Cornish literature definition of Cornish literature in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

Cornish literature. The literature of the Celtic language of Cornwall, which has been spoken only by bilingual speakers since the late 18th cent. The surviving pre-1800 literature consists largely of a few miracle plays miracle play or mystery play, form of medieval drama that came from dramatization of the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church. It developed from the 10th to the 16th cent., reaching its height in the 15th cent.
..... Click the link for more information. , mostly of the 15th cent. With the exception of the Life of St. Meriasek, they are usually on biblical subjects. The plays closely resemble Breton drama. Also surviving is the Middle Cornish narrative poem The Passion of Our Lord. Since the 20th cent. there has been a concerted effort to revive spoken and written Cornish, which has met with minor success.

Bibliography

See R. M. Longsworth, The Cornish Ordinalia (1967); E. Norris, ed., Ancient Cornish Drama (2 vol., 1859; repr. 1968).