earl under King Athelwold; made regent of England | c. 6th/7th century AD | Havelok the Dane |
Bertram | Earl | Godrich's cook; made earl by Havelok | c. late 6th/7th century AD | Havelok the Dane |
Name | Title | Notes | Approximate time frame | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|
Blederic | Duke | Fought with other Welsh kings against Ethelferd, and by dying won the battle | 603 AD | Survey of Cornwall |
Ivor | Son of King Alane of Brittany; won Cornwall, Devon, and Somerset from the Saxons | 688 AD | Survey of Cornwall | |
Roderic | King | King of the Bretons in Wales and Cornwall; lost Cornwall to King Adelred of Wessex and fled to Wales | 720 AD | Survey of Cornwall |
Bletius | Prince | Prince of Cornwall and Devon under King Roderic | 720 AD | Survey of Cornwall |
Dungarth | King | Drowned by mischance | 872 AD | Survey of Cornwall |
Alpsius | Duke | Duke of Devon and Cornwall | 900 AD | Survey of Cornwall |
Orgerius | Duke | Father of Alfride who married King Edgar | 959 AD | Survey of Cornwall |
Condor | Earl | Paid homage to William the Conqueror for his earldom | 1067 AD | Survey of Cornwall |
Name | Title | Notes | Approximate time frame | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|
Bredrice | Duke | Grandson of Cador; son of Constantyn III the king of Britain; also called Peledric | c. 6th century AD | Book of Baglan folios 81, 276 |
Clement | Duke/Prince | Son of Bredrice; also called Clemeas | Book of Baglan folios 81, 276 | |
Pedrock | Duke | Son of Clement; also called Pedronck | Book of Baglan folios 81, 276 | |
Progmaell | Duke | Son of Pedrock | Book of Baglan folios 81, 276 | |
Coilbye | Duke | Son of Progmaell; also called Koilbie | Book of Baglan folios 81, 276 | |
Caret | Duke | Son of Coilbye; also called Garet | Book of Baglan folios 81, 276 | |
Dwn | Duke | Son of Caret | Book of Baglan folios 81, 276 | |
Ithel | Duke | Son of Dwn; also called Ithyn | Book of Baglan folios 81, 276 | |
Dyfnuall | Duke | Son of Ithel; also called Boifunall | Book of Baglan folios 81, 276 | |
Canordolye | Duke | Son of Dyfnuall; also called Canordoly | Book of Baglan folios 81, 276 | |
Ostwallt | Duke | Son of Canordolye; also called Ustwalld | Book of Baglan folios 81, 276 | |
Hernam | Duke | Son of Ostwallt | Book of Baglan folios 81, 276 | |
Hopkin | Duke | Son of Hernam; also called Hopkyn | Book of Baglan folios 81, 276 | |
Mordaph | Duke | Son of Hopkin; also called Mordaff | Book of Baglan folios 81, 276 | |
Fferverdyn | Duke | Son of Mordaph | Book of Baglan folios 81, 276 | |
Elnyd | Duke | Son of Fferverdyn | Book of Baglan folios 81, 276 | |
Alanor | Duke | Son of Elnyd | Book of Baglan folios 81, 276 | |
Rolopedaph | Duke | Son of Alanor | Book of Baglan folios 81, 276 | |
Vortegyn | Duke | Son of Rolopedaph; also duke of Wessex | Book of Baglan folios 81, 276 | |
Vephyne | Duke | Son of Vortegyn; also duke of Wessex | Book of Baglan folios 81, 276 | |
Alured | Duke | Son of Vephyne; also duke of Wessex | Book of Baglan folios 81, 276 | |
Godwyn | Duke | Son of Alured; also duke of Wessex | Died 1013 | Book of Baglan folios 39, 81, 276, 327, 373 |
Herbert | Lord/Earl | Son of Godwyn; also duke of Wessex; father of Henry Herbert Lord of the Forest of Deane and Chamberlain to Henry I of England | Book of Baglan folios xxiii, xxiv, 39, 81 | |
Candor | Earl | Paid homage to William the Conqueror | Earl in 1066 | Book of Baglan folio 196 |
Candor | Earl | Son of Candor; father of Avicia who married Reginald de Dunstanville, 1st Earl of Cornwall | Book of Baglan folio 196 |
Name | Title | Notes | Approximate time frame | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|
Alef | Prince/King | Gave shelter to Hereward the Wake during his first exile | c. 1050s/1060s AD | Gesta Herewardi |
King Arthur, according to legends, was a king of Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain.
Uther Pendragon (Brittonic), also known as King Uther, was a legendary King of the Britons and father of King Arthur.
In the Matter of Britain, Igraine is the mother of King Arthur. Igraine is also known in Latin as Igerna, in Welsh as Eigr, in French as Ygraine, in Le Morte d'Arthur as Ygrayne—often modernised as Igraine or Igreine—and in Parzival as Arnive. She becomes the wife of Uther Pendragon, after the death of her first husband, Gorlois.
Corineus, in medieval British legend, was a prodigious warrior, a fighter of giants, and the eponymous founder of Cornwall.
Dumnonia is the Latinised name for a Brythonic kingdom that existed in Sub-Roman Britain between the late 4th and late 8th centuries CE in the more westerly parts of present-day South West England. It was centred in the area of modern Devon, but also included modern Cornwall and part of Somerset, with its eastern boundary changing over time as the gradual westward expansion of the neighbouring Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex encroached on its territory. The spelling Damnonia is sometimes encountered, but that spelling is also used for the land of the Damnonii, later part of the Kingdom of Strathclyde, in present-day southern Scotland. The form Domnonia also occurs. The name of the kingdom shares a linguistic relationship with the Breton region of Domnonée.
Camber, also Kamber, was the legendary first king of Cambria, according to the Geoffrey of Monmouth in the first part of his influential 12th-century pseudohistory Historia Regum Britanniae. According to Geoffrey, Cambria, the classical name for Wales, was named for him.
Gwendolen, also known as Gwendolin, or Gwendolyn was a legendary ruler of ancient Britain. She came to power in 1115BC.
Gurgustius was a legendary king of the Britons as accounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth. He came to power in 788BC.
Historia regum Britanniae, originally called De gestis Britonum, is a pseudohistorical account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It chronicles the lives of the kings of the Britons over the course of two thousand years, beginning with the Trojans founding the British nation and continuing until the Anglo-Saxons assumed control of much of Britain around the 7th century. It is one of the central pieces of the Matter of Britain.
In Arthurian legend, Gorlois of Tintagel was the Duke of Cornwall. He was the first husband of King Arthur's mother Igraine and the father of her daughters, Arthur's half-sisters. Her second husband was Uther Pendragon, the High King of Britain and Arthur's father, who marries her after killing him.
Caradocus, according to Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia regum Britanniae, a pseudohistorical account of the kings of the Britons, was the duke of Cornwall under the reign of Octavius, who became king of Cornwall and died during the Emperor Magnus Maximus' reign.
Dionotus was a legendary king of Cornwall in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia regum Britanniae, an account of the rulers of Britain based on ancient Welsh sources and disputed by many historians. Dionotus succeeding his brother Caradocus, and was regent of Britain during the campaigns in Gaul of Emperor Magnus Maximus. The curious thing about this king is that the Welsh chronicles, which parallel most of Geoffrey of Monmouth's book, do not mention this king by name. However, Geoffrey uses Latin versions of Welsh names so he could be referring to Dynod, duke of Cornwall, or Anwn Dynod, Maximus's own son.
Conan Meriadoc is a legendary British Celtic leader credited with founding Brittany. Versions of his story circulated in both Brittany and Great Britain from at least the early 12th century, and supplanted earlier legends of Brittany's foundation. His story is known in two major versions, which appear in the Welsh text known as The Dream of Macsen Wledig, and in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae. Both texts associate him with Magnus Maximus, a Roman usurper against the Valentinianic dynasty who was widely regarded as having deprived Britain of its defences when he took its legions to claim the imperial throne. Conan's cousin or sister, Saint Elen, is said to have been Macsen Wledic's wife.
Cador is a legendary Duke of Cornwall, known chiefly through Geoffrey of Monmouth's pseudohistorical Historia Regum Britanniae and previous manuscript sources such as the Life of Carantoc. In Welsh genealogical records, he appears as Cado (Cadwr), the son of Cornish king Geraint. Early sources present him as a relative of King Arthur, though the details of their kinship are usually left unspecified.
Octa was an Anglo-Saxon King of Kent during the 6th century. Sources disagree on his relationship to the other kings in his line; he may have been the son of Hengist or Oisc, and may have been the father of Oisc or Eormenric. The dates of his reign are unclear, but he may have ruled from 512 to 534 or from 516 to 540. Despite his shadowy recorded history Octa made an impact on the Britons, who describe his deeds in several sources.
King Arthur's family grew throughout the centuries with King Arthur's legend. Many of the legendary members of this mythical king's family became leading characters of mythical tales in their own right.
Clemen ap Bledric was a 7th-century King of Dumnonia.
Bledric ap Custennin was a 6th- and 7th-century ruler of Dumnonia.
Caradoc Vreichvras was a semi-legendary ancestor to the kings of Gwent. He may have lived during the 5th or 6th century. He is remembered in the Matter of Britain as a Knight of the Round Table, under the names King Carados and Carados Briefbras.