Pen Rhionydd is named as the location of
King Arthur
King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain.
In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...
's northern court in a
Welsh triad
The Welsh Triads ( cy, Trioedd Ynys Prydein, "Triads of the Island of Britain") are a group of related texts in medieval manuscripts which preserve fragments of Welsh folklore, mythology and traditional history in groups of three. The triad is a ...
found in ''Peniarth MS 54'', containing pre-
Galfridian traditions:
Arthur as Chief Prince in Pen Rhionydd in the North, and Gerthmwl Wledig as Chief Elder, and Cyndeyrn Garthwys as Chief Bishop.
There are no other known references to this location in Arthurian literature. The same triad goes on to say Arthur's other courts were at
Celliwig Celliwig, Kelliwic or Gelliwic is perhaps the earliest named location for the court of King Arthur. It may be translated as 'forest grove'.
Literary references
It is mentioned in the Welsh tale ''Culhwch and Olwen'' whose manuscript dates from the ...
and
Mynyw
St Davids or St David's ( cy, Tyddewi, , "David's house”) is a city and a community (named St Davids and the Cathedral Close) with a cathedral in Pembrokeshire, Wales, lying on the River Alun. It is the resting place of Saint David, Wa ...
.
Location
A possible location, supported by
Rachel Bromwich
Rachel Bromwich (30 July 1915 – 15 December 2010) born Rachel Sheldon Amos, was a British scholar. Her focus was on medieval Welsh literature, and she taught Celtic Languages and Literature in the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic at ...
, the latest editor of the Welsh Triads, is a location somewhere near the
Rhins of Galloway
gd, Na Rannaibh
, photo = File:Luce Bay.jpg
, photo_width =
, photo_alt =
, photo_caption = Looking south over the Rhins of Galloway towards Luce Bay
, map = UK Scotland
, map_width =
...
and
Stranraer
Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; gd, An t-Sròn Reamhar ), also known as The Toon, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is located in the historical parish of Inch in the historic county of Wigtownshire. It lies on the shores of L ...
.
[Rachel Bromwich (editor and translator), ''Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Welsh Triads'', second edition (Cardiff: University of Wales, 1978), pp. 3f] This would match the importance of St Mungo in that area. Both these places would have been in
Rheged
Rheged () was one of the kingdoms of the ''Hen Ogledd'' ("Old North"), the Brittonic-speaking region of what is now Northern England and southern Scotland, during the post-Roman era and Early Middle Ages. It is recorded in several poetic and ba ...
{{according to whom, date=December 2017.
Notes
See also
*
Sites and places associated with Arthurian legend
The following is a list and assessment of sites and places associated with King Arthur and the Arthurian legend in general. Given the lack of concrete historical knowledge about one of the most potent figures in British mythology, it is unlikely ...
*
Historical basis for King Arthur
The historicity of King Arthur has been debated both by academics and popular writers. While there have been many suggestions that Arthur was a real historical person, current consensus among academic historians holds him to be a mythological or ...
Locations associated with Arthurian legend
Welsh mythology
Hen Ogledd