Devon Map by C & J Greenwood - Framed Print - 16"H x 20"W

Devon Map by C & J Greenwood - Framed Print - 16"H x 20"W

Devon (archaically known as Devonshire) is a county in the South West of England.

Devon derives its name from Dumnonia, which, from the Iron Age,to Early Medieval was the homeland of the Dumnonii (deep valley dwellers) Brittonic Celts. The Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain resulted in the partial assimilation of Dumnonia into the Kingdom of Wessex during the eighth and ninth centuries. The border with Cornwall was set by King Æthelstan on the east bank of the River Tamar in 936 AD.  Devon was constituted as a shire of England thereafter.

The term "Devon" is normally used for everyday purposes but "Devonshire" continues to be used in the names of the "Devonshire and Dorset Regiment" and "The Devonshire Association". There are references to "Defenascire" in Anglo-Saxon texts from before 1000 AD, which translates to modern English as "Devonshire". The term Devonshire may have originated around the 8th century, when it changed from Dumnonia to Defenascir.

A genetic study carried out discovered separate genetic groups in Cornwall and Devon, not only were there differences on either side of the Tamar, with a division almost exactly along the modern county boundary dating back to the 6th Century but also between Devon and the rest of Southern England.

Devon has also featured in most of the civil conflicts in England since the Norman conquest, including the Wars of the Roses, Perkin Warbeck's rising, The Prayer Book Rebellion, the Civil War and the Glorious Revolution.

Devon has produced tin since from ancient times. Devon's tin miners enjoyed a substantial degree of independence through Devon's Stannary Parliament, which dates back to the 12th century.