Pseudoarchaeology of Cornwall
Encyclopedia
The pseudoarchaeology of Cornwall concerns aspects of the study of Cornwall
that fall outside mainstream archaeology
, history
, and cultural
studies. Pseudoarchaeological
approaches differ from the mainstream disciplines in methodology, which often leads to very different ideas. Mainstream scholars generally do not consider the methodologies used in pseudoarcheology to be valid, since they do not follow the scientific method
.
Pseudohistorical myths associated with Cornwall, notably the Arthurian tradition and the Brutus
myth form an important part of cultural history and have had great influence.
The density and antiquity of archaeological sites in Cornwall has attracted many, including people associated with the New Age
, and neo-pagan movements.
Pseudoarchaeology and ideas like it may go by other names including "alternative archaeology" and Earth mysteries
.
, which was lost to the sea in the past. The exact location of Lyonesse is in doubt. It is claimed to represent the folk memory of the flooding of the Isles of Scilly
and Mount's Bay
near Penzance
. For example, the Cornish name of St Michael's Mount is Karrek Loos y'n Koos, literally, "the grey rock in the wood". The Breton
legend of Ys
is a similar concept.
Some people believe that the Cornish language
was not the first language spoken in Cornwall after the end of the most recent glacial period within the Ice Age
. One idea is that Vasconic languages
, related to present day Basque
were spoken in Cornwall and other areas of Europe
. This idea has been advanced by mainstream scholars, but it has also been used by others in support of pseudohistorical assertions.
Links with the ancient Middle East
are also involved in pseudohistorical claims related to Cornwall and the wider Celtic Britain, including speculation concerning the identity of the Picts
. Some have associated the Cornish piskies of folklore with the Picts. The identity and origins of the Picts have attracted various speculations, including a Middle Eastern Semitic
, or pharaonic Egyptian origin to the Pictish language
. Most mainstream scholars believe the Pictish language to have been P-Celtic (i.e. an Indo-European
language of the Celtic
branch), and there is no real evidence that legends of piskies are related to the historical Picts.
There is evidence that there was long-distance trade
in tin
or copper
from Cornwall in Iron Age
times. Some speculate that the traders were of Phoenicia
n or Carthaginian origin. Timothy Champion found it likely that the trade of the Phoenicians with Britain was indirect and under the control of the Veneti
of Brittany
.
There is also a legendary tradition concerning a visit by the biblical Joseph of Arimathea
to Cornwall, which in some forms, makes the claim that the boy Jesus accompanied him.
The Cornish language
is also a topic that has attracted pseudohistorical interpretations and folk etymologies, notably the origin of the Cornish word kyttrin, meaning in English
, bus (motorbus) (in the context of public transport) Folk etymology has also been associated with surnames derived from the Cornish language. The Cornish language is however of mainstream linguistic
, historic
, and cultural interest.
John Boson
writes in 1710, (transliterated into a revived Cornish orthography):
There is a variety of traditional Cornish folklore
which includes stories concerning giants, piskies and other folkloric beings. The Brutus
myth, is an important phase in the pseudohistory of Cornwall, wherein Corineus
defeated the giant Gogmagog
and founded the kingdom of Cornwall
.
The pre-Christian era religious beliefs
in Cornwall are also important. The preeminent pseudohistoric personage in Cornwall is King Arthur
. Although details concerning his life are difficult to separate from later medieval interpretations, he does seem to be based on a historical leader of the Celtic Britons
. The legendary Dukes of Cornwall
also feature in pseudohistory. The Cornish strand of the Arthurian tradition has been summarised and reviewed in a book entitled Inside Merlin’s Cave: a Cornish Arthurian reader 1000-2000.
The 19th century Celtic revival
, Neo-Paganism, and the New Age
movements draw greatly on the pseudohistory of Cornwall.
in the context of Cornwall
. The pseudogeography of Cornwall has been studied by Carl Phillips. One difference between ley lines and songlines
, are that ley lines are straight, whereas songlines may not be.
Porthemmet is an example of a pseudogeographical 'place' in Cornwall. There have been other examples of fictional placenames which are made up to sound like they are in Cornwall but do not correspond to actual geolocation
s.
Historical linguistic ideas that are sometimes drafted in to support pseudohistorical claims:
Relevant concepts in pseudogeography:
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...
that fall outside mainstream archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
, history
History of Cornwall
The history of Cornwall begins with the pre-Roman inhabitants, including speakers of a Celtic language that would develop into Brythonic and Cornish. Cornwall was part of the territory of the tribe of the Dumnonii. After a period of Roman rule, Cornwall reverted to rule by independent...
, and cultural
Culture of Cornwall
The culture of Cornwall forms part of the culture of the United Kingdom, but has some distinct customs, traditions and peculiarities. Cornwall, a non-metropolitan and ceremonial county of England, a duchy, and a Celtic nation, has many strong local traditions...
studies. Pseudoarchaeological
Pseudoarchaeology
Pseudoarchaeology — also known as alternative archaeology, fringe archaeology, fantastic archaeology, or cult archaeology — refers to interpretations of the past from outside of the academic archaeological community, which typically also reject the accepted scientific and analytical methods of the...
approaches differ from the mainstream disciplines in methodology, which often leads to very different ideas. Mainstream scholars generally do not consider the methodologies used in pseudoarcheology to be valid, since they do not follow the scientific method
Scientific method
Scientific method refers to a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of...
.
Pseudohistorical myths associated with Cornwall, notably the Arthurian tradition and the Brutus
Brutus
Brutus is the cognomen of the Roman gens Junia, a prominent family of the Roman Republic. The plural of Brutus is Bruti, and the vocative form is Brute, as immortalized in the quotation "Et tu, Brute?", from Shakespeare's play, Julius Caesar....
myth form an important part of cultural history and have had great influence.
The density and antiquity of archaeological sites in Cornwall has attracted many, including people associated with the New Age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
, and neo-pagan movements.
Pseudoarchaeology and ideas like it may go by other names including "alternative archaeology" and Earth mysteries
Earth mysteries
The term Earth mysteries describes an interest in a wide range of spiritual, quasi-religious and pseudo-scientific ideas focusing on cultural and religious beliefs about the Earth, generally with regard to particular geographical locations of historical significance.The study of ley lines...
.
Pseudohistory of Cornwall
There is a Cornish legend of the lost land of LyonesseLyonesse
Lyonesse is a country in Arthurian legend, particularly in the story of Tristan and Iseult. Said to border Cornwall, it is most notable as the home of the hero Tristan, whose father was king...
, which was lost to the sea in the past. The exact location of Lyonesse is in doubt. It is claimed to represent the folk memory of the flooding of the Isles of Scilly
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. The islands have had a unitary authority council since 1890, and are separate from the Cornwall unitary authority, but some services are combined with Cornwall and the islands are still part...
and Mount's Bay
Mount's Bay
Mount's Bay is a large, sweeping bay on the English Channel coast of Cornwall in the United Kingdom, stretching from the Lizard Point to Gwennap Head on the eastern side of the Land's End peninsula. Towards the middle of the bay is St Michael's Mount...
near Penzance
Penzance
Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London...
. For example, the Cornish name of St Michael's Mount is Karrek Loos y'n Koos, literally, "the grey rock in the wood". The Breton
Breton mythology
Breton mythology is the mythology or corpus of explanatory and herioc tales originating in Brittany, now in France. Bretons were a subset of Celtic people that adopted Christianity. Celtic tradition predominates their mythology:* Ankou* Bugul Noz* Korrigan...
legend of Ys
Ys
Ys , also spelled Is or Kêr-Is in Breton, and Ker-Ys in French , is a mythical city that was built on the coast of Brittany and later swallowed by the ocean...
is a similar concept.
Some people believe that the Cornish 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...
was not the first language spoken in Cornwall after the end of the most recent glacial period within the Ice Age
Quaternary glaciation
Quaternary glaciation, also known as the Pleistocene glaciation, the current ice age or simply the ice age, refers to the period of the last few million years in which permanent ice sheets were established in Antarctica and perhaps Greenland, and fluctuating ice sheets have occurred elsewhere...
. One idea is that Vasconic languages
Vasconic languages
The Vasconic substratum theory is a proposal that many western European languages contain remnants of an old language family of Vasconic languages, of which Basque is the only surviving member. The proposal was made by the German linguist Theo Vennemann, but has been rejected by other linguists...
, related to present day Basque
Basque language
Basque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories...
were spoken in Cornwall and other areas of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. This idea has been advanced by mainstream scholars, but it has also been used by others in support of pseudohistorical assertions.
Links with the ancient Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
are also involved in pseudohistorical claims related to Cornwall and the wider Celtic Britain, including speculation concerning the identity of the Picts
Picts
The Picts were a group of Late Iron Age and Early Mediaeval people living in what is now eastern and northern Scotland. There is an association with the distribution of brochs, place names beginning 'Pit-', for instance Pitlochry, and Pictish stones. They are recorded from before the Roman conquest...
. Some have associated the Cornish piskies of folklore with the Picts. The identity and origins of the Picts have attracted various speculations, including a Middle Eastern Semitic
Semitic
In linguistics and ethnology, Semitic was first used to refer to a language family of largely Middle Eastern origin, now called the Semitic languages...
, or pharaonic Egyptian origin to the Pictish language
Pictish language
Pictish is a term used for the extinct language or languages thought to have been spoken by the Picts, the people of northern and central Scotland in the Early Middle Ages...
. Most mainstream scholars believe the Pictish language to have been P-Celtic (i.e. an Indo-European
Indo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major current languages of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and South Asia and also historically predominant in Anatolia...
language of the Celtic
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
branch), and there is no real evidence that legends of piskies are related to the historical Picts.
There is evidence that there was long-distance trade
Tin sources and trade in ancient times
Tin is an essential metal in the creation of tin bronzes and its acquisition has been an important part of Bronze Age and later cultures throughout ancient history. Its use began in the Near East and the Balkans around 3000 BC...
in tin
Tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...
or copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
from Cornwall in Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
times. Some speculate that the traders were of Phoenicia
Phoenicia
Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...
n or Carthaginian origin. Timothy Champion found it likely that the trade of the Phoenicians with Britain was indirect and under the control of the Veneti
Veneti (Gaul)
The Veneti were a seafaring Celtic people who lived in the Brittany peninsula , which in Roman times formed part of an area called Armorica...
of 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...
.
There is also a legendary tradition concerning a visit by the biblical Joseph of Arimathea
Joseph of Arimathea
Joseph of Arimathea was, according to the Gospels, the man who donated his own prepared tomb for the burial of Jesus after Jesus' Crucifixion. He is mentioned in all four Gospels.-Gospel references:...
to Cornwall, which in some forms, makes the claim that the boy Jesus accompanied him.
The Cornish 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...
is also a topic that has attracted pseudohistorical interpretations and folk etymologies, notably the origin of the Cornish word kyttrin, meaning 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...
, bus (motorbus) (in the context of public transport) Folk etymology has also been associated with surnames derived from the Cornish language. The Cornish language is however of mainstream linguistic
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
, historic
History of Cornwall
The history of Cornwall begins with the pre-Roman inhabitants, including speakers of a Celtic language that would develop into Brythonic and Cornish. Cornwall was part of the territory of the tribe of the Dumnonii. After a period of Roman rule, Cornwall reverted to rule by independent...
, and cultural interest.
John Boson
John Boson (writer)
John Boson was a writer in the Cornish language. The son of Nicholas Boson, he was born in Paul, Cornwall. He taught Cornish to William Gwavas. His works in Cornish include an epitaph for the language scholar John Keigwin, and the "Pilchard Curing Rhyme". He also translated parts of the Bible, the...
writes in 1710, (transliterated into a revived Cornish orthography):
- Gomar mab Jafet mab Noy a veu an kensa den a wrug clappya Kernowak i’n termyn a veu Tour Babel derevys - which translates as: "Gomer son of Japhet son of Noah was the first man to talk Cornish at the time when the Tower of Babel was built"
There is a variety of traditional Cornish folklore
Cornish folklore
Cornish folklore is the folk tradition which has developed in Cornwall. There is much traditional folklore in Cornwall, often tales of giants, mermaids, Bucca, piskies or the 'pobel vean' These are still surprisingly popular today, with many events hosting a 'droll teller' to tell the stories:...
which includes stories concerning giants, piskies and other folkloric beings. The Brutus
Brutus
Brutus is the cognomen of the Roman gens Junia, a prominent family of the Roman Republic. The plural of Brutus is Bruti, and the vocative form is Brute, as immortalized in the quotation "Et tu, Brute?", from Shakespeare's play, Julius Caesar....
myth, is an important phase in the pseudohistory of Cornwall, wherein Corineus
Corineus
Corineus, in medieval British legend, was a prodigious warrior, a fighter of giants, and the eponymous founder of Cornwall.According to Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain , he led the descendants of the Trojans who fled with Antenor after the Trojan War and settled on the coasts...
defeated the giant Gogmagog
Gogmagog (folklore)
Gogmagog - also Goemagot, Goemagog or Gogmagoc - was a legendary giant in British folklore. According to the 12th Century Historia Regum Britanniae by Geoffrey of Monmouth, Gogmagog was a giant inhabitant of Albion, and was thrown off a cliff during a wrestling match with Corineus who was a...
and founded the kingdom of Cornwall
Kingdom of Cornwall
The Kingdom of Cornwall was an independent polity in southwest Britain during the Early Middle Ages, roughly coterminous with the modern English county of Cornwall. During the sub-Roman and early medieval periods Cornwall was evidently part of the kingdom of Dumnonia, which included most of the...
.
The pre-Christian era religious beliefs
Celtic polytheism
Celtic polytheism, commonly known as Celtic paganism, refers to the religious beliefs and practices adhered to by the Iron Age peoples of Western Europe now known as the Celts, roughly between 500 BCE and 500 CE, spanning the La Tène period and the Roman era, and in the case of the Insular Celts...
in Cornwall are also important. The preeminent pseudohistoric personage in Cornwall is 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...
. Although details concerning his life are difficult to separate from later medieval interpretations, he does seem to be based on a historical leader of the Celtic Britons
Britons (historical)
The Britons were the Celtic people culturally dominating Great Britain from the Iron Age through the Early Middle Ages. They spoke the Insular Celtic language known as British or Brythonic...
. The legendary Dukes of Cornwall
Legendary Dukes of Cornwall
"Duke of Cornwall" appears as a title in pseudo-historical authors as Nennius and Geoffrey of Monmouth. The list is extremely patchy, and not every succession was unbroken. Indeed, Geoffrey repeatedly introduces Dukes of Cornwall only to promote them to the Kingship of the Britons and thus put an...
also feature in pseudohistory. The Cornish strand of the Arthurian tradition has been summarised and reviewed in a book entitled Inside Merlin’s Cave: a Cornish Arthurian reader 1000-2000.
The 19th century Celtic revival
Celtic Revival
Celtic Revival covers a variety of movements and trends, mostly in the 19th and 20th centuries, which drew on the traditions of Celtic literature and Celtic art, or in fact more often what art historians call Insular art...
, Neo-Paganism, and the New Age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
movements draw greatly on the pseudohistory of Cornwall.
Pseudogeography
Ley lines are a popular concept in pseudoarchaeology, although some, including Andy Norfolk, have considered Aboriginal songlinesSonglines
Songlines, also called Dreaming tracks by Indigenous Australians within the animist indigenous belief system, are paths across the land which mark the route followed by localised 'creator-beings' during the Dreaming...
in the context of 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...
. The pseudogeography of Cornwall has been studied by Carl Phillips. One difference between ley lines and songlines
Songlines
Songlines, also called Dreaming tracks by Indigenous Australians within the animist indigenous belief system, are paths across the land which mark the route followed by localised 'creator-beings' during the Dreaming...
, are that ley lines are straight, whereas songlines may not be.
Porthemmet is an example of a pseudogeographical 'place' in Cornwall. There have been other examples of fictional placenames which are made up to sound like they are in Cornwall but do not correspond to actual geolocation
Geolocation
Geolocation is the identification of the real-world geographic location of an object, such as a radar, mobile phone or an Internet-connected computer terminal...
s.
See also
- Cornish folkloreCornish folkloreCornish folklore is the folk tradition which has developed in Cornwall. There is much traditional folklore in Cornwall, often tales of giants, mermaids, Bucca, piskies or the 'pobel vean' These are still surprisingly popular today, with many events hosting a 'droll teller' to tell the stories:...
- PseudohistoryPseudohistoryPseudohistory is a pejorative term applied to a type of historical revisionism, often involving sensational claims whose acceptance would require rewriting a significant amount of commonly accepted history, and based on methods that depart from standard historiographical conventions.Cryptohistory...
- Earth mysteriesEarth mysteriesThe term Earth mysteries describes an interest in a wide range of spiritual, quasi-religious and pseudo-scientific ideas focusing on cultural and religious beliefs about the Earth, generally with regard to particular geographical locations of historical significance.The study of ley lines...
- History of CornwallHistory of CornwallThe history of Cornwall begins with the pre-Roman inhabitants, including speakers of a Celtic language that would develop into Brythonic and Cornish. Cornwall was part of the territory of the tribe of the Dumnonii. After a period of Roman rule, Cornwall reverted to rule by independent...
- ScotaScotaScota, in Irish mythology, Scottish mythology, and pseudohistory, is the name given to two different mythological daughters of two different Egyptian Pharaohs to whom the Gaels traced their ancestry, allegedly explaining the name Scoti, applied by the Romans to Irish raiders, and later to the Irish...
- (character in Scottish and Irish pseudohistory) - Basque mythologyBasque mythologyThe mythology of the ancient Basques largely did not survive the, albeit late, arrival of Christianity in the Basque Country between the 4th and 12th century AD...
Historical linguistic ideas that are sometimes drafted in to support pseudohistorical claims:
- Vasconic substratum theory
- Atlantic (Semitic) languagesAtlantic (semitic) languagesThe Atlantic languages of Semitic or "Semitidic" origin are a disputed concept in historical linguistics put forward by Theo Vennemann...
Relevant concepts in pseudogeography:
- Ley lines
- SonglinesSonglinesSonglines, also called Dreaming tracks by Indigenous Australians within the animist indigenous belief system, are paths across the land which mark the route followed by localised 'creator-beings' during the Dreaming...
- EthnogeologyEthnogeologyEthnogeology is the study of how geological features were understood by ancient peoples around the globe from a "place-based" perspective, in specific reference to traditional knowledge and to the stories and ideas about the Earth that were passed down through traditions and the wisdom of elders...