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Cefnllys was a medieval spur castle in Radnorshire. Two successive masonry castles were built on a ridge above the River Ithon known as Castle Bank in the thirteenth century, replacing a wooden motte-and-bailey castle constructed by the Normans nearby. Controlling several communication routes into the highlands of Mid Wales, the castles were strategically important within the Welsh Marches during the High Middle Ages. As the seat of the fiercely contested lordship and cantref of Maelienydd, Cefnllys became a source of friction between Llywelyn ap Gruffudd and Roger Mortimer in the prelude to Edward I's conquest of Wales (1277–1283). Cefnllys was also the site of a borough and medieval town.
Castle Bank is often considered to be the site of an Iron Age hillfort, but there is no firm evidence to corroborate this. It has also been speculated that the princely court of a native Welsh ruler was situated nearby. The first castle at Cefnllys, 1.6 km north of the ridge, was a motte-and-bailey thrown up during the early stages of the Norman invasion of Wales by the Anglo-Norman baron Ralph Mortimer, beginning a long association between the powerful Mortimer family and Cefnllys. Around 1242, after a century of prolonged conflict in the region, Ralph Mortimer II built a masonry castle on the north-east flank of Castle Bank, which quickly became the principal symbol of Mortimer hegemony in Wales. The castle was captured and slighted in 1262 by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales and Gwynedd, during a war with Henry III of England, and Cefnllys featured prominently in the ensuing Treaty of Montgomery. The construction of a new castle on the south-east side of the hill by Roger Mortimer was a contributing factor to Llywelyn's refusal to swear fealty to Edward I in 1275, leading to war in 1277.
The castle may have been sacked during the revolts of Madog ap Llywelyn (1294–1295) and Owain Glyndŵr (1400–1415), but remained occupied until at least the mid-15th century, when it was described in a series of poems by the bard Lewys Glyn Cothi. Both castles on Castle Bank are now entirely ruinous and only traces remain; the sole surviving medieval structure at Cefnllys is St Michael's Church. The town was unsuccessful and disappeared altogether as a result of the Black Death and subsequent bubonic plague outbreaks, economic remoteness and changing frontier military conditions, although Cefnllys retained its borough status until the 19th century.
References:Trenčín Castle is relatively large renovated castle, towering on a steep limestone cliff directly above the city of Trenčín. It is a dominant feature not only of Trenčín, but also of the entire Považie region. The castle is a national monument.
History of the castle cliff dates back to the Roman Empire, what is proved by the inscription on the castle cliff proclaiming the victory of Roman legion against Germans in the year 179.
Today’s castle was probably built on the hill-fort. The first proven building on the hill was the Great Moravian rotunda from the 9th century and later there was a stone residential tower, which served to protect the Kingdom of Hungary and the western border. In the late 13th century the castle became a property of Palatine Matúš Csák, who became Mr. of Váh and Tatras.
Matúš Csák of Trenčín built a tower, still known as Matthew’s, which is a dominant determinant of the whole building.
