Mr Cornwell, thank you for your excellent books such as your Warlord Chronicles, which in my opinion are some of the greatest and most moving pieces of literature ever. Just a few questions: I like the way you placed little or unknown characters from the Arthurian legend into your trilogy such as Druidan and Sebile. My question is, what made you decide that the ‘mad’ and ‘strange’ characters such as them in Merlin’s domain? In the formation of a shield wall, do the men in the ranks behind the first line have their shield in a ‘ready’ position in case the wall breaks or do they have them slung over their backs? In the british army, when did the ranks we have today and during the earlier wars come into practise? Thanks again for the books, Pete