This is a list of charters promulgated by kings of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

that specifically relate to

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, which was incorporated into the Kingdom of England late in the Anglo-Saxon period. In the 9th and 10th centuries, the kings of

Wessex The Kingdom of the West Saxons, also known as the Kingdom of Wessex, was an Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy, kingdom in the south of Great Britain, from around 519 until Alfred the Great declared himself as King of the Anglo-Saxons in 886. The Anglo-Sa ...

became the rulers of Cornwall, and after a period of independence during the wars with the Danes, this rule by the kings of England became permanent (see

History of Cornwall The history of Cornwall goes back to the Paleolithic, but in this period Cornwall only had sporadic visits by groups of humans. Continuous occupation started around 10,000 years ago after the end of the Younger Dryas, last ice age. When r ...

). The charters below relate either to the tin mines of Cornwall and Devon or to the Earldom or Duchy of Cornwall. The

stannary A stannary was an administrative division established under stannary law in the English counties of Cornwall and Devon to manage the collection of tin coinage, which was the duty payable on the metal tin smelted from cassiterite ore Mining in Co ...

charters are dated between 1201 and 1508, the others between 1231 and 1338. In 1337, the earldom of Cornwall was made into a royal

duchy A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important differe ...

to support the heir to the throne. Centralisation in the reign of Henry VIII meant that Cornwall's distinct status was no longer recognised in royal documents; though unlike the situation for Wales, no legislation was enacted to formalise this. The rights of the

Duke of Cornwall Duke of Cornwall () is a title in the Peerage of England, traditionally held by the eldest son of the reigning Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarch, previously the English monarch. The Duchy of Cornwall was the first duchy created i ...

still rely on medieval legislation. When no one is duke of Cornwall, the lands and rights of the Duchy are exercised by the Crown since the heir apparent may not always inherit the Duchy.

List

The legal materials are as follows: *Charters relating to the stannaries # Charter of Liberties to the Tinners of Cornwall and Devon (1201) # Charter of Liberties to the Tinners of Cornwall (1305) # Charter of Confirmation to the Tinners of Cornwall (1402) # Grant of Pardon to the Tinners of Cornwall (1508) *Charters relating to the

Earldom Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used. The titl ...

and Duchy of Cornwall # Charter of Henry III (1231) - Richard, Earl of Cornwall # Charter of Edward II (1307) - Piers de Gaveston, Earl of Cornwall # Charter of Edward II (1318) - Isabella, Queen of England # Charter of Edward III (1331) - John of Eltham, Earl of Cornwall # Charter of Edward III (1332) - John of Eltham, Earl of Cornwall
Charter of Edward III (17 March 1337)
- The Duchy of Cornwall (The Great Charter) # Charter of Edward III (18 March 1337) # Charter of Edward III (3 January 1338)

Sources

{{Portal, Cornwall}

History of Cornwall Mining in Cornwall Medieval Cornwall Cornwall-related lists