Legendary Dukes of Cornwall

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This article is about British history. For the soul group "Legendary Dukes" that originated in the 1960s, please see Wilmer and the Dukes

Duke of Cornwall here refers to the legendary dukes of Cornwall in Celtic Britain as established by such pseudo-historical authors as Nennius and above all Geoffrey of Monmouth. The list is extremely patchy, and it must not be assumed that every succession was unbroken. Indeed, Geoffrey repeatedly introduces Dukes of Cornwall only to promote them to the Kingship of the Britons and thus put an end to their line as (merely) dukes. As adjuncts or supporting roles to the kings of the Britons, the dukes of Cornwall are considered part of the vast Matter of Britain.

The list is more often thought of as a conglomeration of various Celtic rulers, Celtic warlords, and mythical heroes. If the lists of kings of Britain are mythological and apocryphal (though extraordinarily influential in mediaeval historiography), then the list of dukes must be considered still more a genealogical and historical myth with no solid basis to most historians.

Even within Geoffrey, the title of these rulers fluctuates between "duke" (dux Cornubiae) and "king" (rex Cornubiae).

king or duke	title	notes	approximate time frame
Corineus		in the time of Brutus	c. 1100 BCE
Henwinus	duke	in the time of Leir	c. 750 BCE
Cunedagius	duke	in the time of Queen Cordelia	c. 715 BCE
Cloten	king	during pentarchy after Ferrex and Porrex	c. 450 BCE
Dunvallo Molmutius	king	then king of Britain	c. 420 BCE
Belinus		simultaneously king of Britain	c. 390 BCE
Tenvantius	duke	in time of Cassibelanus	c. 55 BCE
Asclepiodotus	duke	becomes king of Britain	c. 295 CE
Caradocus	duke	becomes king of Britain	c. 380 CE
Dionotus	duke	simultaneously king of Britain	c. 390 CE
Gorlois	duke	first husband of Igraine, Arthur's mother	c. 510 CE
Mark of Cornwall	king	uncle of Tristan	c. early 6th century
Cador	duke, then king	relative of Arthur	c. 530 CE
Constantine	duke	subsequently king of Britain	542 CE
Blederic	duke	at the time Augustine arrives	597 CE

Legendary Dukes of Cornwall

See also