It is, nevertheless, not the normal position for a woman: overall, these women are expected to desire a knight who can take over rulership, or at least become co-ruler. This desire is considered appropriate: by and large, only women of very doubtful reputations Morgan being a case in point retain full control over their lands for an extended period of time.
Categorically rejecting an obviously suitable knight is also inappropriate for a female ruler: it is not so much that she should accept a knight she does not desire, as that she should desire any knight of prowess and chivalric behaviour who loves her.
The lack of desire is, in itself, a flaw in a female ruler. A prominent example of inappropriate reaction to knightly desire is Ettarde, ruler of her own castle and believing she is entitled to make her own choice in matters of love. In this paper, I will discuss this and other examples of female rulers and their in appropriate desires. In , 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. The territorial boundaries are re-affirmed through history, and with an authority that is hard to question.
