File talk:England Great Army map.svg

Cornwall

Why is Cornwall represented on this map as part of Wessex? Asser's life of Alfred, written in 893, lists Cornwall alongside Wessex and other recognised kingdoms that existed at the time:

"The fourth to the neighbouring monasteries in all Wessex and Mercia, and also during some years, in turn, to the churches and servants of God dwelling in Wales, Cornwall, Gaul, Brittany, Northumbria, and sometimes, too, in Ireland. "

"For in the course of time he unexpectedly gave me Exeter, with the whole diocese which belonged to him in Wessex and in Cornwall" --Bodrugan (留言) 20:55, 11 October 2014 (UTC)

In 878 Cornwall was not part of Wessex, it may have possibly been a tributary kingdom, but there is no evidence to even prove that. The only sources of information from the period: Asser's Life of King Alfred (c.893), Alfred's Will (c.899) both state that Cornwall and West Devon were not part of the Kingdom of Wessex. The Burghal Hidage (c.915) shows that by then Wessex was only just creeping in to western parts of Devon, but even into the reign of Athelstan Exeter was divided between the two peoples. Supposedly Athelstan pushed the border of Cornwall back to the river Tamar, this is supported by Alfred's Will, in which he bequests two estates, one in West Devon and one in North Cornwall, which were "all that I own in the counrtry of the Cornish". In the second half of the 10th century English kings start granting lands in Cornwall (there is one charter by Athelstan, but this has been considered dubious and may be a much later forgery), showing that they had more interest or power there by that time, but the County Hidage of c.1015 and the Laws of Cnut the Great are clear that Cornwall wasn't considered part of England in the early 11th century, even if it was under their control. I can provide references if needed, but this map is very inaccurate in this regard and is being used on many wiki pages. Bodrugan (留言) 11:34, 28 May 2022 (UTC)