Syllanine Order (Ethelred the Pious)

The Syllanines were a Cornish monastic order that ruled the Isles of Syllan, or Scilly, for some centuries.

The kingdom of Kernow is called Cornwall in OTL English and Kornland in. It maintained its independence throughout the Anglo-Saxon era and after the Viking conquest of the. For over a century the kings of Jórvík, Dublin, and other Viking states repeatedly asserted their overlordship in Kernow. Many Viking chieftains landed in the kingdom and received the kings' surrender, but the country's isolation allowed it to avoid being conquered permanently. Cnut of Denmark's early-empire did not extend into Cornwall. Afterward, when England became an independent and unified kingdom with lands on both sides of the Irish Sea, was Cornwall finally joined to the Scandinavian nation. By then, most of its aristocratic families had died out.

The chaos of the Viking years led to the Isles of Syllan being more or less abandoned by the powers on the big islands. Many Vikings raided the isles, but none showed enough interest to conquer or settle them. The isles' monasteries were the only institution holding society together in those years, and ultimately the abbotts were the ones ruling the islands. The Syllanine Order was officially organized in 9??.

The Isles' isolation attracted many monks and nuns from across the British Isles. A number of archaic Celtic Christian practices could be found in Syllan after they had died out in Scotland and Ireland.

Syllanine artistic works are admired today for their austere beauty. Anything ornate or expensive would be stolen by Vikings, so the monks emphasized simplicity. Syllanine calligraphy was developed into a remarkable art form, but featured no illumination or illustrations and used few colors. Excellent crosses and sculptures were carved into outcroppings of rock that could not be smashed or carried away.

The knights of the took possession of Cornwall but largely ignored the Syllanine monks. In the mid-the Syllanine Order acknowledged the Norman Duke as overlord but remained essentially independent. It was only at the end of the medieval era that England finally asserted its authority over the Isles, and the Syllanine Order gave up its political power. By that time the Cornish language was already dying out in Cornwall proper. Syllan remains one of the last Cornish-speaking places.