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Cornouaille Kernev, Kerne | |
|---|---|
 Flag .svg) Coat of arms | |
 Cornouaille's location within Brittany | |
| Country |  France |
| Historic capital | Quimper |
| Area | |
• Total | 5,979 km2 (2,309 sq mi) |
Cornouaille (French pronunciation:[kɔʁnwaj]ⓘ;Breton:Kernev,Kerne) is ahistorical region on the west coast ofBrittany inWest France. The name iscognate withCornwall in neighbouringGreat Britain. This can be explained by the settlement of Cornouaille by migrant princes from Cornwall who created an independentprincipality founded by Rivelen Mor Marthou,[1][2] and the founding of the Bishopric of Cornouaille by ancient saints from Cornwall.Celtic Britons and the settlers in Brittany spokea common language, which later evolved intoBreton,Welsh andCornish.
The toponym Cornouaille was established in the early Middle Ages in the southwest of the Breton peninsula.[3] Prior to this, following the withdrawal of Rome from Britain, British migrants from what is nowDevon had established the region ofDomnonea (in Breton) orDomnonée (in French) in the north of the peninsula, taken from the LatinDumnonia.
The first mention in surviving records of aCornouaille-related name was made between 852 and 857, whenAnaweten, bishop ofSaint-Corentin atQuimper Cathedral, took over theCornugallensis under the order ofNominoe,Duke of Brittany andTad ar Vro. The names Cornwall and Cornouaille, like the surname Cornwallis, are fromCorn-wealas. The first element is from the name of a Brythonic tribe Latinized asCornovii, meaning 'peninsula people', from the Celtickernou, 'horn, headland', fromPIE*ker- 'uppermost part of the body, head, horn, top, summit'.[4][5] The second element is theAnglo-Saxon suffix-wealas, fromwalh, a word used by the Germanic speakers for 'a non-Germanic foreigner', especially Celtic speakers but also sometimes used forRomance-language speakers.Walh is an element found in the words and nameswalnut,Walloon,Wales,Wallasey,Waleswood,Wallachia,Wallace,Walcheren, andWalsh.[6]
ACorn-/Kern- name was used in reference to resettlement by a second wave of Celts from Great Britain in formerly Dumnonian-seized lands. This is related to the distinction made in French betweenGrande-Bretagne (Great Britain) andBretagne (Brittany) – Brittany having originally been thought of as a British colony (and the second such in the same area). Cornouaille is known inBreton as Kernev orBro-Gernev, and inLatin asCornugallia orCornubia. In Cornish,Kernev is writtenKernow, but the name is pronounced the same in both languages.
Strong contacts betweenArmorica (a larger region than theDuchy of Brittany or modernBrittany) and southern Britain had already been noted byJulius Caesar. Native British troops were hired to support the usurpation ofMagnus Maximus, who is said to have settled them inArmorica. Settlements expanded when invadingAnglo-Saxons expanded westward within Britain.[7] Strong links existed in the 6th century between the British and Armorican territories. Legends aboutKing Arthur and theMatter of Britain make frequent reference to the maritime connections between the peoples of Wales, southernIreland, Cornwall in southwestern Britain and the early kingdoms of Brittany, cf. the tale ofTristan and Iseult.
The existence of an ancient district inAnjou called "la Cornuaille" has led to the hypothesis thatCornouaille may have been a geographical or military label for all of southernBrittany as far as the northern shore ofDomnonée in the 6th or 7th century.[speculation?]
At the origin of thisfeudalcounty, the reigning dynasty acceded to a dukedom of the region,[when?] which then passed to the Ancient Lord-Bishop of Quimper.
The nameCornouaille signifies thediocese ofQuimper which persisted until theFrench Revolution. The diocese covered more than half of the south ofFinistère, and extended over part ofMorbihan and theCôtes-d'Armor. There were twoarchdeacons, one for Cornouaille and one forPoher. There were also a cantor, a treasurer, a theologian and twelve canons. This episcopal division was the poorest in Brittany.
After the French Revolution, the new constitution created a diocese of Finistère, erasing that of the diocese of Kerne (Cournouaille); most of the old diocese was absorbed into the new.
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47°59′45″N4°05′52″W / 47.9958°N 4.0978°W /47.9958; -4.0978
