Did King Arthur and his Court reside at Castle Dinas Bran, Wales.

Some people think that Castell Dinas Bran may be the original site of or inspiration for Castle Corbenic, or the Grail Castle, situated near Llangollen in North Wales.

The remains of the building of the present Castle are medieval.

However, its foundations are certainly much older as it stands on the site of an ancient Iron Age hillfort.

This site is believed to have been so important that Dinas Bran may have been the main court of the Kings of Powys well into the 8th century AD.

The Castle is named after King Bran Fendigaid or Bran the Blessed. He seems to have originally been a Celtic god-man in Welsh and Irish mythology. This mythological character becomes a man, and rules as King Bran.

Dinas Bran

Towering high above the Dee Valley and the bustling town of Llangollen, home of the International Eisteddfod, Castell Dinas Bran occupies one of Britain's most spectacular sites. A rugged, foreboding pinnacle, the hillock was the ideal spot to erect a castle.

It seems to be completely impenetrable, commanding views for miles around, and offers quick recognition of an approaching visitor, whether friend or foe. Yet, the native Welsh princes of Powys occupied the hilltop for only a few decades.

While this work claimed that the castle, known as "Chastiel Bran," was in ruin as early as 1073, the remains we see today date to the occupation of the princes of Powys Fadog in the mid 13th century.

It is a possibility that the Chastiel Bran mentioned in the romance was a Norman timber castle, but nothing of substance supports this conjecture. However, the encompassing ditch and earthen embankments, which enclose the southern and eastern portions of the stone fortress, do date to the Iron Age.

They remind us that this hilltop had strategic value long before the princes of Powys, or the Normans, ventured into the region. The word, "Dinas," has its origins in the Iron Age as well, and is found in the names of Iron Age hillforts throughout Wales.

Reid (1973) speculated that the hill at Dinas Bran was occupied in the 8th century by a man named Eliseg. The same Eliseg also gave his name to an ancient pillar that stands just north of Valle Crucis Abbey, near Llangollen. The mystery man may have been an ancestor of the princes of Powys who later dominated the area, but there is no real proof to support this assertion.

Arthurian Legends associate Castell Dinas Bran with the king of Britain mentioned in the Mabinogion, whose story dates to Arthurian times and whose name (Bran) translates to "raven."

The king was killed after invading Ireland, and his head was buried in what may have been London's Tower Hill. Stories then added that, as long as Bran's head remained buried, Britain would be safeguarded.

Perhaps, the idea that the head is linked with the Tower of London derives from the ongoing presence of real ravens, creatures also said to have the magical power to protect the kingdom from disaster.

Tales also state, however, that King Arthur retrieved the head, choosing to protect Britain himself rather than resorting to the power of a buried body part. Claims have also been made that the Holy Grail or a golden harp are hidden in the hillock at Dinas Bran and that fairies dwell there.