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Cornish mythology is the folk tradition andmythology of theCornish people. It consists partly of folk traditions developed inCornwall and partly of traditions developed byBritons elsewhere before the end of the first millennium, often shared with those of theBreton andWelsh peoples. Some of this contains remnants of the mythology of pre-Christian Britain.
The folklore of Cornwall often consists of tales of giants, mermaids,Bucca,piskies or the 'pobel vean' (little folk.) These tales are still popular today, with some events hosting a 'droll teller' or storyteller,[1][page needed] to share Cornish myths and legends. The myths and stories of Cornwall have found much publishing success, particularly in children's books. The fairy taleJack the Giant Killer takes place in Cornwall. Many early British legends associateKing Arthur with Cornwall, putting his birthplace atTintagel, the court of KingMark of Cornwall, uncle ofTristan and husband ofIseult, the most famous Cornish lovers.
Cornwall shares its ancient cultural heritage with its 'Brythonic cousins'Brittany andWales, as well asIreland and parts of England such as neighbouringDevon. Many ancient tales of theBards, whether theArthurian Cycle,Tristan and Iseult, orthe Mabinogion take place in the ancient kingdom ofCerniw between Greater and Lesser Britains with a foot on either side of the'British Sea'Mor Brettanek/Mor Breizh.
Part of Cornish mythology is derived from tales of seafaringpirates andsmugglers who thrived in and around Cornwall from the early modern period through to the 19th century. Cornish pirates exploited both their knowledge of the Cornish coast as well as its sheltered creeks and hidden anchorages. For manyfishing villages, loot and contraband provided by pirates supported a strong and secretiveunderground economy in Cornwall.[2][page needed]
Legendary creatures that appear in Cornish folklore includebuccas,knockers,Giants, andPixies.[3] Tales of these creatures are thought to have developed assupernatural explanations for the frequent and deadlycave-ins that occurred during 18th century Cornishtin mining, or else a creation of the oxygen-starved minds of exhausted miners who returned from the underground.
Theknocker is said to be about two feet tall and grizzled, but not misshapen. They tend to live underground. Here they wear tiny versions of standard miner's garb and commit random mischief, such as stealing a miner's unattended tools and food. They were often cast a smalloffering of food – usually the crust of apasty – to appease their malevolence.
Many landscape features, from the barrengranite rock features onBodmin Moor, to the dramatic cliff seascape, to the mystical form ofSt Michael's Mount are explained as the work ofGiants and English tales such as the early eighteenth centuryJack the Giant Killer may recall much older British folk traditions recorded elsewhere in medievalWelsh language manuscripts and closely related to the folk traditions ofDartmoor in neighbouring Devon.
There is a Cornish legend of the lost land ofLyonesse, supposedly lost to the sea in one night. It is claimed to represent the folk memory of the flooding of theIsles of Scilly andMount's Bay nearPenzance.[4] For example, the Cornish name of St Michael's Mount isKarrek Loos y'n Koos, literally, "the grey rock in the wood". TheBreton legend ofYs is a similar concept.
OldMichaelmas Day falls on 11 October (10 October according to some sources). According to an old legend,blackberries should not be picked after this date. This is because, so British folklore goes,Satan was banished fromHeaven on this day, fell into a blackberry bush and cursed the brambles as he fell into them. In Cornwall, a similar legend prevails, according to which thedevil urinated on them.[5]
Les Lavandières or the Midnight Washerwomen are three oldlaundresses inCeltic mythology. InWales and Cornwall, a passerby must avoid being seen by the washerwomen. If they do get seen, however, they are required to help wring out the sheets. If they twist the sheets in the same direction as the washerwomen, the individual's arms will be wrenched from their sockets and they will get pulled into the wet sheets and killed instantly. If, however, they twist in the opposite direction, the washerwomen are required to grant the person three wishes.
"Mist from the hill / Brings water for the mill; / Mist from the sea / Brings fine weather for me."[6] "Lundy plain, Sign of rain" (current in north Cornwall where Lundy Island is normally visible).
Nellie Sloggett of Padstow devoted much of her attention to Cornish folklore and legend. She collected and recorded many stories about thePiskey folk, fairies of Cornish myth and legend. She published most of her works in this category under her better-known pen-name ofEnys Tregarthen.[7]
Dozmary Pool is identified by some people with the lake in which, according toArthurian legend,Sir Bedivere threwExcalibur toThe Lady of the Lake.[8]: 11 Another legend relating to the pool concernsJan Tregeagle.
TheBeast of Bodmin has been reported many times but never identified with certainty.
TheDoom Bar at the mouth of the River Camel was, according to legend, created by the Mermaid of Padstow as a dying curse, after being shot by a sailor.
Within the bounds ofGulval parish lies the disusedDing Dong mine, reputedly one of the oldest in Cornwall. Popular local legend claims thatJoseph of Arimathea, a tin trader, visited the mine and brought a young Jesus to address the miners, although there is no evidence to support this.[9][page needed]
AtZennor, there is a legend of theMermaid of Zennor and atMousehole,Tom Bawcock is a legendary fisherman from the village who, according to legend, risked his life to go out and fish and managed to come back with enough fish to feed the village until the storm was over. All the fish was put into a big pie, and the pie called "Stargazy pie".
The Merry Maidens stone circle atSt Buryan: the local myth about the creation of the stones suggests that nineteen maidens were turned into stone as punishment for dancing on a Sunday. (Dans Maen translates as Stone Dance.)The Pipers, two megaliths some distance north-east of the circle, are said to be the petrified remains of the musicians who played for the dancers. A more detailed story explains why the Pipers are so far from the Maidens – apparently the two pipers heard the church clock in St Buryan strike midnight, realised they were breaking the sabbath, and started to run up the hill away from the maidens who carried on dancing without accompaniment. Thesepetrification legends are often associated with stone circles, and is reflected in the folk names of some of the nearby sites, for example, theTregeseal Dancing Stones, theNine Maidens of Boskednan, as well as the more distantHurlers andThe Pipers on Bodmin Moor.
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