Dr. Morris, however, has not only surveyed the whole period and the whole of the British Isles across these three centuries, but has injected into every fibre of his book his own individualistic views and uncompromising conclusions. He writes with nothing if not zest and character and there will probably be few who have not learnt something from him at some time, if only as a reaction to one of his pronouncements. Unfortunately, the authoritative tone of this volume conceals not a lack of knowledge as such but a seemingly total inability to construct a thesis which unfolds logically and by appropriate stages, together with an indifference to the views and conclusions of other scholars bordering on the absolute. It is a matter of deep regret that such an outwardly impressive piece of scholarship as The Age of Arthur should crumble upon inspection into a tangled tissue of fact and fantasy which is both misleading and misguided. It is also a matter of grave concern that this book is likely to be read widely and its conclusions disseminated at all levels. No scholarly satisfaction is to be derived from commenting unfavourably and at length on the labour of love of another historian, but this massive edifice needs so thoroughly dismantling that it is essential to treat, at least in passing, as many as possible (for even a more extended critique cannot cover every defective statement) of the errors and misconceptions with which it abounds.