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 King Arthur's castle is epitomised by our medieval images of
Camelot.
And yet
some of the earliest references to his
court, in the
Welsh Triads
for example, refer instead to
Kelliwic or Celliwig.
This name now
thought to be associated with Killibury in the parish of
Egloshayle,
in Cornwall.
However, we hope readers will indulge us with looking at our reasons for
believing that the place named as Celliwig or
Kelliwic may have in fact been
Callington,
again in Cornwall. Finally, it is worth pointing out that the words
'Kelli' and 'wic' probably meant simply 'forest grove'; consequently,
the name may have been a description of the type of location the King
held court, rather than an the name of the exact place itself.
The name Celliwig probably first appears
in the Arthurian poem Pa gur yv y porthaur?, which may
date from as early as the 9th Century, or even as early as the 8th. According to some of the earliest references in the
Mabinogion, in the tale of
Culhwch & Olwen,
King
Arthur's court is said to have been at a place called
Celliwig in Cornwall. From
this high spot, one of his warriors, Drem, could see a gnat as far away as
Scotland; while another, Medyr, could shoot an arrow through the legs of a wren in Ireland. This
is clearly a poetic image suggesting that the king's court was situated
upon a high vantage point.
We also learn in The Welsh Triads that:
'Medrod came to Arthur's
court at Celliwig in
Cerniw (Cornwall); he left neither food nor drink in the court that he did not
consume. And he dragged Gwenhwyfar from her throne, and then he struck
her a blow'. This took place at one of the
'Three Tribal Thrones of the Island of Britain.'
They are stated as being: 'Arthur as chief prince in Mynyw or Aberffraw, and Dewi as
chief
bishop, and Mælgwn Gwynedd as chief elder;
Arthur as chief Prince in Celliwig in Cerniw, and Bishop Bytwini as
Chief bishop, and Caradog Freichfras as chief elder;
Arthur as chief prince in Pen Rhionydd in the North, and Gerthmwl Wledig
as chief elder, and Cyndeyrn Garthwys as chief bishop.'
Moreover, King Arthur is called 'penn kadoed Kernyw' or
chief of the battalions of Cornwall in the
non-Galfridian poem
Ymddiddan Arthur a'r Eryr (dated around 1150
AD).
In Herman's De Miraculis
Sanctae Mariae Laudensis (or The Miracles of St. Mary of Laon),
a visit to Cornwall in 1113 by some canons from Laon almost ended in
violence and rioting when one of the visiting canons dared to argue that
the people of Bodmin were wrong in their belief that Arthur 'still
lived.' This story indicates the great strength of feeling of the local
Cornish population of the early 12th-century towards King Arthur.
All the early British sources agree that
King Arthur’s court was called Celliwig or ‘the forest grove’ and was to be
found in Cornwall.
So where
is Kelliwic or Celliwig today?
The first place to consider is Castle Killibury or
Kelly Rounds, in Egloshayle, which is a small banked
and ditched fort with a defended eastern entrance. Lesser defensive earthworks
are located to both the north and the south. The site may have been
originally constructed in the
Iron Age or later. Small-scale excavations have uncovered
several sherds of imported Mediterranean pottery from the so called Dark
Age,
which indicates that the site was, at least, refortified during the 5th and
6th centuries, so Arthur may have used it as his capital.
The problem
with Killibury is that it is less impressive than other possible royal
Dark Age sites. So an Arthurian
association may be unlikely. A closer look at the Welsh Triad
entry indicates an alternative site for Kelliwic or Celliwig. For, unlike the other
two Tribal Thrones, this throne is associated with men from outside its
realm. Bishop Bydwini is thought to
have been an early Bishop of Llandaff, who gave his name to the Bedwin
Sands, off the Gwent Coast. Caradog Freichfras is, of course, the
notorious King of Gwent. Both are men of South Wales, and thus it could
be that Celliwig was not in Cerniw (Cornwall), but in Cernyw
(Glamorgan). Kelliwic or Celliwig might be the hillfort of Llanmelin, near Caerwent, previously called Llan-y-Gelli.
But the site of Kelliwic or Celliwig has many other Cornish
claimants that should be considered. These possible sites include Callington,
Barras Nose, Callywith, Gweek Wood, and Willapark. All these places have
some claimants. But what is certain is that a place named Kelliwic certainly once existed in
Cornwall since a certain Cornishman
named Thomas de Kellewik is recorded in 1302.
Could it be
Callington?
Less than a mile to the north of
Callington
lies Kelly Bray, which is now an area right on the side of Kit Hill.
Apart from the fact that it is named 'Kelly' the area fits the story for
other reasons. Kit Hill fits the descriptions of the site for King Arthur's
stronghold. Kit Hill stands over 300 feet above sea-level.
From its summit, you can see as far as
Dartmoor to the east and
Bodmin Moor
to the west. The mouth of the River Tamar and Plymouth can be seen to
the south, and one can see miles to the north. It is a perfect location
for protecting a king and defending his
kingdom from any advancing army
into Cornwall and southern Britain.
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