Post by Mal on Mar 14, 2009 5:33:47 GMT -5
I found an interesting Curnow article in an old book from the psychedelic 60's 
Handbook of Druidry by Ross Nicholls, that although it has some interesting takes on history is quite a good read!
Nicholls maintains that the Curnow family arrived in Cornwall around the time of Aethelstan in order to do a good PR job for the Wessex kings. The Curnow family take their name from Cornovia, i.e. Kernow and Nicholls gives this as an explanation for the origin of Cornwall- Kernow.
Interestingly he states that the Curnow family were bardic by tradition and although the "official" Cornish Gorseth dates from the 1920's, since their first arrival in Cornwall in the 10th century the Curnows have never been without a bard.
Although the history of this is somewhat open to debate, it could be the vague memory of something else.
The Cornovii were a documented Celtic tribe from the Midlands/Welsh borders. The city of Wroxeter being Virconium Cornoviorum. One theory argues that at the time of the Anglo-Saxon invasions and the turnmoil of Britain in the post-Roman period the Cornovii may have moved into Dumnonia, i.e. Penzance to Bristol and attained an aristocratic position thus Cornwall becoming the territory of the Cornovian kings in Dumnonia. With the subsequent conquests and losses, depending on whose side you were on, the Britons slowly retreated to the Tamar border that we recognise as demarkating Cornwall and Devon more or less today.
Bringing this back to the Curnow family, perhaps these were Cornovian families that relocated at the time of the Anglo-Saxon conquests and perhaps they did have the odd bard among them. Dumnonia was not a very Romanised part of Britannia, in fact Exeter was more or less where the road ended and only a few Roman remains have been found in Cornwall proper. Perhaps these Cornovii coming from a more Romanised area were somehow considered more "civilised" or Christian, or educated etc and achieved a special status amongst the Britons of Dumnonia.
I suppose it's all open to debate but it makes for a good story at least. Interestingly enough when I was in Britanny they asked where my family came from, I said "Ils sont Cornouaillaises" to which they replied "Bon, Cornouaile en Bretagne, ou Cornouaile en Gran-Bretagne?", apparantly there are two Cornwalls, our one and the one in Brittany too!
Apologies for the French!
Handbook of Druidry by Ross Nicholls, that although it has some interesting takes on history is quite a good read! Nicholls maintains that the Curnow family arrived in Cornwall around the time of Aethelstan in order to do a good PR job for the Wessex kings. The Curnow family take their name from Cornovia, i.e. Kernow and Nicholls gives this as an explanation for the origin of Cornwall- Kernow.
Interestingly he states that the Curnow family were bardic by tradition and although the "official" Cornish Gorseth dates from the 1920's, since their first arrival in Cornwall in the 10th century the Curnows have never been without a bard.
Although the history of this is somewhat open to debate, it could be the vague memory of something else.
The Cornovii were a documented Celtic tribe from the Midlands/Welsh borders. The city of Wroxeter being Virconium Cornoviorum. One theory argues that at the time of the Anglo-Saxon invasions and the turnmoil of Britain in the post-Roman period the Cornovii may have moved into Dumnonia, i.e. Penzance to Bristol and attained an aristocratic position thus Cornwall becoming the territory of the Cornovian kings in Dumnonia. With the subsequent conquests and losses, depending on whose side you were on, the Britons slowly retreated to the Tamar border that we recognise as demarkating Cornwall and Devon more or less today.
Bringing this back to the Curnow family, perhaps these were Cornovian families that relocated at the time of the Anglo-Saxon conquests and perhaps they did have the odd bard among them. Dumnonia was not a very Romanised part of Britannia, in fact Exeter was more or less where the road ended and only a few Roman remains have been found in Cornwall proper. Perhaps these Cornovii coming from a more Romanised area were somehow considered more "civilised" or Christian, or educated etc and achieved a special status amongst the Britons of Dumnonia.
I suppose it's all open to debate but it makes for a good story at least. Interestingly enough when I was in Britanny they asked where my family came from, I said "Ils sont Cornouaillaises" to which they replied "Bon, Cornouaile en Bretagne, ou Cornouaile en Gran-Bretagne?", apparantly there are two Cornwalls, our one and the one in Brittany too!
Apologies for the French!
