Bewnans Ke
Encyclopedia
Bewnans Ke is a Middle Cornish play
on the life of Saint Kea
or Ke, who was venerated in Cornwall, Brittany
, and elsewhere. It was written around 1500, but survives only in an incomplete manuscript from the second half of the 16th century. The play was entirely unknown until 2000, when it was identified among the private collection of J. E. Caerwyn Williams
, which had been donated to the National Library of Wales
after his death the previous year. The discovery proved one of the most significant finds in the study of Cornish literature and language
.
Bewnans Ke is one of only two known Cornish plays based on a saint's life; this and other evidence suggests some relationship with the other such work, Beunans Meriasek
. The story has much correspondence with a French text, a translation of a lost medieval Latin hagiography
of Kea, allowing gaps in the narrative to be tentatively filled. The play is divided into two distinct sections, which may indicate that it was intended for a two-day performance. The first section deals with the deeds and miracles of Kea, including his conflicts with the tyrannical king Teudar
. The second is a long Arthurian episode, describing King Arthur
's wars with the Romans
and with his nephew Mordred
; it does not mention Kea in its current form.
. The play has no title in the text; the National Library gave it its modern name after consulting scholars of Cornish. The manuscript had been in the personal collection of J. E. Caerwyn Williams
, chair of Irish
at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth
. After Williams' death in 1999, his widow Gwen Williams donated his papers to the National Library in 2000, and the previously unknown play was identified by Graham Thomas during the cataloging process. Thomas publicized his discovery in the National Library of Wales Journal
in 2002, and the manuscript was subsequently repaired and studied.
The manuscript was evidently created in the second half of the 16th century, by a scribe copying a document dating perhaps to around 1500. Several leaves are missing, including the entire beginning and ending, and in two places the copyist complains about the poor quality of the original. The provenance
is entirely unknown, but the language is Middle Cornish akin to that of Beunans Meriasek
, the only other surviving Cornish play concerning a saint's life. This and other similarities between the plays suggest that both were composed around the same time and in the same milieu, most probably at Glasney College
in Penryn
. If this is correct, Bewnans Ke may have been performed in the still-extant "Playing Place" in the nearby village of that name, where Beunans Meriasek is known to have been performed.
The play clearly relies on traditional material about Kea, which is known to have been circulated in a Latin
hagiography
written as early as the 12th century. This work is lost, but a French
translation published in Albert le Grand's Lives of the Saints of Brittany in 1633 survives. This French Life of Kea has much correspondence with the Cornish text, and has been used to fill in gaps in the action. Bewnans Ke was initially thought to represent two plays, as in its incomplete state it appears to consist of two distinct sections: one on the deeds of Kea and the other on the doings of King Arthur
, in which Kea is not mentioned. However, comparison with the Life shows that Arthurian material had been added to the saint's story at an early period. This occurs in places that would be missing in the play, leading scholars to regard it as a single work.
's conflicts with the Romans and with his nephew Mordred
. The Arthurian section is longer, and is largely adapted from some version of the account in Geoffrey of Monmouth
's Historia Regum Britanniae
.
The lost beginning of the play probably recounted the events of Kea's early life, such as his birth to a noble family, his election as bishop
, and his subsequent abdication in favor of life as a hermit
. The extant text begins with Kea's resurrection of a deceased shepherd and his departure for Cornwall
by either boat or flying flagstone
. In Cornwall, he soon comes into conflict with the king, Teudar, but is eventually given land near the king's favorite hunting grounds in Kea
parish. The next section is missing, but context suggests the narrative would have followed the French Life, which has Kea giving refuge to a stag
being hunted by Teudar. In retaliation Teudar's men take Kea's oxen and then break three of the saint's teeth. The manuscript picks back up as Kea generates a holy well
and cures a leper who gives him additional land. Stags come from the woods to plow Kea's fields in place of the oxen. Teudar tries to make recompense for the injury he has caused Kea, and offers him any land he can impark before Teudar gets out of a bath. With Owbra's aid Kea makes a concoction that causes Teudar to get stuck in the bath, allowing him to take much of Teudar's land. The rest of the first section is missing, but probably dealt with Kea's return to Cléder
in Brittany
.
The second section begins as King Arthur receives a long list of nobles at his court, including names familiar from Geoffrey such as Duke Cador
, Augelus of Scotland
, Bedivere
, a different Ke (Sir Kay
), Mordred
, and Gawain
. The scene jumps to Rome
, where Emperor Lucius
has heard that Arthur refuses to recognize him. He sends twelve emissaries to exact tribute from Arthur. A gap occurs just after the emissaries arrive in Britain and greet the king. In the next extant section, Arthur refuses to pay tribute and sends the legates back to Lucius empty-handed. Lucius confers with his advisors, and decides to raise his forces against Arthur. Leaving his nephew Mordred in charge, Arthur says his goodbyes to Guinevere
and then departs for France to meet Lucius. The two armies battle, and Arthur defeats and kills Lucius, and sends his severed head back to Rome. Meanwhile, Mordred and Guinevere conspire to usurp the throne, and Mordred is crowned king in Arthur's place. Arthur hears of this treachery and assembles his counselors, while Mordred allies with the Saxon
Cheldric. Arthur returns to Britain, and the two armies clash. The text breaks off during a scene with Guinevere in the castle; the end is missing. If it followed the Life, Kea would have reentered the picture. In the Life, Kea is summoned to mediate between Arthur and Mordred, but he comes to realize that the endeavor is futile. He heads back to Brittany, stopping in Winchester
where he castigates Guinevere. The remorseful queen enters a convent
. Kea returns to Cléder, where he eventually dies peacefully.
in the wake of his crushing of the Cornish Rebellion of 1497
. As such, it is thought that Bewnans Ke, like Beunans Meriasek, was written at Glasney College
at the beginning of the 16th century. It is possible that the surviving manuscripts of the two plays were brought to Wales together.
The substantial length and distinct nature of the two sections may imply that the play was intended for performance over the course of two days, as was the case with Beunans Meriasek. Beunans Meriasek contains diagrams at the end of each section indicating the completion of a day's performance; these occur in places that would be missing in the Bewnans Ke manuscript. John T. Koch finds the first section to be more dramatic and effective, calling the second section "stolid", though he notes its importance to Arthurian studies. On top of Cornish, the text is peppered with lines and words in English
, Latin
, and Anglo-Norman French
, particularly in the second section. The stage directions are mostly in Latin, but some are in Cornish and English, though the latter may have been added later.
The discovery of the play was the first addition to the corpus of historical Cornish literature since John Tregear's Homilies were found in 1949. It is also of vast importance to the study of the Cornish language, as it provides valuable evidence of the state of Cornish in the Tuduor era
, the transitional period between Middle and Late Cornish. Many words in the play are not attested in any other sources. The Cornish stage directions, though relatively few, contain some of the oldest known Cornish prose.
in affiliation with the National Library of Wales; it was edited by Graham Thomas and Nicholas Williams
. The National Library also worked to create a digital copy of the manuscript; this was released on the Library's web page in 2006. Prior to publication study of the play was aided by a summary of the text by O. J. Padel, and a tentative translation by Michael Polkinhorn. These were released on the web and removed with the appearance of Thomas and Williams' edition. Additionally, in 2006 the Kesva an Taves Kernewek
(Cornish Language Board) published an edition of the play edited by Cornish enthusiast Ken George
, entitled Bywnans Ke; this caused some friction with the National Library.
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
on the life of Saint Kea
Saint Kea
Saint Kea was a late 5th-century saint from the Hen Ogledd, the Brythonic-speaking parts of what is now southern Scotland and northern England...
or Ke, who was venerated in Cornwall, Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, and elsewhere. It was written around 1500, but survives only in an incomplete manuscript from the second half of the 16th century. The play was entirely unknown until 2000, when it was identified among the private collection of J. E. Caerwyn Williams
J. E. Caerwyn Williams
J. E. Caerwyn Williams FBA , was a Welsh scholar. His fields of study included the literatures of the Celtic languages, especially Welsh and Irish literature. He has published books in both English and Welsh.Caerwyn Williams was born in Gwauncaegurwen, Glamorgan in 1912 into a coal-mining family...
, which had been donated to the National Library of Wales
National Library of Wales
The National Library of Wales , Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales; one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies.Welsh is its main medium of communication...
after his death the previous year. The discovery proved one of the most significant finds in the study of Cornish literature and language
Cornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
.
Bewnans Ke is one of only two known Cornish plays based on a saint's life; this and other evidence suggests some relationship with the other such work, Beunans Meriasek
Beunans Meriasek
Beunans Meriasek is a Cornish play completed in 1504. Its subject is the legends of the life of Saint Meriasek or Meriadoc, patron saint of Camborne, whose veneration was popular in Cornwall, Brittany, and elsewhere...
. The story has much correspondence with a French text, a translation of a lost medieval Latin hagiography
Hagiography
Hagiography is the study of saints.From the Greek and , it refers literally to writings on the subject of such holy people, and specifically to the biographies of saints and ecclesiastical leaders. The term hagiology, the study of hagiography, is also current in English, though less common...
of Kea, allowing gaps in the narrative to be tentatively filled. The play is divided into two distinct sections, which may indicate that it was intended for a two-day performance. The first section deals with the deeds and miracles of Kea, including his conflicts with the tyrannical king Teudar
Tudor dynasty
The Tudor dynasty or House of Tudor was a European royal house of Welsh origin that ruled the Kingdom of England and its realms, including the Lordship of Ireland, later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1485 until 1603. Its first monarch was Henry Tudor, a descendant through his mother of a legitimised...
. The second is a long Arthurian episode, describing King Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
's wars with the Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
and with his nephew Mordred
Mordred
Mordred or Modred is a character in the Arthurian legend, known as a notorious traitor who fought King Arthur at the Battle of Camlann, where he was killed and Arthur fatally wounded. Tradition varies on his relationship to Arthur, but he is best known today as Arthur's illegitimate son by his...
; it does not mention Kea in its current form.
History
Bewnans Ke survives in one manuscript, NLW MS 23849D, now held at the National Library of WalesNational Library of Wales
The National Library of Wales , Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales; one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies.Welsh is its main medium of communication...
. The play has no title in the text; the National Library gave it its modern name after consulting scholars of Cornish. The manuscript had been in the personal collection of J. E. Caerwyn Williams
J. E. Caerwyn Williams
J. E. Caerwyn Williams FBA , was a Welsh scholar. His fields of study included the literatures of the Celtic languages, especially Welsh and Irish literature. He has published books in both English and Welsh.Caerwyn Williams was born in Gwauncaegurwen, Glamorgan in 1912 into a coal-mining family...
, chair of Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth
University of Wales, Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth University is a university located in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding Member Institution of the former federal University of Wales. As of late 2006, the university had over 12,000 students spread across seventeen academic departments.The university was founded in 1872 as...
. After Williams' death in 1999, his widow Gwen Williams donated his papers to the National Library in 2000, and the previously unknown play was identified by Graham Thomas during the cataloging process. Thomas publicized his discovery in the National Library of Wales Journal
National Library of Wales Journal
The National Library of Wales Journal is an annual academic journal containing scholarly articles on historical topics relating to the Library’s collections, covering Welsh medieval and local history, literature, and the Welsh diaspora. It was first published in 1939...
in 2002, and the manuscript was subsequently repaired and studied.
The manuscript was evidently created in the second half of the 16th century, by a scribe copying a document dating perhaps to around 1500. Several leaves are missing, including the entire beginning and ending, and in two places the copyist complains about the poor quality of the original. The provenance
Provenance
Provenance, from the French provenir, "to come from", refers to the chronology of the ownership or location of an historical object. The term was originally mostly used for works of art, but is now used in similar senses in a wide range of fields, including science and computing...
is entirely unknown, but the language is Middle Cornish akin to that of Beunans Meriasek
Beunans Meriasek
Beunans Meriasek is a Cornish play completed in 1504. Its subject is the legends of the life of Saint Meriasek or Meriadoc, patron saint of Camborne, whose veneration was popular in Cornwall, Brittany, and elsewhere...
, the only other surviving Cornish play concerning a saint's life. This and other similarities between the plays suggest that both were composed around the same time and in the same milieu, most probably at Glasney College
Glasney College
Glasney College was founded in 1265 at Penryn, Cornwall, by Bishop Bronescombe and was a centre of ecclesiastical power in medieval Cornwall and probably the best known and most important of Cornwall's religious institutions.-History:...
in Penryn
Penryn, Cornwall
Penryn is a civil parish and town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated on the Penryn River about one mile northwest of Falmouth...
. If this is correct, Bewnans Ke may have been performed in the still-extant "Playing Place" in the nearby village of that name, where Beunans Meriasek is known to have been performed.
The play clearly relies on traditional material about Kea, which is known to have been circulated in a Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
hagiography
Hagiography
Hagiography is the study of saints.From the Greek and , it refers literally to writings on the subject of such holy people, and specifically to the biographies of saints and ecclesiastical leaders. The term hagiology, the study of hagiography, is also current in English, though less common...
written as early as the 12th century. This work is lost, but a French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
translation published in Albert le Grand's Lives of the Saints of Brittany in 1633 survives. This French Life of Kea has much correspondence with the Cornish text, and has been used to fill in gaps in the action. Bewnans Ke was initially thought to represent two plays, as in its incomplete state it appears to consist of two distinct sections: one on the deeds of Kea and the other on the doings of King Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
, in which Kea is not mentioned. However, comparison with the Life shows that Arthurian material had been added to the saint's story at an early period. This occurs in places that would be missing in the play, leading scholars to regard it as a single work.
Synopsis
The play consists of two long parts, one concerning the deeds and miracles of Saint Kea, and the other concerning King ArthurKing Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
's conflicts with the Romans and with his nephew Mordred
Mordred
Mordred or Modred is a character in the Arthurian legend, known as a notorious traitor who fought King Arthur at the Battle of Camlann, where he was killed and Arthur fatally wounded. Tradition varies on his relationship to Arthur, but he is best known today as Arthur's illegitimate son by his...
. The Arthurian section is longer, and is largely adapted from some version of the account in Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth was a cleric and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur...
's Historia Regum Britanniae
Historia Regum Britanniae
The Historia Regum Britanniae is a pseudohistorical account of British history, written c. 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It chronicles the lives of the kings of the Britons in a chronological narrative spanning a time of two thousand years, beginning with the Trojans founding the British nation...
.
The lost beginning of the play probably recounted the events of Kea's early life, such as his birth to a noble family, his election as bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
, and his subsequent abdication in favor of life as a hermit
Hermit
A hermit is a person who lives, to some degree, in seclusion from society.In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament .In the...
. The extant text begins with Kea's resurrection of a deceased shepherd and his departure for Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
by either boat or flying flagstone
Flagstone
Flagstone, is a generic flat stone, usually used for paving slabs or walkways, patios, fences and roofing. It may be used for memorials, headstones, facades and other constructions. The name derives from Middle English flagge meaning turf, perhaps from Old Norse flaga meaning slab.Flagstone is a...
. In Cornwall, he soon comes into conflict with the king, Teudar, but is eventually given land near the king's favorite hunting grounds in Kea
Kea, Cornwall
Kea is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is a "large straggling parish" in a former mining area south of Truro.Kea village is situated just over one mile southwest of Truro....
parish. The next section is missing, but context suggests the narrative would have followed the French Life, which has Kea giving refuge to a stag
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
being hunted by Teudar. In retaliation Teudar's men take Kea's oxen and then break three of the saint's teeth. The manuscript picks back up as Kea generates a holy well
Holy well
A holy well, or sacred spring, is a small body of water emerging from underground and revered either in a Pagan or Christian context, often both. Holy wells were frequently pagan sacred sites that later became Christianized. The term 'holy well' is commonly employed to refer to any water source of...
and cures a leper who gives him additional land. Stags come from the woods to plow Kea's fields in place of the oxen. Teudar tries to make recompense for the injury he has caused Kea, and offers him any land he can impark before Teudar gets out of a bath. With Owbra's aid Kea makes a concoction that causes Teudar to get stuck in the bath, allowing him to take much of Teudar's land. The rest of the first section is missing, but probably dealt with Kea's return to Cléder
Cléder
Cléder is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.-Population:Inhabitants of Cléder are called in French Clédérois.-Internation relations:Cléder is twinned with Ashburton, Herleshausen and Taninges.-References:*...
in Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
.
The second section begins as King Arthur receives a long list of nobles at his court, including names familiar from Geoffrey such as Duke Cador
Cador
Cador was a legendary Duke of Cornwall, known chiefly through Geoffrey of Monmouth's pseudo-historical History of the Kings of Britain and previous manuscript sources such as Vita Sanctus Carantoci circa 1100 from Cotton Vespasian xiv...
, Augelus of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, Bedivere
Bedivere
In Arthurian legend, Sir Bedivere is the Knight of the Round Table who returns Excalibur to the Lady of the Lake. He serves as King Arthur's marshal and is frequently associated with Sir Kay...
, a different Ke (Sir Kay
Sir Kay
In Arthurian legend, Sir Kay is Sir Ector's son and King Arthur's foster brother and later seneschal, as well as one of the first Knights of the Round Table. In later literature he is known for his acid tongue and bullying, boorish behavior, but in earlier accounts he was one of Arthur's premier...
), Mordred
Mordred
Mordred or Modred is a character in the Arthurian legend, known as a notorious traitor who fought King Arthur at the Battle of Camlann, where he was killed and Arthur fatally wounded. Tradition varies on his relationship to Arthur, but he is best known today as Arthur's illegitimate son by his...
, and Gawain
Gawain
Gawain is King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table who appears very early in the Arthurian legend's development. He is one of a select number of Round Table members to be referred to as the greatest knight, most notably in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight...
. The scene jumps to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, where Emperor Lucius
Lucius Tiberius
Lucius Tiberius is a fictional Roman Emperor from Arthurian legend appearing first in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae. No Roman Emperor of that name ever existed; Geoffrey either heard of him from folk tradition or made him up...
has heard that Arthur refuses to recognize him. He sends twelve emissaries to exact tribute from Arthur. A gap occurs just after the emissaries arrive in Britain and greet the king. In the next extant section, Arthur refuses to pay tribute and sends the legates back to Lucius empty-handed. Lucius confers with his advisors, and decides to raise his forces against Arthur. Leaving his nephew Mordred in charge, Arthur says his goodbyes to Guinevere
Guinevere
Guinevere was the legendary queen consort of King Arthur. In tales and folklore, she was said to have had a love affair with Arthur's chief knight Sir Lancelot...
and then departs for France to meet Lucius. The two armies battle, and Arthur defeats and kills Lucius, and sends his severed head back to Rome. Meanwhile, Mordred and Guinevere conspire to usurp the throne, and Mordred is crowned king in Arthur's place. Arthur hears of this treachery and assembles his counselors, while Mordred allies with the Saxon
Saxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
Cheldric. Arthur returns to Britain, and the two armies clash. The text breaks off during a scene with Guinevere in the castle; the end is missing. If it followed the Life, Kea would have reentered the picture. In the Life, Kea is summoned to mediate between Arthur and Mordred, but he comes to realize that the endeavor is futile. He heads back to Brittany, stopping in Winchester
Winchester
Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...
where he castigates Guinevere. The remorseful queen enters a convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
. Kea returns to Cléder, where he eventually dies peacefully.
Analysis and significance
Scholars have pointed out a number of similarities with Beunans Meriasek. The two are comparable in subject matter: they are the only known vernacular plays on saints' hagiographies to have been produced in Britain. The language in both works is similar and dates to the same era, leading to the conclusion that they originate around the same time and place. Both plays include the tyrannical king Teudar and his court at Goodern, who may be intended as a satire of King Henry VIIHenry VII of England
Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
in the wake of his crushing of the Cornish Rebellion of 1497
Cornish Rebellion of 1497
The Cornish Rebellion of 1497 was a popular uprising by the people of Cornwall in the far southwest of Britain. Its primary cause was a response of people to the raising of war taxes by King Henry VII on the impoverished Cornish, to raise money for a campaign against Scotland motivated by brief...
. As such, it is thought that Bewnans Ke, like Beunans Meriasek, was written at Glasney College
Glasney College
Glasney College was founded in 1265 at Penryn, Cornwall, by Bishop Bronescombe and was a centre of ecclesiastical power in medieval Cornwall and probably the best known and most important of Cornwall's religious institutions.-History:...
at the beginning of the 16th century. It is possible that the surviving manuscripts of the two plays were brought to Wales together.
The substantial length and distinct nature of the two sections may imply that the play was intended for performance over the course of two days, as was the case with Beunans Meriasek. Beunans Meriasek contains diagrams at the end of each section indicating the completion of a day's performance; these occur in places that would be missing in the Bewnans Ke manuscript. John T. Koch finds the first section to be more dramatic and effective, calling the second section "stolid", though he notes its importance to Arthurian studies. On top of Cornish, the text is peppered with lines and words in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, and Anglo-Norman French
Anglo-Norman language
Anglo-Norman is the name traditionally given to the kind of Old Norman used in England and to some extent elsewhere in the British Isles during the Anglo-Norman period....
, particularly in the second section. The stage directions are mostly in Latin, but some are in Cornish and English, though the latter may have been added later.
The discovery of the play was the first addition to the corpus of historical Cornish literature since John Tregear's Homilies were found in 1949. It is also of vast importance to the study of the Cornish language, as it provides valuable evidence of the state of Cornish in the Tuduor era
Tudor period
The Tudor period usually refers to the period between 1485 and 1603, specifically in relation to the history of England. This coincides with the rule of the Tudor dynasty in England whose first monarch was Henry VII...
, the transitional period between Middle and Late Cornish. Many words in the play are not attested in any other sources. The Cornish stage directions, though relatively few, contain some of the oldest known Cornish prose.
Publication
A scholarly edition of the play was published in March 2007 by the University of Exeter PressUniversity of Exeter
The University of Exeter is a public university in South West England. It belongs to the 1994 Group, an association of 19 of the United Kingdom's smaller research-intensive universities....
in affiliation with the National Library of Wales; it was edited by Graham Thomas and Nicholas Williams
Nicholas Williams
Nicholas Jonathan Anselm Williams , writing as Nicholas Williams or sometimes N.J.A...
. The National Library also worked to create a digital copy of the manuscript; this was released on the Library's web page in 2006. Prior to publication study of the play was aided by a summary of the text by O. J. Padel, and a tentative translation by Michael Polkinhorn. These were released on the web and removed with the appearance of Thomas and Williams' edition. Additionally, in 2006 the Kesva an Taves Kernewek
Kesva an Taves Kernewek
Kesva an Taves Kernewek is an organisation that promotes the Cornish language. It was founded in 1967 by Gorseth Kernow and the Federation of Old Cornwall Societies. It is represented on the official language body, the Cornish Language Partnership.It currently has 18 members, 13 elected and 5...
(Cornish Language Board) published an edition of the play edited by Cornish enthusiast Ken George
Ken George
Kenneth J. George, writing as Ken George, is an oceanographer, poet, and linguist noted as being the originator of Kernewek Kemmyn, an orthography for the Cornish language supporters claimed to be more faithful to Middle Cornish phonology than its precursor . Kernewek Kemmyn was introduced in 1987...
, entitled Bywnans Ke; this caused some friction with the National Library.