View source for Dumnonia

{{Short description |Historic kingdom in Sub-Roman Britain}}
{{About|the kingdom in south-western Britain|the Brythonic colony of the same name in Brittany|Domnonée|the kingdom in northern Britain|Damnonii}}
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{{EngvarB|date= September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox Celts of England
|Name = Dumnonia
|fullname = Dumnonia
|map_alt=Celtic tribes of southern Britain at the start of the Roman period
|name = Dumnonia
|caption = Celtic tribes of southern Britain immediately before the start of the Roman period 
|capital = [[Tintagel]], [[Cadbury Castle]], [[Exeter]], [[Dorchester]]
|location = [[Devon]] and [[Cornwall]], [[Somerset]] and [[Dorset]]
|rulers = [[Kings of Dumnonia]]
}}

'''Dumnonia''' ( in latin ) or '''Damnonia'''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dumnoniens |url=https://encyclopedie.arbre-celtique.com/dumnoniens-685.htm |access-date=2025-12-31 |website=encyclopedie.arbre-celtique.com}}</ref> ( used by [[Ptolemy]], who was writting in greek cf. Δαμνόνιον, and later [[Gildas]] ) is the name for a [[Celtic Britons|Brythonic]] kingdom that existed in [[Sub-Roman Britain]] between the 6th century CE and the 7th century CE in the modern [[Cornwall]], [[Devon]], [[Somerset]] and [[Dorset]] <ref>{{Cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=kfv6HKXErqAC&q=Dumnonia&pg=PA178|title= Encyclopedia of European Peoples|last1= Waldman|first1= Carl|last2= Mason|first2= Catherine|date= 2006|publisher= Infobase Publishing|isbn= 9781438129181}}</ref> Named after the [[Dumnonii]], the dominant tribe living in the region at the time of the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] invasion of [[Roman Britain|Britain]], it was gradually absorbed by the neighbouring [[Anglo-Saxon]] kingdom of [[Wessex]] around the 7th century AD. But the part that corresponds to now days Cornwall wasn't subjected until the 8th century AD.  

After it became a kingdom in his own right c. 500, it was organized around itinerant "kingly" residences, likely [[Tintagel Castle|Tintagel]], [[Cadbury Castle, Somerset|South Cadbury Castle]], as well as two reused roman civitas ( [[Exeter]] known as ''Caer Uisc'' in Brythonic, [[Dorchester, Dorset|Dorchester]] possibly the ''Caer Durnac'' mentionned by [[Nennius]]'s ''[[Historia Brittonum]]'' ), both taken by the Saxons during the 7th century AD.  

However the list of rulers of Dumnonia is fragementary since it's recontructed from the ancient welsh genealogies mentionning the Vth and VIth century AD rulers, and from a single contemporary source Gildas, who names [[Constantine]], ruler of Dumnonia c. 530 <ref name="koch">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f899xH_quaMC&q=Dumnonia&pg=PA619 |title=Celtic Culture: a historical encyclopaedia |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]] |year=2006 |isbn=9781851094400 |editor-last=Koch |editor-first=John T |volume=1 |location=Santa Barbara, CA |pages=619–621}}</ref> . However Gildas doesn't give any information apart from castigated him for various sins, including the murder of two "royal youths" inside a church. It's likely Cystennin ap Cadwy, whom we know from the welsh genealogies. Other useful written sources for the history of post roman Dumnonia include [[William of Malmesbury]]'s ''[[Gesta Regum Anglorum]]'' , along with texts from the ''[[Black Book of Carmarthen]]'' and the ''[[Red Book of Hergest]]'' 

The kingdom established close cultural links with Brittany, whith [[Domnonée]] being a sister kingdom through emigration, although there is no proof of a double kingship over Dumnonia and Domnonée and the later term being used later in hagiographies. Furthermore, it was culturally linked with Wales <ref name="cannon" /> -  

Dumnonia relied on a network of hillforts  and promontory forts.  Most of the time, they are used a chieftain's strongholds or defensive outposts or multifonction settlements.

Among those, only [[Tintagel Castle|Tintagel]] has no evidence it was important before or at the roman time. It's only from around 450 AD it became an important trade point with the mediterannean under a local chieftain and then in 6th century AD and 7th century AD it transforms into the richest "capitale" of Dumnonia <ref>{{Cite web |title=History of Tintagel Castle |url=https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/tintagel-castle/history-and-legend/history/ |access-date=2025-12-31 |website=English Heritage}}</ref>. The apparent surge in late-5th-century Mediterranean imports ( Gaul, Byzantine... ) that can be seen in Tintagel and other major hillforts is thought to be related to the trade in tin from Cornwall and Wales .<ref>{{cite journal |last=Thomas |first=Charles |author-link=Charles Thomas (historian) |year=1981 |title=Review of Pearce, 'The Kingdom of Dumnonia', 1978 |journal=Britannia |volume=12 |page=417 |doi=10.2307/526281 |jstor=526281 |s2cid=163860852}}{{registration required}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Bonifay |first1=Michel |title=Review Article Post-Roman imports in the British Isles: material and place |url=http://antiquity.ac.uk/reviews/bonifay.html |access-date=3 December 2015 |publisher=Antiquity}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Fulford |first1=Michael |title=Byzantium and Britain: a Mediterranean perspective on Post-Roman Mediterranean Imports in Western Britain and Ireland |url=http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-769-1/dissemination/pdf/vol33/33_001_006.pdf |access-date=3 December 2015 |publisher=Archaeology Service}}</ref> 

The others known hillforts are refortified iron age hillforts ( located mostly in Somerset and Cornwall ).

-  [[Cadbury Castle, Somerset|South Cadbury Castle]] : constructed c. 500 BC, first reused by the roman legions between 43 AD and 70 AD and then refortified around 470 AD to the 580's AD. It might have been a stronghold for either chieftain of the region and then became the richest "kingly" residence of Dumnonia, along side Tintagel. Based on it's name in the XVth century ( Camallate ) and it's importance during the post roman period, it's also often regarded as the historical inspiration for [[Camelot]] from the Arthurian Legends, although that name is a XIIth century invention. Most likely candidate for Arthtur's final [[Battle of Camlann]] is on the River Cam, Somerset, nearby, around the village West Camel. 

- [[Trevelgue Head]] : reoccupied during postroman time.

- [[Kelly Rounds]] also known as Castle Killibury : used between 400 BC and 100 BC and then reused at the time of postroman kingdom of Dumnonia. It might have been the [[Celliwig|Kelliwic]] in which Arthut holds his court, in the welsh tradition <ref>{{Cite web |title=Celliwig – Nightbringer.se |url=https://nightbringer.se/the-legend-of-king-arthur/arthurian-locations/c-arthurian-locations/celliwig/ |access-date=2025-12-31 |language=en-US}}</ref>.

- [[Castle Dore]] ? ''':'''  Only the Drystan stone in the vincity suggest that it was the stronghold of a chieftain in the 6th century AD, Cunomor Marc’h ( potential inspiration of « King Mark »  in the legends ). But there is no artefacts dating to the same period. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Vickery |first=Rob |date=2025-05-08 |title=Castle Dore and the Tristan Stone |url=https://www.darkcornwall.com/post/castle-dore-and-the-tristan-stone |access-date=2025-12-31 |website=Dark Cornwall |language=en}}</ref>.

- [[Cannington Camp]] also known as Cannington Hillfort : the datation of the potteries from 350 up to 800 AD suggest activity for the 5th and 6th AD. The presence of a cemetery from IIIth century AD to VIIIth century AD may indicate the site may have been linked to a settlement nearby. The most logical explanation is that the local also lived in the hillfort, which was refortitified eihter at the roman time or after.

- [[Cadbury Hill]] or Cadbury Congresbury : reocupied between c. 430 / 450 to 600 AD. Mythology links ot to the monastry of St Congar, hence the name, but most likely it has multiple fonction almong which being a defensive stronghold and may be pagan religious fonctions indicated by the deposit. 

- [[Ham Hill Hillfort|Ham Hill]] : used during the 1st century BC to the 1st century AD. There is limited evidence for its resue during the 5th and 6th century AD but it's due to endommagents by the quarry. Imported potteries indicate a stronghold. A saxon shield boss has been found, suggesting it was later used by a chieftain in the kingdon ogf Wessex.

- [[Cadbury Camp]] : reused from the roman period and into the subroman times. 

- [[Worlebury Camp]] also named Worlebury Hillfort : It was used from 1st century AD onward. Few artefacts indicated a use in the 5th and 6th century AD : only some coins of the roman emperor [[Honorius]] ( died c. 423 ) and a pennalunar brooch

- [[Badbury Rings]] : reoccupied between 480 AD and 520 AD, according to radiocarbon data and stylistic analysis of the objects found there. It might have been an outspost for Dorchester and also the most likely site for [[Battle of Badon|Badon]], given the location of the anglo-saxons settlements c. 500, the period of reoccupation of the site and the presence of anglo-saxon tombs around. According to the earliest sources such as Gildas, [[Bede]]'s ''[[Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum]]'' and the welsh texts, it would more likely be a "siege" / series of raids stoped by warlord rather than the set piece battle of the later medieval texts <ref>{{Cite web |title=Brittonic and Saxon Bath: Dobunni to Hwicce |url=https://www.buildinghistory.org/bath/saxon/dobunni.shtml#Gildas |access-date=2025-12-31 |website=www.buildinghistory.org}}</ref>.

Few hillforts were used for purely religious purposes such as [[Brean Down]] resued as a christian oratory in the 5th and 6th century AD. 

Aside from the hillforts, local excavations  revealed that the isolated enclosed farmsteads known locally as ''rounds'' seem to have survived the Roman departure from Britain; but they were subsequently replaced, in 6th centuries and 7th centuries, by unenclosed farms taking the [[British language (Celtic)|Brythonic]] [[toponym]]ic ''tre(f)-''.<ref>Pearce (1978), pp.&nbsp;49–50.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Padel |first=O. J. |author-link=Oliver Padel |title=Historical Atlas of South-West England |publisher=University of Exeter Press |year=1999 |isbn=0-85989-434-7 |editor1-last=Kain |editor1-first=Roger |pages=88–90 |editor2-last=Ravenhill |editor2-first=William}}</ref> They also show that Glastonbury Tor might have been used for pagan purposes ( orientation of the tombs are  different  from the christians ) for an elite ( wooden buildings of the 6th century with mediterrannean imports ) and on the other hand early Christian burials were found such as in [[Exeter]], where 5th-century burials were discovered near the [[Exeter Cathedral|cathedral]] or the early monastic settlement in Beckery Chapel in the Vth and VIth century AD and may be later the ermitage on the Glastonbury Tor itself. [[William of Malmesbury]]'s ''De Antiquitate [[Glastonbury Abbey|Glastoniensis]] Ecclesiae'' evokes a charter of a Dumnonian king around 600 giving lands to the Abbey at Ynis Wydrin / Glastonbury Tor. 

''Notables commemorative stones''

- [[Caratacus Stone|Caractatus Stone]], dated from 6th AD, is an example of latin inscription commemorating a local lord said to be a descendant of a certain Caractatus ( may be a mythological to the Caradoc named by [[Geoffrey of Monmouth|Montmouth]] as a Dumnonii chief ? )  

-  Irish immigrants are also evidenced by the inscribed stones they have left behind—sometimes written in [[Ogham]], sometimes in Latin, sometimes in both <ref>Thomas (1994), p.&nbsp;6.</ref> such as the inscription on the stone found at [[Slaughterbridge]] near [[Camelford]], which is said to be the location of Camlan, without any foundation. the presence of irish settlers is confirmed and supplemented by [[Toponymy of England|place-name studies]]. 

- Arthnou stone at Tintagel c. 6th century AD. The only one which not funerary but marks a memorial monument made to a Arthnou by a Paternus Colus.  

- Drystan stone c. 550 AD. 

- A stone at Mên-an-Tol, Penwith commorating a warrior named Rialobranus, son of Cunovalus. c. 6th / 8th century AD. 


''Later Dumnonia and conflicts with the Saxons'' 

In 577 [[Ceawlin of Wessex]]'s victory at the [[Battle of Deorham]] caused the Britons of Dumnonia to be cut off by land from their Welsh allies, but since sea travel was not difficult this may not have been a severe loss.<ref name=cannon>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Cannon |first=J. A. |year=2015|edition=2nd |page=301|title=Kingdom of Dumnonia |encyclopedia=The Oxford Companion to British History |isbn=978-0-19-967783-2}}</ref> [[Clemen ap Bledric|Clemen]] is thought to have been king when the Britons fought the [[Clemen ap Bledric#Battle of Beandun|Battle of Beandun]] in 614. This is most likely to have been at [[Bindon, Axmouth|Bindon]] near [[Axmouth]] in Devon.<ref>Pearce (1978), p.&nbsp;57</ref> [[Bampton, Oxfordshire]] has also been proposed as the site, but the claim lacks evidence.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Crossley |first1=Alan |last2=Currie |first2=C. R. J. (eds.) |last3=Baggs |first3=A. P. |last4=Chance |first4=Eleanor |last5=Colvin |first5=Christina |last6=Day |first6=C. J. |last7=Selwyn |first7=Nesta |last8=Townley |first8=Simon C. |year=1996 |chapter=Bampton and Weald |title=A History of the County of Oxford, Volume 13: Bampton Hundred (Part One) |series=[[Victoria County History]] |isbn=978-0-19722-790-9 |pages=8–17}}</ref>

According to the ''[[Flores Historiarum]]'', attributed incorrectly to [[Matthew of Westminster]], the Britons were still in possession of Exeter in 632, when it was bravely defended against [[Penda]] of [[Mercia]] until relieved by [[Cadwallon ap Cadfan|Cadwallon]], who engaged and, according to Geoffrey of Monmouth, defeated the Mercians with "great slaughter to their troops".<ref>{{cite book |last=Jenkins |first=Alexander |year=1806 |title=The History and Description of the City of Exeter |location=Exeter |publisher=P. Hedgeland |page=11}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Giles |first=J.A. |author-link=John Allen Giles |year=1848|title=Six Old English Chronicles |place=London |publisher=[[Henry G. Bohn]] |page=284}}</ref> However, since the late 19th century [[Siege of Exeter (c. 630)|this siege]] has not been considered a historical fact.<ref>See, for example: {{cite book
|last=Freeman|first=Edward. A.|author-link=Edward Augustus Freeman
|title=Historic Towns: Exeter
|publisher=Longmans, Green, and Co|location=London
|year=1887
|page=15}}</ref>

Around 652 [[Cenwalh of Wessex]] made a breakthrough against the Dumnonian defensive lines at the battle of [[Bradford-upon-Avon]]. The [[Wessex|West Saxon]] victory at the [[Battle of Peonnum|Battle of ''Peonnum'']] (possibly modern [[Penselwood]] in east Somerset), around 658, resulted in the Saxons capturing "as far as the [[River Parrett|Parrett]]" and the eastern part of Dumnonia being permanently annexed by Wessex.

The entry for 661 in [[Æthelweard (historian)|Æthelweard]]'s translation of the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' into Latin, known as the ''Chronicon Æthelweardi'', describes [[Cenwalh of Wessex]] fighting a battle at ''Posentesburh''. Though it appears from the context that this is a battle against [[Wulfhere of Mercia]] (which he may have lost), if ''Posentesburh'' is identified with [[Posbury]], near [[Crediton]], Devon, then some conflict with the Britons can be postulated.<ref>[http://rae2007.cch.kcl.ac.uk/pase/apps/locations/index.html The PASE index:Chronicle text] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130504211440/http://rae2007.cch.kcl.ac.uk/pase/apps/locations/index.html |date=4 May 2013 }}&nbsp;– search Posentesburh</ref> In [[Willibald]]'s ''Life of [[Saint Boniface]]'' the head of ''Examchester'' monastery, which can be identified with Exeter, Devon, has a Germanic name (Wulfhard) during the time Boniface studied there. Boniface self-identifies as Anglo-Saxon by birth (using ''Anglorum'' in his letter to the English people)<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/boniface-letters.asp |title=Medieval Sourcebook: The Correspondence of St. Boniface |publisher=[[Fordham University]]}}</ref> and therefore Exeter may have been under West Saxon control at this time, that is, the late 7th century. At this time Dumnonia was sufficiently part of the known world for [[Aldhelm]], later bishop of [[Sherborne]], to address a letter around 705, to its king [[Geraint of Dumnonia|Geraint]] regarding the date of Easter.<ref>{{cite book |last=Todd |first=Malcolm |author-link=Malcolm Todd (archaeologist) |title=The South West to AD 1000 |series=A Regional History of England |publisher=Longman|year=1987 |page=287 |isbn=0-582-49274-2}}</ref> In 682 Wessex forces "advanced as far as the sea", but it is unclear where this was. In 705 a [[Diocese of Salisbury|bishopric]] was set up in Sherborne for the Saxon area west of [[Selwood, Somerset|Selwood]].

In 710 Geraint was defeated in battle by [[King Ine]] of Wessex, but in 722 the ''Annales Cambriae'' claim a victory by the British in Cornwall at [[Battle of Hehil|''Hehil'']]. By about 755, the territory of the "''Defnas''" was coming under significant pressure from the Saxon army. The campaigns of [[Ecgberht, King of Wessex|Egbert of Wessex]] in Devon between 813 and 822 probably signalled the conquest of insular Dumnonia leaving a [[rump state]] in what is today called Cornwall,<ref>{{cite book |last=Major |first=Albany |year=1913 |title=Early Wars of Wessex |location=Cambridge |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |pages=92–98}}(reissued by Blandford Press, {{ISBN|0-7137-2068-9}})</ref> known at the time as ''Cerniu'', ''Cernyw'', or ''Kernow'', and to the Anglo-Saxons as Cornwall or "West Wales".

[[File:King-donierts-stone.jpg|thumb|right|[[King Doniert's Stone]] in Cornwall, believed to commemorate Donyarth, the last recorded king of the rump state of Dumnonia<ref>{{cite web|title=King Doniert's Stone|url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/king-donierts-stone/|publisher=English Heritage|access-date=5 September 2016}}</ref>]]
In 825 a battle was fought between the "''Welsh''", presumably those of Dumnonia, and the Anglo-Saxons. The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' states: "We fought the ''Wealas'' (Cornish) and the ''Defnas'' (Devonians) at ''Gafulforda''" (perhaps [[Gafulford|Galford]] in west Devon). However, there is no mention of who won or who lost. A further rebellion in 838, when the "West Welsh" were supported by [[Danes (Germanic tribe)|Danish]] forces, was crushed by Egbert at the [[battle of Hingston Down]].<ref>{{cite book| last=Higham| first=Robert| title=Making Anglo-Saxon Devon| publisher=The Mint Press| location=Exeter| year=2008| page=64| isbn=978-1-903356-57-9}}</ref>

The Cornish [[bishop of Bodmin]] acknowledged the authority of Canterbury in 870 and the last-known Cornish king, [[Donyarth]], died in 875. By the 880s Wessex had gained control of at least part of Cornwall, where [[Alfred the Great]] had estates.<ref>{{cite book |author=Asser |author-link=Asser |others=translated by Simon Keynes & Michael Lapidge |year=1983 |title=Alfred the Great&nbsp;– Asser's Life of King Alfred and other contemporary sources |location=London |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |page=175}}; cf. ''ibid'', p. 89.</ref> In about 936, according to William of Malmesbury writing around 1120, [[Athelstan]] evicted the Britons from Exeter and the rest of Devon, and set the east bank of the [[River Tamar]] as Cornwall's border.<ref>Payton (2004), p.&nbsp;69.</ref>

Although the chronology of Wessex expansion into all of Dumnonia is unclear, Devon had long been absorbed into England by the reign of [[Edward the Confessor]].<ref>{{cite book |others=translated by [[Ann Williams (historian)|Ann Williams]] and G.H. Martin |year=2002 |title=Domesday Book&nbsp;– a complete translation |location=London |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |pages=341–357}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |others=translated by [[Michael Swanton]] |year=2000 |title=The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles |edition=2nd |location=London |publisher=[[Phoenix Books|Phoenix Press]] |page=177}}</ref> The early-12th-century ''[[Gesta Herewardi]]'' gives the King of Cornwall just before the [[Norman Conquest]] as a man named Alef.<ref>Angevin Britain and Scandinavia, Volume 6, [[Henry Goddard Leach]], Harvard University Press, 1921</ref>

''Links with Armorica''

Two waves of migrations took place to [[Armorica]] ([[Brittany]]) from Dumnonia. Some histories{{which|date=February 2023}} propose the theory that this may have resulted in rulers who exercised kingship in both Brittany and Dumnonia,<ref>{{Cite thesis |chapter=Chapter three: The Celtic Duchy |title=Modern Cornwall: The changing nature of peripherality |chapter-url=http://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/pearl_jspui/bitstream/10026.1/778/4/254389.pdf |last=Payton |first=Philip John |author-link=Philip Payton |year=1989 |page=119 |publisher=[[University of Plymouth]] |access-date=27 February 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006082128/http://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/pearl_jspui/bitstream/10026.1/778/4/254389.pdf |archive-date=6 October 2014 }}</ref> explaining those occurrences of the same names of rulers in both territories.<ref>{{cite book |last=Thomas |first=Charles |author-link=Charles Thomas (historian) |year=1986 |title=Celtic Britain |publisher=[[Thames & Hudson]] |location=London |isbn=0-500-02107-4 |page=66}}</ref> There are also numerous correspondences of [[Insular Celtic]] saints, and place names and a close linguistic relationship between [[Cornish language|Cornish]] (''Kernowek'') and [[Breton language|Breton]] (''Brezhoneg''). However, the Breton regions of ''Kernev''/[[Cornouaille]] (Cornwall) and [[Domnonée]] (Devon) have well-established histories including entirely separate rulers from Dumnonia in Britain (see [[Duchy of Brittany]]).

While Cornwall retained its language and culture, Devon's had significantly diminished by the arrival of the Saxon invaders in the 7th century, almost entirely due to the large-scale migration of Britons from greater Dumnonia to Armorica at the end of the Roman occupation. J.B. Gover{{efn|John Eric Bruce Gover (1894–1984), English scholar.}} wrote in 1931 that<blockquote>by the middle of the seventh century Devon was a sparsely settled Celtic kingdom due to large-scale emigration to Armorica a century and more earlier, and that once the resistance of its kings had been broken down no considerable native population remained to complicate the life of the new settlers.<ref>The Place-Names of Devon: J.E.B. Gover, A. Mawer & F.M. Stenton pub. 1931 Cambridge University Press</ref></blockquote>The relationship between the new Saxon overlords and the remaining indigenous Britons appears to have been peaceable and many Celtic place-names survive in the county, although not to the extent of that of the neighbouring sub-tribe, the [[Cornovii]], who became modern-day Cornwall.

The pre-medieval region of [[Cornouaille]] (Breton: ''Kernev'') in the Brittany region of the Armorican peninsula is assumed to owe its name to descendants originating in insular Cornwall.{{efn|The folklore of the association between the regions, kingdoms, and duchies of Cornwall and Brittany includes the figure Mark of Cornwall, whose territory included lands in both this region of the British Isles and Brittany on the continent, as portrayed in the 12th-century romance ''[[Tristan and Iseult]]''.}} The territories of the ancient Cornouaille region coincide mostly with the southern part of the French ''[[Departments of France|departement]]'' of the [[Finistère]],{{efn|''Finisterre'' is French for "Land's End."}} and some of its territorial lands are included in the ''departements'' of [[Côtes-d'Armor|Côtes d'Armor]] and [[Morbihan]]. At least part of the original territory associated with the pre-medieval Breton kingdom of ''[[Domnonée|Domnonea]]'', coincides with the modern French department of Côtes-d'Armor.{{efn|It is unlikely that the British realms of Cornwall and the continental realms in the Brittany region were continuous in government. In the post-Roman period, tribes from Britain migrated to Brittany and mixed with tribes already in the Armorican peninsula. As a result of these migrations, the Brittany region contained two separate geographic areas known as Dumnonée and Cornouaille. By the early 10th century these Breton regions were consolidated into the [[Duchy of Brittany]] and the continuity with Dumnonia at the governmental level ended, while the historical and cultural continuity remains through modern times.}}

==See also==
*[[List of legendary rulers of Cornwall]], for the pseudo-historic kings and dukes of Cornwall mentioned by Geoffrey of Monmouth
*[[History of Devon]]
*[[History of Cornwall]]
*[[History of Brittany]]

==Footnotes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{cite book |last=Payton |first=Philip |author-link=Philip Payton |title=Cornwall: A History |edition=2nd |year=2004 |publisher=Cornwall Editions Ltd |location=Fowey |isbn=1-904880-00-2}}
*{{cite book |last=Pearce |first=Susan M. |year=1978 |title=The Kingdom of Dumnonia: Studies in History and Tradition in South-Western Britain A.D. 350–1150 |location=Padstow |publisher=Lodenek Press |isbn=0-902899-68-6}}
*{{cite book |last=Thomas |first=Charles |author-link=Charles Thomas (historian) |year=1994 |title=And Shall These Mute Stones Speak? Post-Roman Inscriptions in Western Britain |location=Cardiff |publisher=[[University of Wales Press]] |isbn=0-7083-1160-1}}
*{{cite book |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=MKco_HXDTlYC&q=Dumnonia&pg=PA15 |last=Yorke |first=Barbara |author-link=Barbara Yorke |year=1995 |chapter=Period of Transition |title=Wessex in the early Middle Ages |publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group |isbn= 0-7185-1856-X|pages=15–19}}

{{Celts}}
{{Barbarian kingdoms}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Dumnonia| ]]
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