Page:Cornwall (Salmon).djvu/42

 CORNWALL VL History While events which more directly belong to certain localities will be mentioned under the heading of those localities in the alphabetic section of this book, a general sketch of the duchy's history must be given here. The name of Cornwall has been differently derived. Its difficulty, if any, lies in the first syllable ; the " wall " we know to be a corrup- tion of the Saxon -j-'cala or zvcalas, the same root as we find in Wales and Welsh, and which, possibly in the first place derived from Galli or Gael, came to signify stranger, out- lander, alien. Tradition derives the "Corn" from Corineus, a companion of the mythical Trojan Brutus ; which is of course moonshine. Almost certainly it derives from the root corn, coruu, or krrneu, which we probably have in the name of the British tribe Cornavii. When many of the Cornish migrated to Brittany, they took this name with them, and thus there was a Breton Cornuaille as well as a British one. But Cornwall is rich in records that go back to a time earlier than any such name — not written records, but such memorials as we can read in cairn, earthwork and barrow. Both traditionally and in reality we begin with the giants. A tall palasolithic race is the first to be traced in Britain, a race using rude stone implements, and understanding the use of fire. They appear to have been a gentle peaceable 24