Federation of Old Cornwall Societies
Encyclopedia
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
— its traditions, its old words and ways, and what remains to it of its Celtic language
Cornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
and nationality". The motto of the federation is "Kyntelleugh an brewyon es gesys na vo kellys travyth", which translated into English is "Gather ye the fragments that are left, that nothing be lost". The motto in the OCS logo is the Cornish phrase King Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
is not dead. The first Old Cornwall Society was established by Robert Morton Nance
Robert Morton Nance
Robert Morton Nance was a leading authority on the Cornish language, nautical archaeologist, and joint founder of the Old Cornwall Society....
in St Ives in 1920.
Summer events
The OCS celebrate the old Cornish tradition of midsummerMidsummer
Midsummer may simply refer to the period of time centered upon the summer solstice, but more often refers to specific European celebrations that accompany the actual solstice, or that take place on a day between June 21 and June 24, and the preceding evening. The exact dates vary between different...
bonfires, normally held on June 23 each year. The hilltop bonfires that form a chain are currently held at Kit Hill
Kit Hill
Kit Hill dominates the area between Callington and the River Tamar in southeast Cornwall, UK. The word 'Kit' comes from Old English for Kite, a reference to birds of prey . Buzzards and Sparrowhawks can still be seen on the hill...
, St Breock
St Breock
St Breock is a village and a civil parish in north Cornwall, United Kingdom. St Breock village is 1 mile west of Wadebridge immediately to the south of the Royal Cornwall Showground. The village lies on the eastern slope of the wooded Nansent valley...
Beacon, Castle An Dinas, and Redruth
Redruth
Redruth is a town and civil parish traditionally in the Penwith Hundred in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It has a population of 12,352. Redruth lies approximately at the junction of the A393 and A3047 roads, on the route of the old London to Land's End trunk road , and is approximately west of...
.
In the autumn the harvest festival known as Crying The Neck
Crying The Neck
Crying The Neck is a harvest festival tradition practised in the county of Cornwall. The tradition was also once popular in the county of Devon, but its practice there has since died out...
is also celebrated by the OCS.
Periodical
Old Cornwall, the journal of the Federation, began publication in 1925 and is published semiannually. A number of parts form a larger volume; volume XI was completed in 1997. ISSN 1741-0932; ISSN 0472-8653. The first editor was Robert Morton NanceRobert Morton Nance
Robert Morton Nance was a leading authority on the Cornish language, nautical archaeologist, and joint founder of the Old Cornwall Society....
.
External links
- Main site of FOCS
- List of individual societies in FOCS
- South Australia's Kernewek Lowender (Cornish Festival)
- Cornish Association of Victoria, Australia
- Cornish Association of Bendigo, Victoria, Australia
- London Cornish Association
- The New Zealand Cornish Association
- Strange days: Fired by ancient zeal in Cornwall Daily Telegraph article on Midsummer bonfires