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says, what role had the Commune of Lucca in the financial affairs of its citizens? And who exactly were these men who risked so much in the search for profit? Such important topics are touched upon but not followed up. For the answers, the search for sources will have to be widened; it is unlikely, for example, that the archival resources of Lucca have been exhausted by the few references in Kaeuper's bibliography. When the history of the Riccardi societas has been studied in its own right, as a European concern, the activities of its British branches will be better understood. It is to be hoped that Kaeuper will extend his researches so that the importance of the Riccardi to the English government, which he clearly and carefully demonstrates, can be seen in a wider context. J. E. LAW Swansea GLAMORGAN COUNTY HISTORY: Vol IV. Early Modern Glamorgan. Edited by Glanmor Williams. University of Wales Press, Cardiff, 1974. Pp. xviii, 717, 31 plates. £ 15.00. The Glamorgan History follows the pattern of Lloyd's Carmarthen- shire, though on a larger scale, rather than that of the English Victoria County Histories. The V.C.H. aims to present the history of each parish community within each county as well as a general history of the county; the Glamorgan History only the latter. This is a sumptuous work, handsomely produced with large print and wide margins, and a good selection of plates, ranging from useful maps, through portraits of county worthies, to some fine studies of vernacular buildings. One technical drawback might be mentioned. The pages of notes at the end give no indication of the pages to which they refer, or even to chapter titles; only chapter numbers. Hence to follow up a reference from the text one has to turn back to discover the number of the chapter, then forward to the notes, a cumbersome and irritating procedure. The volume runs from the Act of Union to the 'eve of industrialization', meaning in practice about 1770. The disparate chapters form a unity, a tribute to the editorial work of Glanmor Williams, who is himself also the author of three chapters in the period up to 1642: on the economy, on society and on the church. He also contributes the section on dissenters in the chapter on post-Restoration religion. The social chapter is especially interesting, as a sustained attempt to answer in the local context questions about social mobility, the relation between the classes, marriage and the family, the provision of education, the size and plan of houses and so on. Even costume and recreation are treated seriously, rather than as picturesque appendages. (Later volumes, one hopes, will follow this example, and give us a proper study of the place of rugby in the life of south Wales.) Professor Williams has the gift of breathing life into what can easily become a static structural approach to society; notably, in his use of popular religious poetry, the cwndidau, in illustrating social relationships, peasant grievances and so on.