Welsh Journals

judicious manner, she makes clear the deficiencies and discrepancies in these returns and the practical problems which the use of such records entails. The problem of identi- fying individuals with any degree of certainty is the most fundamental of these. Below the level of the gentry, nominal record linkages become particularly hazardous due to the Welsh use of patronymics and occupational names rather than surnames, and the narrow selection of biblical names in common usage. Incomplete as these records are, they offer a useful indication of the extent of poverty, density of population and geographical distribution of wealth, to be used in conjunction with other forms of evidence. They are too unreliable to be taken at face value for hard evidence as to the distribution of wealth. In Swansea, for example, it is clear that the picture of poverty given by the 1670 return is quite inaccurate as the number of non- chargeable entries fell from being 40 per cent of the total for Gower in the undated return to 2 per cent in 1670. Disappointingly, Parkinson does not address the question of why this should be the case. This discrepancy skews any calculations regarding popula- tion, but general trends may be observed: the upland areas were less densely populated and showed a lower proportion of large houses with multiple hearths, and within towns residential patterns can be discerned. The names of householders can, in some cases, be identified with names in the probate index, enabling comparisons of an individual's capital wealth with his movable wealth to be made, but given the confines of the intro- ductory remit, Parkinson is unable to offer a full statistical analysis. This is a project which would merit far more detailed examination. The problem of using these figures for population estimates is addressed, and a multiplier of 4.5 to 5.0 is used to give approximate figures for the different hundreds. The population of Glamorgan overall would appear to have been around 45,000, with Cardiff still the largest town, making it the most populous of the four counties under Gwyn's purview. A breakdown of the entries and the number of hearths hundred by hundred is provided for both the 1660s assessment and that of 1670 which greatly facilitates comparison, and a list of the sites of the exempt ovens and furnaces extrapolated. The transcription itself is clearly laid out in the order of appearance in the original, leaving the spelling of the names and abbreviations unaltered. The indices of places and persons, divided into personal and patronymic sections with extensive cross-referencing, will be of particular assistance to the family historian and genealogist. This is a schol- arly and well-produced volume and a welcome addition to our knowledge of the hearth tax. R. H. SWEET St. John's College, Oxford POLITICS AND OPINION IN CRISIS, 1678-81. By Mark Knights. Cambridge University Press, 1994. Pp. 424. £ 45.00. These days the publication of a doctoral thesis carries a double risk of built-in obso- lescence. First there is the time-lag of completing it and getting it through examination