In 1757, the Englishman Charles Bertram published, in Copenhagen, a text and map of supposed medieval origins, which showed new information on the extent of Roman Britain, particularly in Scotland. This text, and particularly the map, introduced a previously unknown Roman province which covered large parts of southern Scotland, as well as roads and stations extending into this area. It was, of course, not genuine.

Nevertheless, this new information was eagerly embraced by many antiquaries and historians. The forging of this particular text is inextricably linked to the Union of Scotland and England and the Jacobite rebellions. The attraction that this forgery held for contemporary Englishmen, and Scotsmen, was subtle. In showing the Union as having existed during the much admired period of Roman rule, Bertram’s text portrays the Union of 1707 as unavoidable, almost pre-ordained, and as natural. The territorial boundaries are re-affirmed through history, and with an authority that is hard to question. 

This forgery allows for a number of attractive rewritings of history, including the eliding of the Middle Ages themselves. The text focuses on the two transnational aspects of this forgery: the misuse of a ‘medieval’ text in order to promote a political agenda concerning national borders and national unity, and the position of the writer in exile, forging a nostalgic past for a nation in which he no longer dwells.

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