Condor of Cornwall

Condor (also Candorus, Cadoc and other variants) was a legendary Cornish nobleman. The first known mentions of Condor are from heralds and antiquarians in the late sixteenth century, who recorded claims that he had been earl of Cornwall at the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066, and paid homage to William the Conqueror to keep his position. William Hals speculated that he may have supported the rebels at the Siege of Exeter and lost his earldom; much of Cornwall was given to William's Breton supporters soon afterwards. Condor's son Cadoc may have regained the title under Henry I, and later passed it through his daughter to Reginald de Dunstanville.

History

According to William Hals, writing in the eighteenth century, Condor may have been born in St Clement, or perhaps lived there. the Condura and Tregarne manors in St Keverne parish, and Trematon manor with Condor. Early nineteenth century Cornish historian Richard Polwhele calls Launceston, Tintagel, and Trematon castles the residences of Condor and the ancient earls of Cornwall.

Glover, and antiquaries Richard Carew and John Williams write that Condor was briefly appointed as the first Count (according to Glover) or Earl of Cornwall by William the Conqueror after the Norman Conquest of England, after paying homage to William for his earldom. Brian of Brittany fought for the Normans at the siege, and was rewarded with lands in Devon and Cornwall; The Complete Peerage states that he received Cornwall and west Devon when they were taken by the Normans. NoteTag|Brian "is often considered to have been Earl of Cornwall" though the first record of this claim is in 1140 by his nephew Alan, which may just have been Alan's attempt to strengthen the legitimacy of his own claim to the title. Hooker, Carew, Williams, and Hals all write that Cadoc had one daughter and heir, called Hawisia, Avicia, Alicia, Amicia, Agnes, or Beatrix, who married Reginald de Dunstanville.

Name Condor's name is not certain, with Carew giving both his and his son's names as Condor, but noting that Camden referred to him as Cadoc. John Bannister gives Condora as possibly being from 'the head' 'between the two waters' , and Condurra/Condurrow as 'druid's down', 'the neck of water', or possibly 'oak' 'down' . Hals translates it as meaning to 'bear or carry-war'. Craig Weatherhill gives the meaning of Cadoc as 'man of battle'. Bannister says that the name Cadoc means 'warlike' (like the Welsh ), while Cradock means 'beloved' (like the Welsh ).

Early sources

The Names of the Gentlemen of Devonshire and Cornwall, with their Arms, a sixteenth century armory, lists:

Robert Glover's manuscript "De Ducibus Cornubiæ" mentions:

In Britannia (1586–1610), William Camden wrote: quote|As for the Earles, none of British blood, are mentioned but onely Candorus (called by others Cadocus) who is accounted by the late writers, the last Earle of Cornwall, of British race, & as they which are skilfull in Heraldry, have a tradition, bare . Besaunts . . . . and . in a shield Sable. NoteTag|Camden's Latin first edition of Britannia (1586) gives Condor's name as , and in the attributed arms only states without specifying how many. The 1607 edition names Condor , and changes the attributed arms to have instead. The translation given in this article is from the 1610 first English edition, by Philemon Holland, which Camden contributed to; this section is very close to Camden's 1607 version, only adding the number of bezants on each line. ) states:

In the Book of Baglan (1600–1607), John Williams wrote:

In his History of Cornwall , William Hals wrote:

Claimed descent from Condor The Liskeard lawyer Frederick Lyde Caunter reports that John the Chanter, Bishop of Exeter from 1184–1190, was said to be a great-grandson of Condor.

Richard Charnock noted the Cornish surname Condor/Condura/Cundor in connection with Condor of Cornwall, but concluded that the name is derived from the place in St Clement parish.