Celliwig, Kelliwic or Gelliwic, is perhaps the earliest named location for the court of King Arthur. It may be translated as 'forest grove'.
It is mentioned in the Welsh tale Culhwch and Olwen which may date from the 11th century. The story describes the court as being at Celliwig in Cernyw (the Welsh name for Cornwall). The hall is guarded by Glewlwyd Gafaelfawr, Arthur's porter, and Culhwch has difficulty gaining entrance due to the special laws that restrict entry once a feast has begun. Though there is no description of the place the implications of the story are of great wealth and splendour.
The story describes Arthur's warriors at the court in depth and says that: "From here, one of his Warband, 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!"[1]
Some of the Trioedd Ynys Prydein (or Welsh Triads) mention Arthur and "Three Tribal Thrones of the Island of Britain" and locate one of his courts as being at Celliwig stating: "Arthur as Chief Prince in Celliwig in Cernyw, and Bishop Bytwini as Chief Bishop, and Caradog Freichfras as Chief Elder."[1]
Caradoc was his chief elder at this court and that Bishop Bytwini or Bedwin was chief bishop. This is one of the early triads found in Peniarth MS 54 reflecting information recorded pre-Geoffrey of Monmouth. The same triad goes on to say Arthur's other courts were at Mynyw and Pen Rhionydd. The triads also states that at Celliwig Mordred struck Gwenhwyfar a blow. This may have led to the Battle of Camlann. The early Welsh poem 'Pa gŵr yw'r porthor?' may also mention the court.
Taliesin ab Iola Morgannwg writing in the Iolo Manuscripts in 1843 cites Celliwig as the site of the "throne of Cornwall" but that it is now at Caervynyddawg - a site also unknown! [1].
There definitely was a Celliwig in Cornwall in 1312 but unfortunately manuscript sources are unclear about its location and Arthurian references are common across Cornwall so there is no agreement about its location. In the nineteenth centuries local antiquarians noted that "the custom in Cornwall to ascribe everything that is great and whose use is unknown to that immortal hero." Celliwig was identified by some Cornish antiquaries from 1816 with Callington.[1] Their influence gave Callington its modern name in Common Cornish. Another suggestion at the time was Kelliwith. Other suggested locations include Gweek Wood, and on the coast at Tintagel Barras Nose or Willapark. Rachel Bromwich, the latest editor of the Welsh Triads, matched it to Kelly Rounds, a hill fort in the Cornish parish of Egloshayle.[2]. This had already been suggested by Charles Henderson in the Cornish Church Guide (1925) (p. 87). Intriguingly, the Ravenna Cosmography identifies a major regional Roman-era settlement as Nemetostatio in central Dumnonia which would translate from Latin as 'The Outpost of the Sacred Grove(s)'. [3]
However there are also a number of places called Cernyw or containing that name in Wales, e.g. the place name Coedkernew (Coed Cernyw) in Gwent. So it has been suggested that this court might be the hillfort of Llanmelin, near Caerwent[4]. As Caradog is connected to the Kingdom of Gwent this might support this idea.[1] There is also a farm called Gelliweg on the Llŷn peninsula in Gwynedd which one pair of Arthurian researchers and writers, Steven Blake and Scott Lloyd, argue may be the location.[5] They claim their arguments are backed up with historical documentation, and Arthurian tradition does say that the mountains of Ireland could be seen from Celliweg[citation needed], which they can on a clear day from this location, but from nowhere in Cornwall.
Those who argue that Arthur is a mythic figure also suggest this court is entirely fictional, just like his most famous court Camelot. Given the name means "forest grove... it may have originally been envisaged as somewhere Otherworldly (sacred groves being common in Celtic myth) and only later might a specific location have been ascribed to it."[6]