Richard, earl of Cornwall, 1209-72, second son of King John of England and brother of Henry III. In 1227, following an expedition to Gascony and Poitou, Richard forced Henry to grant him the land and wealth he regarded as his right, as well as the title of earl of Cornwall. He improved his position further by his marriage (1231) to Isabella, daughter of William Marshall, 1st earl of Pembroke. He went on a crusade in 1240 and concluded (1241) a truce with the sultan of Egypt. On Henry's expedition to Poitou in 1242, Richard was barely able to save his brother from complete military disaster. In the 1230s, Richard had often associated himself with the baronial opposition to Henry. However, after his marriage (Isabella having died) to the queen's sister in 1243, he became a faithful supporter of the king and his most sensible adviser. He financed the reform of the coinage in 1247, adding greatly to his already considerable wealth, and acted as regent when Henry was out of the country. Richard refused (1252) Pope Innocent IV's offer of the Sicilian crown (which Henry later accepted for his son Edmund), but in 1257 he had himself elected king of the Romans (i.e., emperor-elect of the Holy Roman Empire). Richard was crowned at Aachen and made three visits to Germany, but was never more than nominal ruler there. When the Barons' War broke out in earnest, Richard was one of Henry's chief supporters. He was captured at the battle of Lewes (1264) and held prisoner until after the battle of Evesham (1265). In the settlement after the war he advised moderation against the rebels.

Cornwall, Barry, pseud. of Bryan Waller Procter, 1787-1874, English author. His sentimental songs were much in vogue during his lifetime. Included among Cornwall's longer works are Dramatic Scenes (1819) and Mirandola (1821), a tragedy. He enjoyed the friendship of many of the notable men of his time, including Charles Lamb, of whom he wrote a biography which appeared in 1866. He was the father of the poet Adelaide Procter.

Cornwall, county (1991 pop. 469,300), SW England. The county seat is Bodmin, although most administration eminates from Truro. Cornwall is a peninsula bounded seaward by the English Channel and the Atlantic Ocean and landward by Devon. It terminates in the west with the rugged promontory of Land's End. The region is a low-lying plateau, rising to its greatest height at Brown Willy (1,375 ft/419 m) in Bodmin Moor. The principal rivers are the Tamar, which forms most of the border with Devon, the Fowey, the Fal, and the Camel.

In the lush river valleys are productive vegetable and dairy farms. The uplands are used for sheep and cattle pastures. The climate is mild and moist, with subtropical vegetation along the southern coast. Various types of fish are caught, including pilchard, that are not plentiful elsewhere in Britain. Engineering, ship repairing, rock quarrying, and tourism are major industries. Cornish tin and copper mines were known to ancient Greek traders, and during World War II the old mines were reworked. Cornwall's climate, coastal towns (Penzance, Falmouth, Land's End, and St. Ives), and the romance of its past, interwoven with Arthurian legend and tales of piracy, have made the region popular with tourists.

Cornwall's history has been somewhat distinct from that of the rest of England. The Cornish language, related to the Welsh and Breton tongues, continues to survive, but all Cornish speakers have been bilingual since the 18th cent. The county was organized in the 14th cent. as a duchy. (The monarch's eldest son is the Duke of Cornwall.) Cornwall was slow to accept the Reformation. In 1549 thousands of Cornishmen marched to defend the Roman Catholic Church service. In the 18th cent. the Wesleyan movement took a firm hold in Cornwall, which has remained a predominantly Methodist area.

Cornwall, industrial city (1991 pop. 47,137), SE Ont., Canada, on the St. Lawrence River. It manufactures cotton and rayon textiles, paper, chemicals, furniture, and electronic equipment. The Canadian headquarters of the St. Lawrence Seaway Authority are in Cornwall. The Akwesasne (in the United States, St. Regis) Mohawk reservation lies across the river on the Quebec-New York boundary.

Administrative (pop., 2001: 501,267, including the Isles of Scilly) and historic county, southwestern England. Located on a peninsula jutting into the Atlantic Ocean and terminating in Land's End, it is the most remote of English counties; its county seat is Truro. Southern Cornwall is a popular tourist area; much of the coast is now protected by the National Trust. Tin, mined in Cornwall for at least 3,000 years, attracted prehistoric settlers, and there are stone relics in the area. Since 1337 the manors of Cornwall have belonged to the English sovereign's eldest son, who acts as duke of Cornwall.

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