Celtic Britain in the fifth century is a land of art, song, and wily princes. But moreoever war. Rome's balancing discipline and steadfastness has departed. In Britain now roost Saxons, Picts, Jutes, and Angles aplenty. The old ways are dying along the North Sea, while Britain's old peoples are forced to retreat to the west or enslaved outright.

Only Arthur, son of Uther, believes that like a sword, Britain can be reforged. This is the rousing story of of the twelve great battles that Arthur fights, of the fall of London and the Saxons, of the road to the west, and of the final, treacherous battle at Camlann.

A daring and brilliant recreation of the historical Arthur, set amid the savage confusions of the Dark Ages. Written during World War II as Britain struggled with threats of new invasion, Frankland's portrait of Arthur bears the stamp of authentic feeling and historical truth. Not the Arthur of Geoffrey, Malory, or of Tennyson, Frankland's Arthur is a tough Celtic warrior, the last native emperor of the British peoples as they struggle against the Saxon invaders.