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Cornish Dance
Cornish dance ( kw, Donsyow kernewek) originates from Cornwall, UK. It has largely been shaped by the Cornish people and the industries they worked in. In most cases, particularly with the step dancing, the dances were still being performed across the region when they were collected. Cornish dance can roughly be divided into 3 areas: 'Scoot' or step dancing, 'Furry' or Feast Day dances and dance which you will often find in a 'Troyl', the Cornish equivalent of a céilidh. More recently the Nos Lowen (Happy Night) dancing has attracted interest and popularity being a simpler, spontaneous form of social dancing to Cornish traditional tunes such as jigs, hornpipes, waltzes and reels. Early history Mediaeval toponymy Cornish stone circles and rows are often called maidens. Significantly, ''medn'' is late Cornish for stone. The associated legend (of petrifaction for dancing or playing on the sabbath) is clearly post-Christian. The timing of language change from Cornish to English ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, with the River Tamar forming the border between them. Cornwall forms the westernmost part of the South West Peninsula of the island of Great Britain. The southwesternmost point is Land's End and the southernmost Lizard Point. Cornwall has a population of and an area of . The county has been administered since 2009 by the unitary authority, Cornwall Council. The ceremonial county of Cornwall also includes the Isles of Scilly, which are administered separately. The administrative centre of Cornwall is Truro, its only city. Cornwall was formerly a Brythonic kingdom and subsequently a royal duchy. It is the cultural and ethnic origin of the Cornish dias ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Newlyn Riots
The Newlyn riots occurred in Newlyn, Cornwall, UK in May 1896. Cornish fishermen did not believe in landing fish on a Sunday, so other fleets exploited their opportunity. Locals retaliated by seizing non-Cornish vessels and throwing their catch overboard. This led to three days of rioting, quelled only by the intervention of a naval destroyer. Background In the late 19th century the fishing port of Newlyn was home to one of the UK's largest fishing fleets, and was also the regular landing port for many other fishing vessels operating off the Cornish coast. At the time Newlyn was also the home to as many as five Methodist and Nonconformist (Protestantism), Non-Conformist religious groups, whose congregations included the local fishermen, most of whom practised a ban on fish being landed on the Sabbath in Christianity, Sabbath. The non-Cornish fishing crews, largely from Lowestoft and northern English ports, did not hold the same opinions about Sabbath observation, and would frequ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cornish Culture
The culture of Cornwall ( kw, Gonisogeth Kernow) forms part of the culture of the United Kingdom, but has distinct customs, traditions and peculiarities. Cornwall has many strong local traditions. After many years of decline, Cornish culture has undergone a strong revival, and many groups exist to promote Cornwall's culture and language today. Language The Cornish language is a Celtic language closely related to Breton and slightly less so to Welsh and Cumbric. All of these are directly descended from the British language formerly spoken throughout most of Britain. The language went into decline following the introduction of the English ''Book of Common Prayer'' (in 1549) and by the turn of the 19th century had ceased to be used as a community language (see main article for further discussion). During the 19th century researchers began to study the language from any remaining isolated speakers and in 1904 Henry Jenner published ''A Handbook in the Cornish Language'' which st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Morton Nance
Robert Morton Nance (1873–1959) was a British writer and leading authority on the Cornish language, a nautical archaeologist, and joint founder of the Old Cornwall Society. Nance wrote many books and pamphlets on the Cornish language, including a Cornish dictionary, which is a standard work, and edited magazines and pamphlets about Cornwall, including ''Old Cornwall'', the journal of the Federation of Old Cornwall Societies. Nance was also a nautical archaeologist of distinction and was an originator of the Society for Nautical Research. His insight and learning were displayed in his book ''Sailing-ship Models'' which appeared in 1924. He studied art in Britain and France and was both a painter and a skilled craftsman. Work with the Cornish language In 1898, Robert Morton Nance wrote "The Merry Ballad of the Cornish Pasty".Hall, Stephen (2001) ''The Cornish Pasty''. Nettlecombe: Agre Books Nance began studying the Cornish language in 1904 from Henry Jenner's A Handbook ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur Quiller-Couch
Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch (; 21 November 186312 May 1944) was a British writer who published using the pseudonym Q. Although a prolific novelist, he is remembered mainly for the monumental publication '' The Oxford Book of English Verse 1250–1900'' (later extended to 1918) and for his literary criticism. He influenced many who never met him, including American writer Helene Hanff, author of ''84, Charing Cross Road'' and its sequel, ''Q's Legacy''. His ''Oxford Book of English Verse'' was a favourite of John Mortimer fictional character Horace Rumpole. Life Arthur Quiller-Couch was born in the town of Bodmin, Cornwall. He was the son of DrThomas Quiller Couch (d.1884), who was a noted physician, folklorist and historian who married Mary Ford and lived at 63, Fore Street, Bodmin, until his death in 1884. Thomas was the product of the union of two ancient local families, the Quiller family and the Couch family. Arthur was the third in a line of intellectuals from the Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guise Dancing
Guise dancing (sometimes known as goose, goosey or geese dancing) is a form of community mumming practiced during the twelve days of Christmastide, that is, between Christmas Day and Twelfth Night in West Cornwall, England, UK. Today, guise dancing has been appropriated for feast days at other times of the year. Guise dancers dress in a disguise to hide their identity allowing them to perform in an outlandish or mischievous manner in the hope of receiving payment of food or money. The principal activities associated with guise dancing have changed through time. These have included the performance of Christmas plays such as Duffy and the Devil or St George and the Turkish Knight and traditional Cornish dance, music and song. Historical description Guise dancing was observed in the late 19th century by Cornish antiquarian M. A. Courtney who reported that the practice had been largely eliminated by 1890 in Penzance due to a decline in the traditional nature of the celebrations a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gorseth Kernow
Gorsedh Kernow (Cornish Gorsedd) is a non-political Cornish organisation, based in Cornwall, United Kingdom, which exists to maintain the national Celtic spirit of Cornwall. It is based on the Welsh-based Gorsedd, which was founded by Iolo Morganwg in 1792. History The Gorsedh Kernow ( Gorsedd of Cornwall) was set up in 1928 at Boscawen-Un by Henry Jenner, one of the early proponents of Cornish language revival, who took the bardic name "Gwas Myghal", meaning "servant of Michael". He and twelve others (including Kitty Lee Jenner) were initiated by the Archdruid of Wales. It has been held every year since, except during World War II. 1,000 people have been Cornish bards, including Dame Alida Brittain, Ken George, R. Morton Nance, and Peter Berresford Ellis. After 1939 the Council of the Gorsedd of Cornwall approved additional regalia, and asked Francis Cargeeg to design and execute new regalia for the Grand Bard, the Deputy Grand Bard and the Secretary, and two headpieces fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Margaret Ann Courtney
Margaret Ann Courtney (16 April 1834 – 12 May 1920) was an English poet and folklorist based in Penzance, Cornwall. Family life Margaret Ann Courtney was born at Penzance in 1834, the eldest daughter of Sarah Mortimer Courtney and John Sampson Courtney. Her mother was from Scilly; her father from Devon. One brother, John Mortimer Courtney, was a government official in Canada; another, Leonard Henry Courtney, was a British politician. Her younger sister Louise d'Este Courtney married Richard Oliver, a New Zealand politician from Cornwall. Publications M. A. Courtney is perhaps best known for her book ''Cornish Feasts and Folk-Lore'' (1890), a detailed description of many of the traditions and folklore present in west Cornwall. It has also appeared under the title ''Folklore and Legends of Cornwall''. Other titles by Courtney included ''Cornish Feasts and Feasten Times'' (1910) and ''Glossary of Words in Use in Cornwall'' (1880, co-authored with Dr. Thomas Quiller Couch). A p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Bottrell
William Bottrell (1816–1881) was born at Rafta, St Levan in Cornwall on 7 March 1816. He contributed greatly to the preservation of Cornish mythology. Both he and Thomas Quiller Couch contributed folk stories of West Cornwall for Robert Hunt's ''Popular Romances of the West of England'', published in 1865. Although Bottrell's contributions were acknowledged in Hunt's introduction to the book (his name given there as Botterell), there was no individual acknowledgement for each story, which was the case for Couch's contributions. The "Cornish Telegraph" invited Bottrell to write his own versions for their newspaper. These were published between 1867 and 1869 and then published as ''Traditions and Hearthside Stories of West Cornwall'' in 1870. Hunt and Bottrell were both intent on preserving the old legends but Bottrell's stories were generally much longer than similar versions published by Hunt, reflecting the way the old story tellers, known as "droll tellers", embellished the b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
'Obby 'Oss Festival
The Obby 'Oss festival is a folk custom that takes place each 1st of may in Padstow, a coastal town in North Cornwall. It involves two separate processions making their way around the town, each containing an eponymous hobby horse known as the 'Obby 'Oss. The festival starts at midnight on the 3oth of April when townspeople gather outside the Golden Lion Inn to sing the "Night Song". By morning, the town has been dressed with greenery and flowers placed around the maypole. The excitement begins with the appearance of one of the 'Obby 'Osses. Male dancers cavort through the town dressed as one of two 'Obby 'Osses, the "Old" and the "Blue Ribbon" or "Methodist" 'Obby 'Osses; as the name suggests, they are stylised depictions of horses. Prodded on by assistants known as "Teasers", each wears a mask and black frame-hung cape under which they try to catch young maidens as they pass through the town. Throughout the day, the two parades, led by the "MC" in his top hat and decorated sti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
