Having been present at the inception of this project, it is a particular pleasure to see it realised. It arose, as all Arthurian projects should, at a round table, in good company: in this case, in the bar, at the 2002 International Arthurian Congress, in Bangor, Wales. The group assembled, with the exception of the present writer, could all be termed ‘Young Arthurians’ and they mooted the idea of a collection of essays, with a working title not fit to print in a scholarly work, which this volume exemplifies. It is a tribute to all the contributors, and not least to the editors, that the concept survived not only to the light of the following day but to that of many more, with the result you have before you. To those editors, Amanda Hopkins and Cory Rushton, I offer congratulations and thanks for inviting me to contribute these few remarks.