Merlin was the seer and Taliesin the Psalmist of that mystic age. The actual existence of an Arthur scarcely admits of a reasonable question. This is evident for the following reasons : " The general tradition, which is too widespread to be altogether an invention ; the existence of so many places in Southwestern England and Southern Scotland that bear his name and the fact that history records certain great Teutonic invasions at the very time and in those parts of Britain where he is said to have lived ; the persistent local traditions in Somerset