[1] M'Culloch found from a comparison of the prices of corn and wages
of labour in the reign of Henry VII. and the latter part of the reign
of Elizabeth, that in the former period a labourer could earn a
quarter of wheat in 20, a quarter of rye in 12, and a quarter of
barley in 9 days; whereas, in the latter period, to earn a quarter of
wheat required 48, a quarter of rye 32, and a quarter of barley 29
days' labour.
CORN-SALAD, or LAMB'S LETTUCE, _Valerianella olitoria_ (natural order
Valerianaceae), a weedy annual, native of southern Europe, but
naturalized in cornfields in central Europe, and not infrequent in
Britain. In France it is used in salads during winter and spring as a
substitute for lettuces, but it is less esteemed in England. The plant
is raised from seed sown on a bed or border of light rich earth, and
should be weeded and watered, as occasion requires, till winter, when it
should be protected with long litter during severe frost. The largest
plants should be drawn for use in succession. Sowing may be made every
two or three weeks from the beginning of August till October, and again
in March, if required in the latter part of the spring. The sorts
principally grown are the Round-leaved and the Italian; the last is a
distinct species, _Valerianella eriocarpa_.
CORNU, MARIE ALFRED (1841-1902), French physicist, was born at Orleans
on the 6th of March 1841, and after being educated at the Ecole
Polytechnique and the Ecole des Mines, became in 1867 professor of
experimental physics in the former institution, where he remained
throughout his life. Although he made various excursions into other
branches of physical science, undertaking, for example, with J. B. A.
Bailie about 1870 a repetition of Cavendish's experiment for determining
the mean density of the earth, his original work was mainly concerned
with optics and spectroscopy. In particular he carried out a classical
redetermination of the velocity of light by A. H. L. Fizeau's method,
introducing various improvements in the apparatus, which added greatly
to the accuracy of the results. This achievement won for him, in 1878,
the _prix Lacaze_ and membership of the Academy of Sciences in France,
and the Rumford medal of the Royal Society in England. In 1899, at the
jubilee commemoration of Sir George Stokes, he was Rede lecturer at
Cambridge, his subject being the undulatory theory of light and its
influence on modern physics; and on that occasion the honorary degree of
D.Sc. was conferred on him by the university. He died at Paris on the
11th of April 1902.
CORNU COPIAE, later CORNUCOPIA ("horn of plenty"), a horn; generally
twisted, filled with fruit and flowers, or an ornament representing it.
It was used as a symbol of prosperity and abundance, and hence in works
of art it is placed in the hands of Plutus, Fortuna and similar
divinities (for the mythological account see AMALTHEIA). The symbol
probably originated in the practice of using the horns of oxen and goats
as drinking-cups; hence the _rhyton_ (drinking-horn) is often confounded
with the _cornu copiae_. For its representation in works of art, in
which it is very common, especially in those belonging to the Roman
period, see article in Daremberg and Saglio's _Dictionnaire des
Antiquites_.
CORNUS, an ancient town of Sardinia, of Phoenician origin, on the west
coast, 18 m. from Tharros, and the same from Bosa. At the time of the
Second Punic War it is spoken of as the principal city of the district,
and its capture by the Romans was the last act in the suppression of the
rebellion of 215 B.C., it having served as a place of refuge for the
fugitives after the defeat of the combined forces of the rebels and the
Carthaginians. The site of the ancient acropolis, covered with debris,
may still be made out. Here were found three inscriptions in 1831, with
dedications by the _ordo_, or town council, of Cornus to various
patrons, from one of which it seems that it was a colony, though when it
became so is unknown (Th. Mommsen, _Corp. Inscr. Lat._ X. 7915 sqq.).
Unimportant remains of an aqueduct and (perhaps) of a church exist.
Excavations in the necropolis of the Roman period are recorded by F.
Nissardi, _Notizie degli Scavi_, 1887, p. 47. Phoenician rock-cut tombs
may also be seen.
CORNUTUS, LUCIUS ANNAEUS, Stoic philosopher, flourished in the reign of
Nero. He was a native of Leptis in Libya, but resided for the most part
in Rome. He is best known as the teacher and friend of Persius, whose
satires he revised for publication after the poet's death, but handed
them over to Caesius Bassus to edit, at the special request of the
latter. He was banished by Nero (in 66 or 68) for having indirectly
disparaged the emperor's projected history of the Romans in heroic verse
(Dio Cassius lxii. 29), after which time nothing more is heard of him.
He was the author of various rhetorical works in both Greek and Latin
([Greek: Rhetorikai Technai], _De figuris sententiarum_). Another
rhetorician, also named Cornutus, who flourished A.D. 200-250 (or in the
second half of the 2nd century) was the author of a treatise [Greek:
Techne tou politikou logou] (ed. J. Graeven, 1890). A philosophical
treatise, _Theologiae Graecae compendium_ (of which the Greek title is
uncertain; perhaps, [Greek: Hellenike theologia], or [Greek: Peri tes
ton theon physeos], though the latter may be the title of an abridgment
of the former) is still extant. It is a manual of "popular mythology as
expounded in the etymological and symbolical interpretations of the
Stoics" (Sandys), and although marred by many absurd etymologies,
abounds in beautiful thoughts (ed. C. Lang, 1881). Simplicius and
Porphyry refer to his commentary on the _Categories_ of Aristotle, whose
philosophy he is said to have defended against an opponent Athenodorus
in a treatise [Greek: Antigraphepros Athenodoron]. His Aristotelian
studies were probably his most important work. A commentary on Virgil
(frequently quoted by Servius) and _Scholia_ to Persius are also
attributed to him; the latter, however, are of much later date, and are
assigned by Jahn to the Carolingian period. Excerpts from his treatise
_De enuntiatione vel orthographia_ are preserved in Cassiodorus. The
so-called _Disticha Cornuti_ (ed. Liebl, Straubing, 1888) belong to the
late middle ages.
See G. Martini, _De L. Annaeo Cornuto_ (1825); O. Jahn, _Prolegomena_
to his edition of Persius; H. von Arnim in Pauly-Wissowa's
_Realencyclopadie_, i. pt. ii. (1894); M. Schanz, _Geschichte der
romischen Litteratur_, i. 2 (1901), p. 285; W. Christ, _Geschichte der
griechischen Litteratur_ (1898), pp. 702, 755; Teuffel-Schwabe, _Hist.
of Roman Literature_ (Eng. trans.), S 299, 2.
CORNWALL, the capital of the united counties of Stormont, Dundas and
Glengarry, Ontario, Canada, 67 m. S.W. of Montreal, on the left bank of
the St Lawrence river. Pop. (1901) 6704. It is an important station on
the Grand Trunk and the Ottawa & New York railways, and is a port of
call for all steamers between Montreal and Lake Ontario ports. The
surplus from the Cornwall canal furnishes excellent water privileges for
its factories, which include cotton and woollen mills and grist and saw
mills. The town has long been celebrated for its lacrosse club. On the
opposite bank of the river is St Regis, inhabited chiefly by Indians of
the Iroquois tribe.
CORNWALL, the south-westernmost county of England, bounded N. and N.W.
by the Atlantic Ocean, E. by Devonshire, and S. and S.W. by the English
Channel. The area is 1356.6 sq. m. The most southerly extension is
Lizard Point, and the most westerly point of the mainland Land's End,
but the county also includes the Scilly Isles (q.v.), lying 25 m. W. by
S. of Land's End. No county in England has a stronger individuality than
Cornwall, whether in economic or social conditions, in history,
nomenclature, tradition, or even in the physical characteristics of the
land. Such individuality is hardly to be compassed within political
boundaries, and in some respects it is shared by the neighbouring county
of Devon, yet the traveller hardly feels its influence before passing
west of the Tamar.
Physically, Cornwall is a great promontory with a direct length of 75 m.
from N.N.E. to S.S.W., and an extreme breadth, at the junction with
Devonshire, of 45 m. The river Tamar here forms the greater part of the
boundary, and its valley divides the high moors of Devonshire and the
succession of similar broad-topped hills which form the backbone of the
Cornish promontory. The scenery is full of contrast. To the west of
Launceston the principal mass of high land rises to 1375 ft. in Brown
Willy, the highest point in the county. This district is broken and
picturesque, with rough _tors_ or hills and boulders. A remarkable pile
of rocks called the Cheese-wring, somewhat resembling an inverted
pyramid in form, is seen on the moor north of Liskeard. This district is
for the most part a region of furze and heather; but after passing
Bodmin, the true Cornish moorland asserts itself, bare, desolate and
impracticable, broken and dug into hillocks, which are sometimes due to
early mining works, sometimes to more modern search for metals. The
seventy miles from Launceston to Mount's Bay have been called not
untruly "the dreariest strip of earth traversed by any English high
road." There is hardly more cultivation on the higher ground west of
Mount's Bay, or in the Meneage or "rocky country," the old Cornish name
for the promontory which ends in the Lizard. Long combes and valleys,
however, descend from this upper moorland towards the coast on both
sides. These are in general well wooded, and, in the luxuriance of their
vegetation, strongly characteristic. The small rivers traversing them in
several cases enter fine estuaries, which ramify deeply into the land.
Such are, on the south coast, the great estuary of the Tamar, and other
streams, on which the port of Plymouth is situated (but only the western
shore is Cornish), the Looe and Fowey rivers, Falmouth Harbour, the most
important of the purely Cornish inlets and accessible for the largest
vessels, and the Helford river. On the north are the estuaries of the
Camel and the Hayle, debouching into Padstow Bay and St Ives Bay
respectively. The Fowey and Camel valleys almost completely break the
continuation of the central high ground, and the uplands west of Mount's
Bay are similarly parted from the main mass by the low tract between
Hayle and Marazion. Except at the mouth of a stream or estuary the coast
is almost wholly rock-bound, and the cliff scenery is unsurpassed in
England. Three different types are found. On the north coast, from
Tintagel Head and Boscastle northward to Hartland Point in Devonshire,
the dark slate cliffs, with their narrow and distorted strata, are
remarkably rugged of outline, owing to the ease with which the waves
fret the loosely-bound rock. On the south, in the beautiful little bays
in the neighbourhood of the Lizard Point, the serpentine rock is noted
for its exquisite colouring. Between Treryn and Land's End, at the
south-west, a majestic barrier of granite is presented to the sea. The
beautiful Scilly Isles continue the line of the granite, and the
intervening sea is said to have submerged a tract of land named
Lyonesse, containing, according to tradition, 140 parish churches, and
intimately connected with the Arthurian romances.
_Geology._--One of the most striking features of Cornwall is the
presence of the four great masses of granite which rise up and form as
many elevated areas out of a lower-lying region occupied by rocks
almost entirely slaty in character, generally known as "Killas." The
granite is not the oldest of the Cornish rocks; these are found in the
Lizard peninsula and are represented by serpentine, gabbro and
metamorphic schists. With the exception of a small tract about Veryan
and Gorran, of Ordovician age, all the sedimentary rocks, as far as a
line joining Boscastle and South Petherwin, were formerly classed as
Devonian; to the north of the line are the Culm measures--slates,
grits and limestones--of Carboniferous age. The extensive spread of
Killas is not, however, entirely Devonian, as it is shown on most
maps. In the northern portion, Lower, Middle and Upper Devonian can be
distinguished; the lower beds at Polperro, Looe and Watergate, the
higher beds along the line indicated above. Farther south it has been
shown that an older set of Palaeozoic rocks constitutes at least a
part of the Killas; the Veryan series, with Caradoc fossils, is
succeeded in descending order by the Portscatho series, the Falmouth
series and the Mylor series; the lowest Devonian beds represented here
by the Menaccan series, rest unconformably upon these Ordovician beds.
Upper Silurian fossils have been found near Veryan. All these rocks
have been subjected to severe thrusting from the south, consequently
they are much contorted and folded. After this thrusting and folding
had taken place, intrusions of diabase, &c., penetrated the
sedimentary Strata in numerous places, but it was not until
post-Carboniferous times that the granite masses were intruded. The
principal granite masses are those of St Just and Land's End, Penryn,
St Austell and Bodmin Moor. To the granite Cornwall owes much of its
prosperity; it has altered the Killas for some distance around each
mass, and the veins of tin and copper ore, though richest in the
Killas, are evidently genetically related to the granite. The
principal metalliferous districts, Camborne, Redruth, St Just, &c.,
all lie near the granite margins. The china clay and china stone
industry is dependent on the fact that the granite was itself altered
in patches during the later phases of eruptive activity by the agency
of boric and fluoric vapours which kaolinized the felspar of the
granite. Later eruptions produced dykes of quartz-porphyry and other
varieties, all locally called "elvans," which penetrate both the
granite and the Killas. Small patches of Pliocene strata are found at
St Erth and St Agnes Beacon. Blown sand is an important feature at St
Pirran, Lelant, Gwythian and elsewhere, and raised beaches are
frequent round the coast. A characteristic Cornish deposit is the
"Head," an old consolidated scree or talus. Many rare minerals have
been obtained from the mines and much tin ore has been taken from the
river gravels. The river gravel at Carnon has yielded native gold.
_Climate._--The climate of Cornwall is peculiar. Snow seldom lies for
more than a few days, and the winters are less severe than in any other
part of England, the average temperature for January being 34 deg. F. at
Bude and 43.7 deg. at Falmouth. The sea-winds, except in a few sheltered
places, prevent timber trees from attaining to any great size, but the
air is mild, and the lower vegetation, especially in the Penzance
district, is almost southern in its luxuriance. Geraniums, fuchsias,
myrtles, hydrangeas and camellias grow to a considerable size, and
flourish through the winter at Penzance and round Falmouth; and in the
Scilly Isles a great variety of exotics may be seen flourishing in the
open air. Stone fruit, and even apples and pears, do not attain the same
full flavour as in the neighbouring county, owing to the want of dry
heat. The pinaster, the _Pinus_ _austriaca_, _Pinus insignis_ and other
firs succeed well in the western part of the county. All native plants
display a perfection of beauty hardly to be seen elsewhere, and the
furze, including the double-blossomed variety, and the heaths, among
which _Erica vagans_ and _ciliaris_ are characteristic, cover the
moorland and the cliff summits with a blaze of the richest colour. On
the whole the climate is healthy, though the prevalent westerly and
south-westerly winds, bringing with them great bodies of cloud from the
Atlantic, render it damp; the mean annual rainfall, though only 32.85 in.
at Bude, reaches 44.41 at Falmouth, and 50.57 at Bodmin.
_Agriculture._--About seven-tenths of the total area is under
cultivation, but oats form the only important grain-crop. Turnips,
swedes and mangolds make up the bulk of the green crops. The number of
cattle (chiefly of the Devonshire breed) is large, and many sheep are
kept; nearly 60,000 acres of hill pasture being recorded. As regards
agricultural produce, however, Cornwall is chiefly famous for the
market-gardening carried on in the neighbourhood of Penzance, where the
climate is specially suitable for the growth of early potatoes, broccoli
and asparagus. These are despatched in large quantities to the London
market; the Scilly Isles sharing in the industry. Fruit and flowers are
also grown for the market. In the valleys the soil is frequently rich
and deep; there are good arable and pasture farms, and the natural
oak-wood of these coombes has been preserved and increased by
plantation.
_Mining._--The wealth of Cornwall, however, lies not so much in the
soil, as underground and in the surrounding seas. Hence the favourite
Cornish toast, "fish, tin and copper." The tin of Cornwall has been
known and worked from a period anterior to certain history. There is no
direct proof that the Phoenician traders came to Cornwall for tin;
though it has been sought to identify the Cassiterides (q.v.) or Tin
Islands with the county or the Scilly Isles. By ancient charters the
"tinners" were exempt from all jurisdiction (save in cases affecting
land, life and limb) other than that of the Stannary Courts, and
peculiar laws were enacted in the Stannary parliaments (see STANNARIES).
For many centuries a tax on the tin, after smelting, was paid to the
earls and dukes of Cornwall. The smelted blocks were carried to certain
towns to be coined, that is, stamped with the duchy seal before they
could be sold. By an act of 1838 the dues payable on the coinage of tin
were abolished, and a compensation was awarded to the duchy instead of
them. The Cornish miners are an intelligent and independent body, and
the assistance of a Cornishman has been found necessary to the
successful development of mining in many parts of the world, while many
miners have emigrated from Cornwall to more remunerative fields abroad.
The industry has suffered from periods of depression, as before the
accession of Queen Elizabeth, who introduced miners from Germany to
resuscitate it; and in modern times the shallow workings, from which tin
could be easily "streamed," have become practically exhausted. The
deeper workings to which the miners must needs have recourse naturally
render production more costly, and the competition of foreign mines has
been detrimental. The result is that the industry is comparatively less
prosperous than formerly, and employs far fewer of the inhabitants.
However, in the district of Camborne, Carn Brea, Illogan and Redruth,
and near St Just in the extreme west, the mines are still active, while
there are others of less importance elsewhere, as near Callington in the
south-east. And when, as in 1906, circumstances affecting the production
of foreign mines cause a rise in the price of tin, the Cornish mines
enjoy a period of greater prosperity; the result being the recent
reopening of many of the mines which had been closed for twenty years.
The largest tin-mine is that of Dolcoath near Camborne. Copper is
extracted at St Just and at Carn Brea; but the output has decreased much
further than that of tin. As it lies deeper in the earth, and
consequently could not be "streamed" for, it was almost unnoticed in the
county until the end of the 15th century, and little attention was paid
to it until the last years of the 17th. No mine seems to have been
worked exclusively for copper before the year 1770; and up to that time
the casual produce had been bought by Bristol merchants, to their great
gain, at rates from L2:10s. to L4 per ton. In 1718 John Coster gave a
great impulse to the trade by draining some of the deeper mines, and
instructing the men in an improved method of dressing the ore. The trade
thereafter progressively increased, and in 1851 the mines of Devon and
Cornwall together were estimated to furnish one-third of the copper
raised throughout Europe, including the British Isles. Antimony ores and
manganese are found, and some lead occurs, being worked without great
result. Iron in lodes, as brown haematite, has been worked near
Lostwithiel and elsewhere. In the St Austell district the place of tin
and copper mining has been taken by that of the raising and preparation
of china clay. Granite is largely quarried in various districts, as at
Luxulian (between St Austell and Lostwithiel), and in the neighbourhood
of Penryn. This is the material of London and Waterloo Bridges, the
Chatham docks, and many other great works. It is for the most part
coarse-grained, though differing greatly in different places in this
respect. Fine slate is quarried and largely exported, as from the
Delabole quarries near Tintagel. These slates were in great repute in
the 16th century and earlier. Serpentine is quarried in the Lizard
district, and is worked there into small ornamental objects for sale to
visitors; it is in favour as a decorative stone. Pitchblende also
occurs, and is mined for the extraction of radium.
_Fisheries._--The fisheries of Cornwall and Devon are the most important
on the south-west coasts. The pilchard is in great measure confined to
Cornwall, living habitually in deep water not far west of the Scilly
Isles, and visiting the coast in great shoals,--one of which is
described as having extended from Mevagissey to the Land's End, a
distance, including the windings of the coast, of nearly 100 m. In
summer and autumn pilchards are caught by drift nets; later in the year
they are taken off the northern coast by seine nets. Forty thousand
hogsheads, or 120 million fish, have been taken in the course of a
single season, requiring 20,000 tons of salt to cure them. Twelve
millions have been taken in a single day; and the sight of this great
army of fish passing the Land's End, and pursued by hordes of dog-fish,
hake, and cod, besides vast flocks of sea-birds, is most striking. The
principal fishing stations are on Mount's Bay and at St Ives, but boats
are employed all along the coast. When brought to shore the pilchards
are carried to the cellars to be cured. They are then packed in
hogsheads, each containing about 2400 fish. These casks are largely
exported to Naples and other Italian ports--whence the fisherman's
toast, "Long life to the pope, and death to thousands." Besides
pilchards, mackerel and herring are taken in great numbers, and conger
eels of great size; mullet and John Dory may be mentioned. There is also
a trade in "sardines," young pilchards taking the place of the real
Mediterranean fish.
_Communications._--The principal ports are Falmouth and Penzance, but
that of Hayle is of some importance, and there are large engineering
works here. It lies on the estuary of the Hayle river, which opens into
St Ives Bay, the township of Phillack adjoining on the north-east. A
brisk coasting trade is maintained at many small ports along the coast.
Communications are provided chiefly by the Great Western railway, the
main line of which passes through the county and terminates at Penzance.
Fowey, Penryn and Falmouth, and Helston on the south, and Bodmin and
Wadebridge, Newquay and St Ives, are served by branch lines. A light
railway runs from Liskeard to Looe. The north-eastern parts of the
county (Launceston, Bude, Wadebridge) are served by the London &
South-Western railway. Coaches are run in several districts during the
summer, and in some parts, as in the neighbourhood of Penzance, and
between Helston and the Lizard, the Great Western company provides a
motor-car service to places beyond the reach of the railway. Many of the
small seaside towns have become favourite holiday resorts, such as Bude,
Newquay and St Ives, and the south-coast ports.
_Population and Administration._--The area of the ancient county is
868,220 acres, with a population in 1891 of 322,571, and in 1901 of
322,334. In 1861 the population was 369,390, and had shown an increase
up to that census. The area of the administrative county is 886,384
acres. The county contains 9 hundreds. The municipal boroughs are Bodmin
(pop. 5353), the county town; Falmouth (11,789), Helston (3088),
Launceston (4053), Liskeard (4010), Lostwithiel (1331), Penryn (3190),
Penzance (13,136), St Ives (6699), Saltash (3357), Truro (11,562), an
episcopal city. The other urban districts are Callington (1714),
Camborne (14,726), Hayle (1084), Looe (2548), Ludgvan (2274), Madron
(3486), Newquay (3115), Padstow (1566), Paul (6332), Phillack (3881),
Redruth (10,451), St Austell (3340), St Just (5646), Stratton and Bude
(2308), Torpoint (4200), Wadebridge (2186). Small market and other
towns, beyond those in the above lists, are numerous. Such are Calstock
in the east, St Germans in the south-east near Saltash, St Blazey near
St Austell, Camelford, St Columb Major, and Perranzabuloe in the north,
with the mining towns of Gwennap and Illogan in the Redruth district and
Wendron near Helston, all inland towns; while on the south coast may be
mentioned Fowey and Mevagissey, on either side of St Austell Bay, and
Marazion on Mount's Bay, close by St Michael's Mount. Cornwall is in the
western circuit, and assizes are held at Bodmin. It has one court of
quarter sessions, and is divided into 17 petty sessional divisions. The
boroughs of Bodmin, Falmouth, Helston, Launceston, Liskeard, Penryn,
Penzance, St Ives and Truro have separate commissions of the peace, and
Penzance has a separate court of quarter sessions. The Scilly Isles are
administered by a separate council, and form one of the petty sessional
divisions. There are 239 civil parishes, of which 5 are in the Scilly
Isles. Cornwall is in the diocese of Truro, and there are 227
ecclesiastical parishes or districts wholly or in part within the
county. The parliamentary divisions are the North-Eastern or Launceston,
South-Eastern or Bodmin, Mid or St Austell, Truro, North-Western or
Camborne, and Western or St Ives, each returning one member; while the
parliamentary borough of Penryn and Falmouth returns one member.
_Language._--The old Cornish language survives in a few words still in
use in the fishing and mining communities, as well as in the names of
persons and places, but the last persons who spoke it died towards the
end of the 18th century. It belonged to the Cymric division of Celtic,
in which Welsh and Armorican are also included. The most important
relics of the language known to exist are three dramas or miracle plays,
edited and translated by Edwin Norris, Oxford, 1859. A sketch of Cornish
grammar is added, and a Cornish vocabulary from a MS. of the 13th
century (Cotton MSS. Vespasian A. 14, p. 7a). (See CELT: Language and
Literature.) It may be mentioned that the great numbers of saints whose
names survive in the topography of the county are largely accounted for
by the fact that here, as in Wales, it was the practice to canonize the
founder of a church. The natives have many traits in common with the
Welsh, such as their love of oratory and their strong tribal attachment
to the county.
_History._--Cornwall was the last portion of British territory in the
south to submit to the Saxon invader. Viewed from its eastern boundary
it doubtless appeared less attractive than the rich, well-wooded lands
of Wessex, while it unquestionably afforded greater obstacles in the way
of conquest. In 815 Ecgbert directed his efforts towards the subjugation
of the West-Welsh of Cornwall, and after eight years' fighting compelled
the whole of Dyvnaint to acknowledge his supremacy. Assisted by the
Danes the Cornish revolted but were again defeated, probably in 836, at
the battle of Hengestesdun, Hingston Down in Stoke-Climsland. Ninety
years later Aethelstan banished the West-Welsh from Exeter and made the
Tamar the boundary of their territory. The thoroughness of the Saxon
conquest is evident from the fact that in the days of the Confessor
nearly the whole of the land in Cornwall was held by men bearing English
names. As the result of the Norman conquest less than one-twelfth of the
land (exclusive of that held by the Church) remained in English hands.
Six-sevenths of the manors were assigned to Robert, count of Mortain,
and became the foundation of the territorial possessions and revenues of
the earldom which was held until 1337, usually by special grant, by the
sons or near relatives of the kings of England. On the death of John of
Eltham the last earl, in 1337, Edward the Black Prince was created duke
of Cornwall. By the terms of the statute under which the dukedom was
created the succession was restricted to the eldest son of the king, but
in 1613, on the death of Prince Henry, an extended interpretation, given
by the king's advisers, enabled his brother Charles (afterwards Charles
I.) to succeed as son of the king and next heir to the realm of England.
Traces of jurisdictional differentiation anterior to Domesday survive in
the names of at least five of the hundreds, although these names do not
appear in the Survey itself. The hundreds into which the county was
divided at the time of the _Inquisitio Geldi_ were as follows:--Straton,
which embraced the present hundreds of Stratton, Lesnewth and Trigg;
Fawiton, approximately conterminous with West; Panton, now included in
Pydasr, Tibeste, Wineton, Conarditon and Rileston, very nearly identical
with Powder, Kerrier, Penwith and East. The shire court was held at
Launceston except from about 1260 to 1386, when it was held at
Lostwithiel. In 1716 the summer assize was transferred to Bodmin. Since
1836 both assizes have been held at Bodmin. The jurisdiction of the
hundred courts became early attached to various manors, and their
bailiwicks and bedellaries descended with the real estate of their
owners. There is much obscurity concerning the early ecclesiastical
organization. It is certain, however, that Cornwall had its own bishops
from the middle of the 9th century until the year 1018, when the see was
removed to Crediton. During the interval the see had been placed
sometimes at Bodmin and sometimes at St Germans. In 1049 the see of the
united dioceses of Devon and Cornwall was fixed at Exeter. Cornwall was
formed into an archdeaconry soon after, and, as such, continued until
1876, when it was reconstituted a diocese with its see at Truro. The
parishes of St Giles-on-the-Heath, North Petherwin and Wellington,
wholly in Devon, and Boyton, partly in Devon and partly in Cornwall,
which were portions of the ancient archdeaconry, and also the parishes
of Broadwoodwidger and Virginstowe, both in Devon, which had been added
to it in 1875, thus came to be included in the Truro diocese. The
present archdeaconries of Bodmin embracing the eastern, and of Cornwall
embracing the western portion of the newly constituted diocese were
formed, by order in council, in 1878. Aethelstan's enactment had
doubtless roughly determined the civil boundary of the Celtic-speaking
county. In 1386 disputes having arisen, a commission was appointed to
determine the Cornish border between North Tamerton and Hornacot.
For the first four centuries after the Norman conquest the part played
by Cornwall in England's political history was comparatively
unimportant. In her final attempt in 1471 to restore the fortunes of the
house of Lancaster, Queen Margaret received the active support of the
Cornish, who, under Sir Hugh Courtenay and Sir John Arundell,
accompanied her to the fatal field of Tewkesbury, and in 1473 John de
Vere, earl of Oxford, held St Michael's Mount in her behalf until the
following February, when he surrendered to John Fortescue. A rising of
considerable magnitude in 1497 at the instigation of Thomas Flamank,
occasioned by the levy of a tax for the Scottish war, was only repelled
after the arrival of the insurgents at Blackheath in Kent. Perkin
Warbeck, who landed at Whitsand Bay in the parish of Sennen, obtained
general support in the same year. The imposition of the Book of Common
Prayer and the abrogation of various religious ceremonies led to a
rebellion in 1549 under Sir Humphry Arundell of Lanherne, the rebels,
who knew little English, demanding the restoration of the Latin service,
but a fatal delay under the walls of Exeter led to their early defeat
and the execution of their leaders. During the Civil War of the 17th
century Cornwall won much glory in the royal cause. In 1643 Sir Ralph
Hopton, who commanded the king's Cornish troops, defeated General Ruthen
on Bradoc Down, while General Chudleigh, another parliamentary general,
was repulsed near Launceston, and the earl of Stamford at Stratton. The
whole county was thereby secured to the king. Led by Sir Beville
Grenville of Stow the Cornish troops now marched into Somersetshire,
where in the indecisive battle of Lansdowne they greatly distinguished
themselves, but lost their brave leader. In July 1644 the earl of Essex
marched into Cornwall and was followed soon afterwards by the king's
troops in pursuit. Numerous engagements were fought, in which the latter
were uniformly successful. The troops of Essex were surrounded and their
leader escaped in a boat from Fowey to Plymouth. In 1646, owing to
dissensions amongst the king's officers, and in particular to the
refusal of Sir Richard Grenville to serve under Lord Hopton, and to the
defection of Colonel Edgcumbe, the royal cause declined and became
desperate. On the 16th of August 1646 articles of capitulation were
signed by the defenders of Pendennis Castle.
Two members for the county were summoned by Edward I. to the parliament
of 1295, and two continued to be the number of county members until
1832. Six boroughs--Launceston, Liskeard, Lostwithiel, Bodmin, Truro and
Helston--were granted the like privilege by the same sovereign. To
strengthen and augment the power of the crown as against the House of
Commons, between 1547 and 1584, fifteen additional towns and villages
received the franchise, with the result that, between the latter date
and 1821, Cornwall sent no less than forty-four members to parliament.
In 1821 Grampound lost both its members, and by the Reform Act in 1832
fourteen other Cornish boroughs shared the same fate. Cornwall was, in
fact, notorious for the number of its rotten boroughs. In the vicinity
of Liskeard "within an area, which since 1885 ... is represented by only
one member, there were until 1832 nine parliamentary boroughs returning
eighteen members. In this area, on the eve of the Reform Act, there was
a population of only 14,224" (Porrit, _Unreformed House of Commons_,
vol. i. p. 92). Bossiney, a village near Camelford, Camelford itself,
Lostwithiel, East Looe, West Looe, Fowey and several others were
disfranchised in 1832, but even until the act of 1885 Bodmin, Helston,
Launceston, Liskeard and St Ives were separately represented, whereas
Penzance was not. Until this act was passed Truro, and Penryn with
Falmouth, returned two members each.
_Antiquities._--No part of England is so rich as Cornwall in prehistoric
antiquities. These chiefly abound in the district between Penzance and
the Land's End, but they occur in all the wilder parts of the county.
They may be classed as follows. (1) _Cromlechs._ These in the west of
Cornwall are called "quoits," with reference to their broad and flat
covering stones. The largest and most important are those known as
Lanyon, Mulfra, Chun and Zennor quoits, all in the Land's End district.
Of these Chun is the only one which has not been thrown down. Zennor is
said to be the largest in Europe, while Lanyon, when perfect, was of
sufficient height for a man on horseback to ride under. Of those in the
eastern part of Cornwall, Trevethy near Liskeard and Pawton in the
parish of St Breock are the finest. (2) Rude uninscribed _monoliths_ are
common to all parts of Cornwall. Those at Boleigh or Boleit, in the
parish of St Buryan, S.W. of Penzance, called the Pipers, are the most
important. (3) _Circles_, none of which is of great dimensions. The
principal are the Hurlers, near Liskeard; the Boskednan, Boscawen-un,
and Tregeseal circles; and that called the Dawns-un, or Merry Maidens,
at Boleigh. All of these, except the Hurlers, are in the Land's End
district. Other circles that may be mentioned are the Trippet Stones, in
the parish of Blisland, near Bodmin, and one at Duloe, near Liskeard.
(4) Long _alignments_ or _avenues_ of stones, resembling those on
Dartmoor, but not so perfect, are to be found on the moors near Rough
Tor and Brown Willy. A very remarkable monument of this kind exists in
the neighbourhood of St Columb Major, called the Nine Maidens. It
consists of nine rude pillars placed in a line, but now imperfect, while
near them is a single stone known as the Old Man. (5) _Hut dwellings._
Of these there are at least two kinds, those in the eastern part of the
county resembling the beehive structures and enclosures of Dartmoor, and
those in the west comprising "hut-clusters," having a central court, and
a surrounding wall sometimes of considerable height and thickness. The
beehive masonry is also found in connexion with these, as are also (6)
_Caves_, or subterraneous structures, resembling those of Scotland and
Ireland. (7) _Cliff castles_ are a characteristic feature of the Cornish
coast, especially in the west, such as Treryn, Men, Kenedjack, Bosigran
and others. These are all fortified on the landward side. At Treryn
Castle is the Logan Stone, a mass of granite so balanced as to rock upon
its support. (8) _Hill castles_, or camps, are very numerous.
Castelan-Dinas, near St Columb, is the best example of the earthwork
camp, and Chun Castle, near Penzance, of the stone.
Early Christian remains in Cornwall include crosses, which occur all
over the country and are of various dates from the 6th century onward;
inscribed sepulchral stones, generally of the 7th and 8th centuries; and
oratories. These last have their parallels in Ireland, which is natural,
since from that country and Wales Cornwall was christianized. The
buildings (also called baptisteries) are very small and rude, a simple
parallelogram in form, always placed near a spring. The best example is
St Piran's near Perranzabuloe, which long lay buried in sand dunes. St
Piran was one of the missionaries sent from Ireland by St Patrick in the
5th century, and became the patron saint of the tin-miners.
The individuality of Cornwall is reflected in its ecclesiastical
architecture. The churches are generally massive, plain structures of
granite, built as it were to resist the storms which sweep up from the
sea, low in the body, but with high unadorned towers. Within, a common
feature is the absence of a chancel arch. In a few cases, of which
Gwennap church is an illustration, where the body of the church lies low
in a valley, there is a detached campanile at a higher level. The
prevalent style is Perpendicular, much rebuilding having taken place in
this period, but there are fine examples of the earlier styles. The west
front and part of the towers of the church of St Germanus of Auxerre at
St Germans form the best survival of Norman work in the county; there
are good Norman doorways at Manaccan and Kilkhampton churches, and the
church of Morwenstow, near the coast north of Bude, is a remarkable
illustration of the same style. This church has the further interest of
having had as its rector the Cornish poet Robert Stephen Hawker
(1803-1875). The Early English style is not commonly seen, but the small
church of St Anthony in Roseland, near the east shore of Falmouth
harbour (with an ornate Norman door), and portions of the churches of
Camelford and Manaccan, are instances of this period. Decorated work is
similarly scanty, but the churches of Sheviock, in the south-east, and
St Columb Major have much that is good, and that of St Bartholomew,
Lostwithiel, has a beautiful and rich lantern and spire in this style
surmounting an Early English tower, while the body of the church is also
largely Decorated. Perpendicular churches are so numerous that it is
only needful to mention those possessing some peculiar characteristic.
Thus, the high ornamentation of Launceston and St Austell churches is
unusual in Cornwall, as is the rich and graceful tower of Probus church.
St Neot's church, near Liskeard, has magnificent stained glass of the
15th and 16th centuries.
The ruined castles of Launceston, Trematon near Saltash, Restormel near
Lostwithiel, and Tintagel, date, at least in part, from Norman times. St
Michael's Mount was at once a fortress and an ecclesiastical foundation.
Pendennis Castle, Falmouth, is of the time of Henry VIII. The mansions
of Cornwall are generally remarkable rather for their position than for
architectural interest, but Trelawne, partly of the 15th century, near
Looe, and Place House, a Tudor building, at Fowey, may be noted.
AUTHORITIES.--See Richard Carew, _Survey of Cornwall_ (London, 1602);
W. Borlase, _Antiquities of Cornwall_ (Oxford, 1754 and 1769); D.
Gilbert, _Parochial History of Cornwall_ (London, 1837-1838),
incorporating collections of W. Hals and Tonkin; J. T. Blight,
_Ancient Crosses in the East of Cornwall_ (London, 1858), and
_Churches of West Cornwall_ (London, 1865); G. C. Boase and W. P.
Courtney, _Bibliotheca Cornubiensis_, a catalogue of the writings,
both MS. and printed, of Cornishmen, and of works relating to Cornwall
(Truro and London, 1864-1881); R. Hunt, _Popular Romances and Drolls
of the West of England_ (London, 1865); W. Bottrell, _Traditions and
Hearthside Stories of West Cornwall_ (Penzance, 1870-1873); J. H.
Collins, _Handbook to the Mineralogy of Cornwall and Devon_ (Truro,
1871); W. C. Borlase, _Naenia Cornubiae_ (1872); _Early Christianity
in Cornwall_ (London, 1893); J. Bannister, _Glossary of Cornish Names_
(London, 1878); W. P. Courtney, _Parliamentary Representation of
Cornwall to 1832_ (London, 1889); G. C. Boase, _Collectanea
Cornubiensia_ (Truro, 1890); J. R. Allen, _Old Cornish Crosses_
(Truro, 1896); A. H. Norway, _Highways and Byways in Cornwall_ (1904);
Lewis Hind, _Days in Cornwall_ (1907); _Victoria County History,
Cornwall._
CORNWALLIS, CHARLES CORNWALLIS, 1st MARQUESS (1738-1805), eldest son of
Charles, 1st earl of Cornwallis (1700-1762), was born on the 31st of
December 1738. Having been educated at Eton and Clare College,
Cambridge, he entered the army. For some time he was member of
parliament for Eye; in 1761 he served a campaign in Germany, and was
gazetted to a lieutenant-colonelcy in the 12th Foot. In 1762 he
succeeded to the earldom and estates of his father; in 1765 he was made
aide-de-camp to the king and gentleman of the bedchamber; in 1766 he
obtained a colonelcy in the 33rd Foot; and in 1770 he was appointed
governor of the Tower. In public life he was distinguished by
independence of character and inflexible integrity; he voted without
regard to party, and opposed the ministerial action against Wilkes and
in the case of the American colonies. But when the American War of
Independence broke out, he accompanied his regiment across the Atlantic,
and served not without success as major-general. In 1780 he was
appointed to command the British forces in South Carolina, and in the
same year he routed Gates at Camden. In 1781 he defeated Greene at
Guilford Court House, and made a destructive raid into Virginia; but he
was besieged at Yorktown by French and American armies and a French
fleet, and was forced to capitulate on the 19th of October 1781. With
him fell the English cause in the United States. He not only escaped
censure, however, but in 1786 received a vacant Garter, and was
appointed governor-general of India and commander-in-chief in Bengal. As
an administrator he projected many reforms, but he was interrupted in
his work by the quarrel with Tippoo Sahib. In 1791 he assumed in person
the conduct of the war and captured Bangalore; and in 1792 he laid siege
to Seringapatam, and concluded a treaty with Tippoo Sahib, which
stripped the latter of half his realm, and placed his two sons as
hostages in the hands of the English. For the permanent settlement of
the land revenue under his administration, see BENGAL. He returned to
England in 1793, received a marquessate and a seat in the privy council,
and was made master-general of the ordnance with a place in the Cabinet.
In June 1798 he was appointed to the viceroyalty of Ireland, and the
zeal with which he strove to pacify the country gained him the respect
and good-will of both Roman Catholics and Orangemen. On the 17th of July
a general amnesty was proclaimed, and a few weeks afterwards the French
army under Humbert was surrounded and forced to surrender. In 1801
Cornwallis was replaced by Lord Hardwicke, and soon after he was
appointed plenipotentiary to negotiate the treaty of Amiens (1802). In
1805 he was again sent to India as governor-general, to replace Lord
Wellesley, whose policy was too advanced for the directors of the East
India Company. He was in ill-health when he arrived at Calcutta, and
while hastening up the country to assume command of the troops, he died
at Ghazipur, in the district of Benares, on the 5th of October 1805. He
was succeeded as 2nd marquess by his only son, Charles (1774-1823). On
his death the marquessate became extinct, but the title of Earl
Cornwallis passed to his uncle, James (1743-1824), who was bishop of
Lichfield from 1781 until his death. His son and successor, James, the
5th earl, whose son predeceased him in 1835, died in May 1852, when the
Cornwallis titles became extinct.
See W. S. Seton-Karr, _The Marquess Cornwallis_, "Rulers of India"
Series (1890).
CORNWALLIS, SIR WILLIAM (1744-1819), British admiral, was the brother of
the 1st Marquess Cornwallis, governor-general of India. He was born on
the 20th of February 1744, and entered the navy in 1755. His promotion
was naturally rapid, and in 1766 he had reached post-rank. Until 1779 he
held various commands doing the regular work of the navy in convoy. In
that year he commanded the "Lion" (64) in the fleet of Admiral Byron.
The "Lion" was very roughly handled in the battle off Grenada on the
6th of July 1779, and had to make her way alone to Jamaica. In March
1780 he fought an action in company with two other vessels against a
much superior French force off Monti Cristi, and had another encounter
with them near Bermuda in June. The force he engaged was the fleet
carrying the troops of Rochambeau to North America, and was too strong
for his squadron of two small liners, two fifty-gun ships and a frigate.
After taking part in the second relief of Gibraltar, he returned to
North America, and served with Hood in the actions at the Basse Terre of
St Kitts, and with Rodney in the battle of Dominica on the 12th of April
1782. Some very rough verses which he wrote on the action have been
printed in Leyland's "_Brest-Papers_," published for the Navy Record
Society, which show that he thought very ill of Rodney's conduct of the
battle. In 1788 he went to the East Indies as commodore, where he
remained till 1794. He had some share in the war with Tippoo Sahib, and
helped to reduce Pondicherry. His promotion to rear-admiral dates from
the 1st of February 1793, and on the 4th of July 1794 he became
vice-admiral.
In the Revolutionary War his services were in the Channel. The most
signal of them was performed on the 16th of June 1795, when he carried
out what was always spoken of with respect as "the retreat of
Cornwallis." He was cruising near Brest with four sail of the line and
two frigates, when he was sighted by a French fleet of twelve sail of
the line, and many large frigates commanded by Villarat Joyeuse. The
odds being very great he was compelled to make off. But two of his ships
were heavy sailers and fell behind. He was consequently overtaken, and
attacked on both sides. The rearmost ship, the "Mars" (74), suffered
severely in her rigging and was in danger of being surrounded by the
French. Cornwallis turned to support her, and the enemy, impressed by a
conviction that he must be relying on help within easy reach, gave up
the pursuit. The action affords a remarkable proof of the moral
superiority which the victory of the 1st of June, and the known
efficiency of the crews, had given to the British navy. The reputation
of Cornwallis was immensely raised, and the praise given him was no
doubt the greater because he was personally very popular with officers
and men. In 1796 he incurred a court-martial in consequence of a
misunderstanding and apparently some temper on both sides, on the charge
of refusing to obey an order from the Admiralty. He was practically
acquitted. The substance of the case was that he demurred on the ground
of health at being called upon to go to the West Indies, in a small
frigate, and without "comfort." He became full admiral in 1799, and held
the Channel command for a short interval in 1801 and from 1803 to 1806,
but saw no further service. He was made a G.C.B. in 1815, and died on
the 5th of July 1819. His various nicknames among the sailors, "Billy go
tight," given on account of his rubicund complexion, "Billy Blue,"
"Coachee," and "Mr Whip," seem to show that he was regarded with more of
affection than reverence.
See also Ralfe, _Nav. Biog._ i. 387; _Naval Chronicle_, vii. 1;
Charnock, _Biogr. Nav._ vi. 523.
CORO, a small city and the capital of the state of Falcon, Venezuela, 7
m. W. of La Vela de Coro (its port on the Caribbean coast), with which
it is connected by rail, and 199 m. W.N.W. of Caracas. Pop. (1904,
estimate) 9500. Coro stands on a sandy plain between the Caribbean and
the Gulf of Venezuela, and near the isthmus connecting the peninsula of
Paraguana with the mainland. Its elevation above sea-level is only 105
ft., and its climate is hot but not unhealthy. The city is badly built,
its streets are unpaved, and it has no public buildings of note except
two old churches. Its water-supply is derived from springs some distance
away. Coro is the commercial centre for an extensive district on the E.
side of Lake Maracaibo and the Gulf of Venezuela, which exports large
quantities of goat-skins, an excellent quality of tobacco, and some
coffee, cacao, castor beans, timber and dyewoods. It was founded in 1527
by Juan de Ampues, who gave to it the name of Santa Ana de Coriana
(afterwards corrupted to Santa Ana de Coro) in honour of the day and of
the tribe of Indians inhabiting this locality. It was also called
Venezuela (little Venice) because of an Indian village on the gulf coast
built on piles over the shallow water; this name was afterwards bestowed
upon the province of which Coro was the capital. Coro was also made the
chief factory of the Welsers, the German banking house to which Charles
V. mortgaged this part of his colonial possessions, and it was the
starting-point for many exploring and colonizing expeditions into the
interior. It was made a bishopric in 1536, and for a time Coro was one
of the three most important towns on the northern coast. The seat of
government was removed to Caracas in 1578 and the bishopric five years
later. Coro is celebrated in Venezuelan history as the scene of
Miranda's first attempt to free his country from Spanish rule. It
suffered greatly in the war which followed.
COROMANDEL COAST, a name formerly applied officially to the eastern
seaboard of India approximately between Cape Calimere, in 10 deg. 17'
N., 79 deg. 56' E., and the mouths of the Kistna river. The shore, which
is low, is without a single good natural harbour, and is at all times
beaten by a heavy sea. Communication with ships can be effected only by
catamarans and flat-bottomed surf-boats. The north-east monsoon, which
lasts from October till April, is exceedingly violent for three months
after its commencement. From April till October hot southerly winds blow
by day; at night the heat is tempered by sea-breezes. The principal
places frequented by shipping are Pulicat, Madras, Sadras, Pondicherry,
Cuddalore, Tranquebar, Nagore, and Negapatam. The name Coromandel is
said to be derived from _Cholamandal_, the mandal or region of the
ancient dynasty of the Chola. Its official use has lapsed.
CORONA (Lat. for "crown"), in astronomy, the exterior envelope of the
sun, being beyond the photosphere and chromosphere, invisible in the
telescope and unrecognized by the spectroscope, except during a total
eclipse (see SUN; ECLIPSE).
_Corona Borealis_, also known as the _Corona septentrionalis_, and the
Northern Crown or Garland, is a constellation of the Northern
hemisphere, mentioned by Eudoxus (4th cent. B.C.) and Aratus (3rd cent.
B.C.). In the catalogues of Ptolemy, Tycho Brahe, and Hevelius, eight
stars are mentioned; but recent uranographic surveys have greatly
increased this number. The most interesting members are: [sigma]
_Coronae_, a binary consisting of a yellow star of the 6th magnitude,
and a bluish star of the 7th magnitude; _R Coronae_, an irregular
variable star; and _T Coronae_ or _Nova Coronae_, a temporary or new
star, first observed in 1866. _Corona Australis_, also known as _Corona
meridionalis_, or the Southern Crown, is a constellation of the Southern
hemisphere, mentioned by Eudoxus and Aratus. In Ptolemy's catalogue
thirteen stars are described.
In physical science, coronae (or "glories") are the coloured rings
frequently seen closely encircling the sun or moon. Formerly classified
by the ancient Greeks with halos, rainbows, &c., under the general group
of "meteors," they came to receive considerable attention at the hands
of Descartes, Christiaan Huygens, and Sir Isaac Newton; but the correct
explanation of coronae was reserved until the beginning of the 19th
century, when Thomas Young applied the theories of the diffraction and
interference of light to this phenomenon. Prior to Young, halos and
coronae had not been clearly differentiated; they were both regarded as
caused by the refraction of light by atmospheric moisture and ice,
although observation had shown that important distinctions existed
between these phenomena. Thus, while halos have certain definite radii,
viz. 22 deg. and 46 deg., the radii of coronae vary very considerably;
also, halos are coloured red on the _inside_, whereas coronae are
coloured red on the _outside_ (see HALO).
It has now been firmly established, both experimentally and
mathematically, that coronae are due to diffraction by the minute
particles of moisture and dust suspended in the atmosphere, and the
radii of the rings depend on the size of the diffracting particles. (See
DIFFRACTION OF LIGHT.)
Other meteorological phenomena caused by the diffraction of light
include the _anthelia_, and the chromatic rings seen encircling shadows
thrown on a bank of clouds, mist or fog. These appearances differ from
halos and coronae inasmuch as their centres are at the anti-solar point;
they thus resemble the rainbow. The anthelia (from the Greek [Greek:
anti], opposite, and [Greek: helios], the sun) are coloured red on the
inside, the outside being generally colourless owing to the continued
overlapping of many spectra. The diameter increases with the size of the
globules making up the mist. The chromatic rings seen encircling the
"spectre of the Brocken" are similarly explained.
The blue colour of the sky (q.v.), supernumerary rainbows, and the
gorgeous sunsets observed after intense volcanic disturbances, when the
atmosphere is charged with large quantities of extremely minute dust
particles (e.g. Krakatoa), are also explicable by the diffraction of
light. (See DUST.)
See E. Mascart, _Traite d'optique_ (1899-1903); J. Pernter,
_Meteorologische Optik_ (1902-1905).
In architecture, the term "corona" is used of that part of a cornice
which projects over the bed mould and constitutes the chief protection
to the wall from rain; it is always throated, and its soffit rises
towards the wall. The term is also given to the apse or semicircular
termination of the choir; as at Canterbury in the part called "Becket's
crown." The large circular chandelier suspended in churches, of which
the finest example is that given by Barbarossa to Aix-la-Chapelle, is
often called a corona. The term is also used in botany of the crown-like
appendage at the top of compound flowers, the diminutive being
_coronule_.
CORONACH (a Gaelic word, from _comh_, with, and _ranach_, wailing), the
lamentation or dirge for the dead which accompanied funerals in the
Highlands of Scotland and in Ireland. The more usual term in Ireland is
"keen" or "keening."
CORONADO, FRANCISCO VASQUEZ DE (c. 1500-c. 1545), Spanish explorer of
the south-western part of the United States of America. He accompanied
Antonio de Mendoza to New Spain in 1535; by a brilliant marriage, became
a leading grandee, and in 1539 was appointed governor of the province of
New Galicia. The report presented by Fray Marcos de Niza concerning the
"Seven cities of Cibola" (now identified almost certainly with the Zuni
pueblos of New Mexico) aroused great interest in Mexico; Melchior Diaz
was sent late in 1539 to retrace Fray Marcos's route and report on his
story; and an expedition under Coronado left Compostela for the "Seven
Cities" in February 1540. This expedition consisted of a provision train
and droves of live-stock; several hundred friendly Indians, Spanish
footmen, and more than 250 horsemen. Coronado, with a part of this
force, captured the "Seven Cities." The fabled wealth, however, was not
there. In the autumn (1540) Coronado was joined by the rest of his army.
Meanwhile exploring parties were sent out: Tusayan, the Hopi or Moki
(Moqui) country of north-eastern Arizona, was visited; Garcia Lopez de
Cardenas discovered and described the Grand Canyon of the Colorado; and
expeditions were sent along the Rio Grande (Tuguez), where the army
wintered. The Indians revolted but were put down. The army, reinspirited
by the tales of a plains-Indian slave[1] about vast herds of cows
(bison) on the plains, and about an Eldorado called "Quivira" far to the
N.E., started thither in April 1541, and, with a few horsemen,
penetrated at least to what is now central Kansas. Here Coronado found a
few permanent settlements of Indians; in October he was again on the Rio
Grande; and in the spring of 1542 he led his followers home. Thereafter
he practically disappears from history. The first description of the
bison and the prairie plains, the first trustworthy account of the Zuni
pueblos, the discovery of the Grand Canyon, a vast increase of the
nominal dominion of Spain and Christianity (the priests did not return
from Cibola), and a notable addition to geographical knowledge, which,
however, was long forgotten, were the results of this expedition; which
is, besides, for its duration and the vast distance covered, over
mountains, desert and plains, one of the most remarkable expeditions in
the history of American discovery. In connexion with it, in 1540,
Hernando de Alarcon ascended the Gulf of California to its head and the
Colorado river for a long distance above its mouth.
All the essential sources with a critical narrative are available in
G. P. Winship's _The Coronado Expedition_ (in the 14th Report of the
United States Bureau of Ethnology, for 1892-1893, Washington, 1896),
except the _Tratado del descubrimiento de las Yndias y su conquesta_
of Juan Suarez de Peralta (written in the last third of the 16th
century, republished at Madrid, 1878). See also especially Justo
Zaragoza, _Noticias historicas de la Nueva Espana_ (Madrid, 1878), the
various writings of A. F. A. Bandelier (q.v.); General J. H. Simpson
in Smithsonian Institution _Report_ (Washington, 1869), with an
excellent map; and Winship for a full bibliography. H. H. Bancroft's
account in his _Pacific States_ (vols. 5, 10, 12) is less
authoritative.