Cornish heraldry is the form of coats of arms and other heraldic bearings and insignia used in Cornwall, United Kingdom. While similar to English, Scottish and Welsh heraldry, Cornish heraldry has its own distinctive features. Cornish heraldry typically makes use of the tinctures sable (black) and or (gold), and also uses certain creatures like Cornish choughs. It also uses the Cornish language extensively for mottoes and canting arms.
Officials and law
Carminow v. Scrope
One of the earliest heraldic law cases brought in England was the 1389 case of Scrope v. Grosvenor. Scrope had found Grosvenor using the same arms as him, Azure a bend or, and set out to prove his sole right to use them. In heraldic law no two unrelated families in the same country are permitted to bear the same arms. Following a long court case it was decided that Scrope had the right to the arms and Grosvenor was forced to change his arms to Azure a garb or. It became known however that a Cornish knight by the name of Carminow was also using the disputed arms.
Carminow, seeing Scrope's use of his arms, challenged the right of Scrope to bear the arms. In this case, the constable of England declared that both claimants had established their right to the arms. Carminow had proven that his family had borne the arms "from the time of King Arthur", while the Scrope family had only used the arms "from the Norman Conquest of England". (Neither of these claims to such antiquity were in fact possible as the era of heraldry did not start until the late 12th century). The two families were, however, considered of different heraldic nations, Scrope of England, Carminow of Cornwall, and as such could both bear the same arms. As stated in the records of the case, Cornwall was in effect deemed a separate nation, "a large land formerly bearing the name of a kingdom."
John Vivian and Henry Drake, in their preface to the Visitation of the County of Cornwall, commented as follows: "Cornwall may be considered pre-eminent in the antiquity of its family heraldry, since it was admitted in court during the memorable Scrope and Grosvenor controversy that the same arms, Azure a bend or, had remained in the family of Carminow from King Arthur."
Officials
There are few recorded instances of heraldic officials in the Cornish tradition, however, heralds may commonly have been employed in Cornwall primarily as minstrels and story tellers. The harpist John Hilton was appointed by King Richard II as Cornwall Herald in 1398 at about the time of the Carminow case. A Cornwall Herald attended the coronation of Henry V in 1413 and there was a Cornwall Herald at the battle of Agincourt who, with the Duke of Norfolk, was too ill to take part. During the reigns of Edward IV and Henry VII the March herald was King of Arms of the west parts of England, Wales and Cornwall. Only one Cornish family is known to have had its own heraldic officer: Sir Richard Nanfan, Lord Deputy of Calais in 1503, retained a pursuivant or junior herald named Serreshal, but there may have been others.
Heraldic law
Cornish heraldry generally conformed with the rules and customs of English heraldry, and therefore with the Gallo-British tradition. However, the use of arms was far more widespread amongst the Cornish than the English and there was far less control over the use of heraldry. The antiquary Richard Carew wrote in the early 17th century, "The Cornish appear to change and diversify their arms at pleasure...The most Cornish gentlemen can better vaunt of their pedigree than their livelihood for that they derive from great antiquity, and I make question whether any shire in England of but equal quantitie can muster a like number of faire coate-armours". Jewers in his Heraldic church notes from Cornwall, c. 1860-80, mentions the large number of landowners using arms never registered with the College of Arms in London. Every large farm or barton in Cornwall housed its own "Gentleman of Coat Armour".
Historically primogeniture, the inheritance by the eldest son of the family estate, was not commonly practised in Cornwall. Amongst the Cornish, lands commonly were divided equally amongst all sons which resulted in smaller broken up estates, and if no sons existed lands were divided between daughters or closest relatives, male or female. This practice may have influenced the working and development of the Cornish tradition of heraldry. When primogeniture was practised, younger brothers were often married to an heiress. The heiress's arms were then adopted by the husband in place of his own family's.