Welsh Journals

may be valuable to place more stress on the parallels with pre-Roman Celtic society, and less on the legacy of the Roman Empire. Viewed in perspective, the imposition of Roman rule may be seen as an uncharac- teristic interlude which broke the constant flow of traffic between Britain and Gaul and the migration of peoples in both directions. The emigration of the Belgae, Atrebates and Parisii from Gaul to Britain in the second and first century B.C. and that of the Bretons to Gaul from the fourth century onwards are part of the same phenomenon. Only the forces of economic and political pressure had changed, causing the pendulum to swing in the opposite direction. In the first century B.C. the movement and growth of the Teutonic tribes of the Upper Rhine and Central Europe had forced the inhabitants of the north-west to find new homes across the channel; beginning in the later third century A.D., the waves of invasion and settlement from north Germany and Scandinavia reversed the process. For 400 years Roman rule in north-west Europe had tried to halt these rhythmical fluctuations, but in so doing it built up pressures that were to play a large part in the downfall of the Roman empire itself. The more flexible political and social structures of pre- and post- Roman Britain and Gaul could bend in the wind of economic and popu- lation pressure. The readiness to migrate and resettle more than anything else ensured the survival of Celtic culture along the fringe of the Atlantic seaboard. STEPHEN MITCHELL Swansea THE TUDOR Regime. By Penry Williams. Oxford University Press, 1979. Pp. xii, 486. £ 15.00 In writing this book Dr. Penry Williams set himself the formidable task of 'describing the ways in which [Tudor] government actually worked, the people who ran it, the impact that it made upon society, and the reasons for its survival'. He divides his study into three parts: the fabric of government, the impact of government, and the maintenance of the regime. Part One treats of the Crown's central machine, its financial resources, its servants, and its military force. Part Two examines the impact of government in selected areas-trade and industry, poverty and labour conditions, law and order, religion (confined very largely to Protestantism in Elizabeth's reign), and the universities and the theatre. Part Three discusses how the regime defended itself against protest and rebellion, secured obedience, maintained its chain of command, and upon whom it chose, or was obliged, to devolve authority. Dr. Williams comes to the conclusion that, in spite of marked variations in style as between one ruler and another, the Tudors were reasonably successful in their government. He sides-rightly in my view-with Professor Elton in this respect, rather than with Professor Stone or Professor Hurstfield, each of whom was rather more critical of Tudor achievement. Nor does he accept the view that Elizabeth I handed on to her Stuart successors a regime too fraught with unresolved tensions to survive. There is a very brief comparison of the régime with other sixteenth-century govern- ments-of which this reviewer would have welcomed much-extended treatment-from which the Tudors emerge well.