Let me make this quite clear - I am NOT comparing any of Cornwall's nationalists with Osama Bin Laden. I would describe those nationalists I have met as generally gentle, thoughtful people who are genuinely puzzled by any reluctance to share their beliefs. I do however have a question for them:
Bin Laden's campaign of international terrorism is based on his belief that the Western world's Crusades (1088-1314) never ended. He is still trying to fight those wars and refuses to consider that the world might have moved on.
After all, it's not as if there was an umpire or referee who blew a whistle at the end and declared one side or the other the "winner." As with so much of history, things just sort of fizzled out when everyone got tired of or bored with all the slaughter. History doesn't always have a tidy ending, particularly in countries which don't have a written constitution and whose monarchies are largely for ceremonial, rather than political, purposes.
So here's my question (or questions): at what point did we move on from The Black Prince's investiture as the first Duke of Cornwall in 1337 to the modern day Duchy of Cornwall? If the answer is "we haven't" then what would it take to convince you that the Black Prince is no longer relevant (at least, not to most people?)
And to those who seek to turn the clock back - why stop at 1337? Why not campaign for an earlier start? Are we not all African?
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