The promontory people an early history of the Cornish

by Craig Weatherhill

The Promontory People tells the story of the ancient Cornish people as it has never been told before, using up-to-date archaeological, archaeo-linguistic and genetic research.

Genres: History

221 pages, Paperback

Published November 28, 2018

About the author

Craig Weatherhill (1950 or 1951–2020) was a Cornish antiquarian, novelist and writer on the history, archaeology, place names and mythology of Cornwall.

Reviews

[Gus Williams]

Sadly, the author is no longer with us but his enthusiasm will remain in his books. There is a lot of information that isn’t generally known about early Cornish history that is featured in this book. The last section on more recent DNA research into the origins of the peoples of Britain is fascinating.

[Owain]

Craig died the day before I finished reading this book. I didn't know him but I know people who knew him well. He has certainly left a legacy behind him - a life spent examining and excavating Cornwall' history and pre-history.

This book reads like a timeline from ice-age mesolithic to the early Norman conquest with occasional forays into the present day, where relevant. There are many interesting points to ponder. I liked thinking about how the builders of the numerous megalithic sites would have likely spoken something related to the precursor of modern Basque as they came via the western coast of Europe to Cornwall and indeed most modern day Cornish people are most closely related to the Basque people, genetically speaking. I wonder what it was like when they diverged, when those new settlers came during the neolithic and converted those hunter gatherers into farmers or when the Indo-European culture spread bringing bronze and the Celtic language(s). Stuff we'll likely never have deep insights to but that make amazing material for speculation.

[Benjamin]

In 'The Promontory People: An Early History of the Cornish', Craig Weatherhill does a fantastic job at presenting a vastly comprehensive history of Cornwall and the celtic peoples thereof quite literally from pangaea and continental movements right the way through until the Norman occupation and a summary of their knock-on effects to this day.

The scope of history here is brilliant, and is very digestible for someone like me, where this is my first non-fic book on cornwall, whilst also being very detailed in places with in depth discussion of more nuanced points. I would thoroughly reccomend this book to anyone interested in the history of cornwall at all, but especially for medieval and earlier history.

KERNOW BYS VYKEN !!

[Tracey- Jo]

A very interesting read, I can’t give it five stars because in some places it was quite slow in it it’s use of language for reading.
I enjoyed all the information about King Arthur and Cornwall, my home county as I’ve always been rather obsessed with that since the age of 10 and I love learning anything new about that.

[Ken Sampson]

[18 Mar 2019] This small, highly readable, book is incredibly easy to engage with and does not require pre-existing knowledge to enjoy. It tracks the story of the Cornish from the earliest Stone Age to just before the arrival of the Normans. It tells the narrative of those who walked across the land bridge after the Ice-age from Iberia and formed a tribe that lived as hunters and gatherers in the Stone age, before settled down into a more permanent dwelling in the Bronze age. The early tin industry and the Cornish trade in tin, copper and gold are explored. Clearly a very significant people who were described by traders hundreds of years before Jesus Christ as friendly and sociable.

The development of the Kingdom of Dumnonia and the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons and the hundreds of years of warfare. The Cornovii fought on and eventually defended their territory - Cornwall. The accommodation of the Anglo-Saxon Kings of Wessex is described in detail and a picture of respect and independence emerges. Some really interesting genetic studies are introduced.

The research is meticulous and presented in a general reader style, including a very convincing effort to re-create mental images of what might have been. A piece of exceptionally writing. This book is comprehensive and has pace and hangs together really well. If you have an interest in early British history then this is the book for you, if you have an interest in Cornish History then this really is required reading. If, like a lot of people, you cling to the anglo-centric notion that Cornwall is just some quirky English county then this book should be compulsory reading.

The only two things I would criticise, and then only as minor irritants are - the photographs, which are black and white, of only moderate quality and fail to convey the might and grandeur of the structures presented. The other thing is the very irritating and repetitive use of 'CE' and 'BCE' as replacements for BC & AD. I understand its now almost compulsory in the world of academia, but am not sure what advantage this alternative system has for the rest of us. It simply means each time you come across it you have to stop, think and mentally convert it back to what you understand.

[Ryan]

Back in 3 Oct 24, while walking the SWCP, I had a chance discussion with a lad at Mel-an-tol. He gave me two solid tips. The pub at Botallack, the other was this book. Took me more than a year to get a copy (basically out of print). Anyway, I’ve been waiting anticipation. I do like books on the peopling UK, so I have some biases, but I did really like this book. Such a deep, deep dive into a pretty tightly defined area. It made lots of things about Cornwall make sense, but actually really made the whole history of Britain make sense too (for a non-Brit). Also made me want to go back and finish the second half of the SWCP!