Robert Morton Nance
Encyclopedia
Robert Morton Nance was a leading authority on the Cornish language
, nautical archaeologist, and joint founder of the Old Cornwall Society
.
He wrote many books and pamphlets on the Cornish language
, including a Cornish dictionary
, which is a standard work, and edited magazines and pamphlets about Cornwall
, including Old Cornwall, the journal of the Federation of Old Cornwall Societies
. Nance was also a nautical archaeologist of distinction and was an originator of the Society for Nautical Research
. His insight and learning were displayed in his book Sailing-ship Models which appeared in 1924. He studied art in Britain and France
and was both a painter and a skilled craftsman.
Cornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
, nautical archaeologist, and joint founder of the Old Cornwall Society
Federation of Old Cornwall Societies
The Federation of Old Cornwall Societies was formed in 1924, on the initiative of Robert Morton Nance, with the objective of collecting and maintaining "all those ancient things that make the spirit of Cornwall — its traditions, its old words and ways, and what remains to it of its Celtic language...
.
He wrote many books and pamphlets on the Cornish language
Cornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
, including a Cornish dictionary
Dictionary
A dictionary is a collection of words in one or more specific languages, often listed alphabetically, with usage information, definitions, etymologies, phonetics, pronunciations, and other information; or a book of words in one language with their equivalents in another, also known as a lexicon...
, which is a standard work, and edited magazines and pamphlets about Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, including Old Cornwall, the journal of the Federation of Old Cornwall Societies
Federation of Old Cornwall Societies
The Federation of Old Cornwall Societies was formed in 1924, on the initiative of Robert Morton Nance, with the objective of collecting and maintaining "all those ancient things that make the spirit of Cornwall — its traditions, its old words and ways, and what remains to it of its Celtic language...
. Nance was also a nautical archaeologist of distinction and was an originator of the Society for Nautical Research
Society for Nautical Research
The Society for Nautical Research was founded in 1910 to promote the academic field of maritime history in the United Kingdom.The aims of the society are to:* support and encourage research in maritime history and underwater archaeology....
. His insight and learning were displayed in his book Sailing-ship Models which appeared in 1924. He studied art in Britain and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and was both a painter and a skilled craftsman.
Chronology of his life
- 1898: He wrote "The Merry Ballad of the Cornish Pasty".
- 1906: He moved from WalesWalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and settled at NancledraNancledraNancledra is a village in west Cornwall, England, UK. It is three miles south of St Ives and four miles north-northeast of Penzance. Nancledra is a small village with a population of around 150...
near St IvesSt Ives, CornwallSt Ives is a seaside town, civil parish and port in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town lies north of Penzance and west of Camborne on the coast of the Celtic Sea. In former times it was commercially dependent on fishing. The decline in fishing, however, caused a shift in commercial...
. - 1911: He jointly founded the Society for Nautical ResearchSociety for Nautical ResearchThe Society for Nautical Research was founded in 1910 to promote the academic field of maritime history in the United Kingdom.The aims of the society are to:* support and encourage research in maritime history and underwater archaeology....
. - 1920: He, together with Henry JennerHenry JennerHenry Jenner FSA was a British scholar of the Celtic languages, a Cornish cultural activist, and the chief originator of the Cornish language revival....
, founded the first Old Cornwall Society at St IvesSt Ives, CornwallSt Ives is a seaside town, civil parish and port in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town lies north of Penzance and west of Camborne on the coast of the Celtic Sea. In former times it was commercially dependent on fishing. The decline in fishing, however, caused a shift in commercial...
. - 1924: The Federation of Old Cornwall SocietiesFederation of Old Cornwall SocietiesThe Federation of Old Cornwall Societies was formed in 1924, on the initiative of Robert Morton Nance, with the objective of collecting and maintaining "all those ancient things that make the spirit of Cornwall — its traditions, its old words and ways, and what remains to it of its Celtic language...
was established. - 1925: The Federation established the periodical Old Cornwall.
- 1928: He jointly founded the Gorseth KernowGorseth KernowGorseth Kernow is a non-political Cornish organisation, which exists to maintain the national Celtic spirit of Cornwall in the United Kingdom.-History:...
which was inaugurated at Boscawen-UnBoscawen-UnBoscawen-Un is a Bronze age stone circle close to St Buryan in Cornwall, UK. It consists of 19 upright stones in an ellipse with diameters 24.9m and 21.9m, with another, leaning, stone just south of the centre. There is a west-facing gap in the circle, which may have formed an entrance. It is...
, where he took the bardic nameBardic nameA bardic name is a pseudonym, used in Wales, Cornwall and Brittany, by poets and other artists, especially those involved in the eisteddfod movement....
Mordon ('Sea WaveOcean surface waveIn fluid dynamics, wind waves or, more precisely, wind-generated waves are surface waves that occur on the free surface of oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, and canals or even on small puddles and ponds. They usually result from the wind blowing over a vast enough stretch of fluid surface. Waves in the...
'). - 1929: He published Cornish for All using the 'Unified' Middle Cornish spelling system.
- 1951 - 1955: He was President of the Royal Institution of CornwallRoyal Institution of CornwallThe Royal Institution of Cornwall was founded in Truro, Cornwall, United Kingdom, in 1818 as the Cornwall Literary and Philosophical Institution. The Institution was one of the earliest of seven similar societies established in England and Wales. The RIC moved to its present site in River Street...
for 1951 - 1955.
Selected list of works
- 1912:
- 1923: A Glossary of Celtic Words in Cornish Dialect. Falmouth: Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society
- 1924: Sailing-ship Models: a selection from European and American collections with introductory text. London: Halton and Truscott Smith (photographs)
- ---do.---2nd rev. ed. London; New York: Halton, 1949
- Classic Sailing-ship Models in Photographs. Reprinted Dover PublicationsDover PublicationsDover Publications is an American book publisher founded in 1941 by Hayward Cirker and his wife, Blanche. It publishes primarily reissues, books no longer published by their original publishers. These are often, but not always, books in the public domain. The original published editions may be...
, Mineola, NY, 2000 ISBN 0-486-41249-0
- 1925- : Old Cornwall, as editor and contributor.
- Articles in Old Cornwall, including "The Cornish Language in the Seventeenth Century", in: Old Cornwall; vol. VI, no. 1.
- 1955: Cornish-English Dictionary. Federation of Old Cornwall Societies ISBN 0-902660-05-5
- 1956: The Cledry Plays: drolls of Old Cornwall for village acting and home reading. Federation of Old Cornwall Societies B0000CJH1W
- 1961: Cornish for All: a guide to Unified Cornish. Federation of Old Cornwall Societies. B0000CKWG1
- [n.d.]: A Guide to Cornish Place-names; with a list of the words contained in them. Federation of Old Cornwall Societies. (Three editions, before 1971.)
See also
- Richard GendallRichard GendallRichard Gendall is a British expert on the Cornish language, born in 1924. He is the founder of "Modern Cornish"/Curnoack Nowedga, which split off during the 1980s. Whereas Ken George mainly went to Medieval Cornish as the inspiration for his revival, Gendall went to the last surviving records of...
- Ken GeorgeKen GeorgeKenneth J. George, writing as Ken George, is an oceanographer, poet, and linguist noted as being the originator of Kernewek Kemmyn, an orthography for the Cornish language supporters claimed to be more faithful to Middle Cornish phonology than its precursor . Kernewek Kemmyn was introduced in 1987...
- Henry JennerHenry JennerHenry Jenner FSA was a British scholar of the Celtic languages, a Cornish cultural activist, and the chief originator of the Cornish language revival....
- Dolly PentreathDolly PentreathDolly Pentreath, or Dorothy Pentreath was probably the last fluent native speaker of the Cornish language, prior to its revival in 1904 and the subsequent small number of children brought up as bilingual native speakers of revived Cornish.She is often stated to have been the last monoglot speaker...
- Nicholas WilliamsNicholas WilliamsNicholas Jonathan Anselm Williams , writing as Nicholas Williams or sometimes N.J.A...