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1 Chapter 1 : Boudica, â œwarrior Queenâ of the Iceni Boudicca was enraged and together with her fellow tribesmen swore to get her revenge. Acording to Dio she assembled, Britons and they stormed the Roman town of Camulodunum (Colchester today). This was a garrison town, inhabited chiefly by retired soldiers and their families. But I am not fighting for my kingdom and wealth now. I am fighting as an ordinary person for my lost freedom, my bruised body, and my outraged daughters Consider how many of you are fighting â and why! Then you will win this battle, or perish. That is what I, a woman, plan to do! These are the words of Queen Boudicca, according to ancient historian Tacitus, as she summoned her people to unleash war upon the invading Romans in Britain. Boudicca, sometimes written Boadicea, was queen of the Iceni tribe, a Celtic clan which united a number of British tribes in revolt against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire in AD. While she famously succeeded in defeating the Romans in three great battles, their victories would not last. The Romans rallied and eventually crushed the revolts, executing thousands of Iceni and taking the rest as slaves. However, it is believed that she was born into an elite family in the ancient town of Camulodunum now Colchester in around 30 AD, and may have been named after the Celtic goddess of victory, Boudiga. As an adolescent, Boudicca would have been sent away to another aristocratic family to be trained in the history and customs of the tribe, as well as learning how to fight in battle. Ancient Celtic women served as both warriors and rulers, and girls could be trained to fight with swords and other weapons, just as the boys were. Celtic women were distinct in the ancient world for the liberty and rights they enjoyed and the position they held in society. Compared to their counterparts in Greek, Roman, and other ancient societies, they were allowed much freedom of activity and protection under the law. Celtic woman were trained to use swords and other weapons. In 43 AD, before the time that Boudicca reached adulthood, the Romans invaded Britain, and most of the Celtic tribes were forced to submit. However, the Romans allowed two Celtic kings to retain some of their traditional power as it was normal Roman practice to allow kingdoms their independence for the lifetime of their client king, who would then agree to leave his kingdom to Rome in his will. One of these kings was Prasutagus, whom Boudicca went on to marry at the age of Their wedding was celebrated for a day and a night and during this time they also gave offerings to the Celtic gods. Together they had two daughters, called Isolda and Siora. However, it was not a time of harmony for Boudicca and Prasutagus. The Roman occupation brought increased settlement, military presence, and attempts to suppress Celtic religious culture. There were major economic changes, including heavy taxes and money lending. In 60 AD life changed dramatically for Boudicca, with the death of her husband. However, Roman law only allowed inheritance through the male line, so when Prasutagus died, his attempts to preserve his line were ignored and his kingdom was annexed as if it had been conquered. The Chieftains of the Iceni were deprived of their family estates as if the whole country had been handed over to the Romans. This would prove to be the catalyst, which would see Boudicca demanding revenge against the brutal invaders of her lands. Tacitus records the words spoken by Boudicca as she vowed to avenge the actions of the Roman invaders: They will deface the sacred and will deflower our virgins. Win the battle or perish, that is what I, a woman, will do. Wikipedia Coming in Part 2: The Celts used to use a plant called Isatis Tinctoria to produce an indigo dye used as war paint. Page 1

2 Chapter 2 : PPT â The Revolt of the Iceni PowerPoint presentation free to view - id: cf-zdc1z Boudicca's Revenge was a finalist in the Chesterfield Writer's Film Project. Her fiction and non-fiction stories have appeared in a number of anthologies. Read more. Death of Prasutagus and its aftermath[ change change source ] It was normal Roman practice to allow allied kingdoms their independence only for the lifetime of their client king. For example, the provinces of Bithynia and Galatia, were made part of the Empire in just this way. Also, Roman law allowed inheritance only through the male line. When Prasutagus died, his will was ignored by the Governor, Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, and his kingdom was annexed just as if it had been conquered. To make matters worse, Roman money-lenders called in the debts which Prasutagus had borrowed during his life. The lands and property of the Iceni were confiscated and their nobles treated like slaves. When Boudica protested, Paulinus had her flogged, and her two daughters raped in public. His dominions were ravaged by the centurions ; the slaves pillaged his house, and his effects were seized as lawful plunder. His wife, Boudicca, was disgraced with cruel stripes; her daughters were ravished, and the most illustrious of the Icenians were, by force, deprived of the positions which had been transmitted to them by their ancestors. The whole country was considered as a legacy bequeathed to the plunderers. The relations of the deceased king were reduced to slavery". There was only the 9th legion Legio IX Hispana to defend it. The tribes burnt and destroyed both Verulamium St Albans and Londinium and massacred all they could lay their hands on. Watling Street was an old trackway between Canterbury and St Albans. The Romans rebuilt it their way, and took it through the Midlands into Wales. The Romans were heavily outnumbered. However, the tribes lacked manoeuvrability. They had no way to direct these numbers, which put them at a disadvantage to the Romans. The Romans were skilled at open combat, and had better equipment and discipline. Also, the narrowness of the field meant that Boudica could put forth only as many troops as the Romans at any given time. First, the Romans stood their ground and used volleys of pila heavy javelins to kill thousands of Britons who rushed toward the Roman lines. As the Romans advanced in a wedge formation, the Britons attempted to flee, but were impeded by the presence of their own families. They had put their people in wagons at the edge of the battlefield, and were slaughtered. Tacitus reports that "according to one report almost eighty thousand Britons fell" compared with only four hundred Romans. Boudica fled, and her time and place of death is not known. The Prefect Postumus, on hearing of the Roman victory, fell on his sword. Page 2

3 Chapter 3 : The Guardian Boudicca's Revenge â RateBeer Gustav Klimt. Pallas Athene., oil on canvas and racedaydvl.com Museum. a terrible disaster occurred in Britain. Two cities were sacked, eighty thousand of the Romans and of their allies perished, and the island was lost to Rome. Name[ edit ] Boudica has been known by several versions of her name. Raphael Holinshed calls her Voadicia, while Edmund Spenser calls her Bunduca, a version of the name that was used in the popular Jacobean play Bonduca, in Irish bua Classical Irish buadh, Buaidheach, Welsh buddugoliaeth, and that the correct spelling of the name in Common Brittonic the British Celtic language is Boudica, pronounced Celtic pronunciation: He is generally agreed to have based his account on that of Tacitus, but he simplifies the sequence of events and adds details, such as the calling in of loans, that Tacitus does not mention. It is agreed that Boudica was of royal descent. Cassius Dio describes her as tall, with tawny hair hanging down to below her waist, a harsh voice and a piercing glare. He writes that she habitually wore a large golden necklace perhaps a torc, a colourful tunic, and a thick cloak fastened by a brooch. They were proud of their independence, and had revolted in AD 47 when the then Roman governor Publius Ostorius Scapula planned to disarm all the peoples in the area of Britain under Roman control following a number of local uprisings. Ostorius defeated them and went on to put down other uprisings around Britain. For these new settlers in the colony of Camulodunum drove people out of their houses, ejected them from their farms, called them captives and slaves Tacitus wrote, "The Icenian king Prasutagus, celebrated for his long prosperity, had named the emperor his heir, together with his two daughters; an act of deference which he thought would place his kingdom and household beyond the risk of injury. The result was contrary â so much so that his kingdom was pillaged by centurions, his household by slaves; as though they had been prizes of war. Boudica was chosen as their leader. The Roman veterans who had been settled there had mistreated the locals, and a temple to the former emperor Claudius had been erected there at local expense, making the city a focus for resentment. The Roman inhabitants sought reinforcements from the procurator, Catus Decianus, but he sent only two hundred auxiliary troops. Archaeologists have shown that the city was methodically demolished. The infantry with him were all killedâ only the commander and some of his cavalry escaped. Cerialis escaped with some cavalry into the camp, and was saved by its fortifications. When news of the rebellion reached Suetonius, he hurried along Watling Street through hostile territory to Londinium. Londinium was a relatively new settlement, founded after the conquest of AD 43, but it had grown to be a thriving commercial centre with a population of traders, and, probably, Roman officials. Alarmed by this disaster and by the fury of the province which he had goaded into war by his rapacity, the procurator Catus crossed over into Gaul. Suetonius, however, with wonderful resolution, marched amidst a hostile population to Londinium, which, though undistinguished by the name of a colony, was much frequented by a number of merchants and trading vessels. Uncertain whether he should choose it as a seat of war, as he looked round on his scanty force of soldiers, and remembered with what a serious warning the rashness of Petillius had been punished, he resolved to save the province at the cost of a single town. Nor did the tears and weeping of the people, as they implored his aid, deter him from giving the signal of departure and receiving into his army all who would go with him. Those who were chained to the spot by the weakness of their sex, or the infirmity of age, or the attractions of the place, were cut off by the enemy. Archaeology shows a thick red layer of burnt debris covering coins and pottery dating before AD 60 within the bounds of Roman Londinium; [29] while Roman-era skulls found in the Walbrook in may have been victims of the rebels. In the three settlements destroyed, between seventy and eighty thousand people are said to have been killed. Tacitus says that the Britons had no interest in taking or selling prisoners, only in slaughter by gibbet, fire, or cross. Albans, Suetonius regrouped his forces. By now the rebel forces were said to have numbered,, Boudica exhorted her troops from her chariot, her daughters beside her. Tacitus records her giving a short speech in which she presents herself not as an aristocrat avenging her lost wealth, but as an ordinary person, avenging her lost freedom, her battered body, and the abused chastity of her daughters. She said their cause was just, and the deities were on their side; the one legion that had dared to face them had been destroyed. She, a woman, was resolved to win or die; if the men wanted to live in slavery, that was their Page 3

4 choice. The auxiliaries charged in the same style; and the cavalry, with lances extended, broke a way through any parties of resolute men whom they encountered. The remainder took to flight, although escape was difficult, as the cordon of wagons had blocked the outlets. The troops gave no quarter even to the women: The glory won in the course of the day was remarkable, and equal to that of our older victories: Boudica ended her days by poison; while Poenius Postumus, camp-prefect of the second legion, informed of the exploits of the men of the fourteenth and twentieth, and conscious that he had cheated his own corps of a share in the honours and had violated the rules of the service by ignoring the orders of his commander, ran his sword through his body. The original name of the bridge was Broad Ford Bridge. The name "Battle Bridge" led to a tradition that this was the site of a major battle between the Romans and the Iceni tribe led by Boudica. There is no evidence for this and it is probably a post- World War II invention. Polydore Vergil may have reintroduced her to British history as "Voadicea" in Regions Caesar never knew Thy posterity shall sway. The great anti-imperialist rebel was now identified with the head of the British Empire, and her statue [54] stood guard over the city she razed to the ground. The statue was unveiled by David Lloyd George on 27 October Page 4

5 Chapter 4 : "8 Days That Made Rome" Boudica's Revenge (TV Episode ) - IMDb It was time for revenge. Boudicca, as ruler and war leader of the Iceni, led a retaliatory revolt against the Romans. Enlisting the support of the neighboring tribe of Trinovantes and possibly some others, she resoundingly defeated the Roman troops at Camulodonum and virtually annihilated his legion, the IX Hispana. All that is fascinating and unusual in history. Tuesday, 31 May Boudicca: Revenge of the Warrior Queen Boudicca on her chariot Thirteen feet under the City of London lies a red layer of oxidized iron, mixed with ash and the charred remains of Roman Londinium. Boudicca was the wife of King Prasutagus of the Celtic tribe known as the Iceni. Prasutagus, was on good terms with the Roman conquerors but despite that he was worried. He had two daughters and no male heir and felt that he must do his best to ensure the future was good for them. He thought he was being clever when he left half of his kingdom to his daughters and the other half to the Roman Emperor. This, he thought, would appease Rome and ensure his family was left in peace. He was so wrong. Suddenly the Iceni were slaves. He ordered his soldiers to flogg Queen Boudicca, while her two daughters were raped. This humiliation was the last straw. Boudicca was enraged and together with her fellow tribesmen swore to get her revenge. Acording to Dio she assembled, Britons and they stormed the Roman town of Camulodunum Colchester today. This was a garrison town, inhabited chiefly by retired soldiers and their families. The town was practically defenseless and it fell easily. The inhabitants, men, women and children, were all slaughtered. Charred food and grain can still be found today during excavations. Boudicca then headed for London Londinium, a town of merchants, officials and generally well-off people. Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, the governor of Britain, attempted to protect the town but faced with the news of the large number of Britons realised he was outnumberd and gave the order to withdraw. London would not be defended either. However, residents were warned and it is thought many were evacuated, except for those who insisted on staying. For centuries numerous skulls have been found in the Wallbrook area. When Lloyds Bank was being built, burnt coins, burnt tiles and grain were found. All evidence points to a true holocaust. To this day, depsite the fact that hundreds of skulls have been excavated, there are no skeletons or bones to be found. Scientific tests have estimated the heat generated by the fire to have been in excess of degrees Celsius. In this orgy of revenge, Verulanium was the last to be annihilated. Britons lived in this town, Britons who had profited from Roman rule and become Romanized. Tacitus describes the following: They hung up naked the noblest and most distinguished women and then cut off their breasts and sewed them to their mouths, in order to make the victims appear to be eating them; they impaled the women on sharp skewers run lengthwise through the entire body. Gaius Suetonius gathered reinforcements of up to 10, men and defeated the Britons. Most of her men were killed, while survivors fled for their lives Posted by Anna at. Page 5

6 Chapter 5 : McMenamins Boudicca's Revenge â RateBeer Boudicca was a tribal queen in Britain during the Roman occupation, and the rebellion she led against the Romans cost them much, even though the Romans were not ultimately defeated. August 13, Gustav Klimt. Two cities were sacked, eighty thousand of the Romans and of their allies perished, and the island was lost to Rome. Moreover, all this ruin was brought upon the Romans by a woman, a fact which in itself caused them the greatest shameâ But the person who was chiefly instrumental in rousing the natives and persuading them to fight the Romans, the person who was thought worthy to be their leader and who directed the conduct of the entire war, was Buduica, a Briton woman of the royal family who possessed of greater intelligence than often belongs to womenâ In stature she was very tall, in appearance most terrifying, in the glance of her eye most fierce, and her voice was harsh; a great mass of the tawniest hair fell to her hips; around her neck was a large golden necklace; and she wore a tunic of diverse colours over which a thick mantle was fastened with a brooch. This was her invariable attire. In his lifetime, he wrote prolifically on the subject of the ancient Empire, and more specifically on the brave actions of the famous Celtic woman, Boudicca, who led the Iceni people and the ancient Britons in a bloody revolt against the Roman Legionaries in 60 CE. Because she symbolized the eternal struggle for freedom in the face of tyranny, her memory has gone on to bolster the stamina and determination of the British people on many levels. Even more profoundly, her rebellion against the insurmountable Roman Empire may very well be one of the most riveting, well-documented, and darkly romantic stories in all of history. Historically, a barbarian was a foreigner or someone who resided in a non-christian civilization. In this light, it becomes easier to see how the negative labels created by dominant societies throughout history have persevered and established accepted norms, even today. They were barbarians through and through, deserving of whatever ill-treatment the Romans deemed suitable. And within her beautifully formed breast beat the heart of a savage warrior, someone who knew the intrinsic value of righteous revenge and was not afraid to dole it out. If not for the primary sources of Dio and Tacitusâ not to mention significant archeological findings â related to her existence, her story would be virtually impossible to believe. As a historical figure, Boudicca was a mother, a widow, a leader, and a military genius, but she was also an embodiment of the pagan goddess Andraste, the keeper of victories, ravens, and battles. As a Druid priestess and a noble queen, she was spirit, she was mind, and she was bodyâ all galvanized into action after suffering horrific abuses at the hands of the Roman soldiers. Her life as a rebellious and outspoken widow also highlighted the feminist plight of women during her time and the brutal nature of their regard. Because the island of Britannia now Britain sat on the far side of France and could only be reached through the Strait of Dover, it was viewed by the Empire as a land beyond the ocean or the civilized world, where mist and supernatural spirits were known to prevail. Although the region itself was prized for its rich, exotic, and fertile properties, the Romans had trouble conquering it as they grappled with the ferocity of the native Celts who often appeared on the battlefield half-naked, streaked with warpaint, and brandishing the severed heads of their enemies. They rode chariots strapped with skulls of the dead and knew no physical limits in war, often fighting with far more passion than strategy. The Celts were, in fact, so effective at protecting the border of Britannia, they had held the Romans off for almost years when Boudicca married Prasutagus, the beloved King of the Iceni people. She went on to have two daughtersâ Camorra and Tascalâ and ruled the Iceni people for several years alongside her husband. But when Emperor Claudius ordered the invasion of Britannia in the 43 CE, his objective was to take it by force, no matter what. The wild Celts rose up to meet the 40, troops sent in to seize the stronghold, but they were eventually beaten back and forced into defeat. At this point, King Prasutagus and Queen Boudiccaâ along with hundreds of other Celtic tribesâ had been fighting the Romans for many years, and finally finding some degree of peace with the invaders quickly became the most attractive option. Francois-Joseph Talma in the role of Nero. His death had left the Brittonic tribe of the Iceniâ whose territory occupied the coastal region of what is now Norfolkâ in a vulnerable position, as his transition of power to the women gave the Romans an excuse to crack down on what they saw as an unruly kingdom of savages. To have a Barbarian king in their Empire was one Page 6

7 thingâ but to endure his Barbarian Queen? Well, that was surely out of the question. Women of ancient Rome were allowed to own property, dine out with men, move through the cityâ albeit with a male chaperoneâ and even counsel the Emperor if they had such connections. But allowing them to rule the roost of a Roman conquest was most frowned upon. Back in Rome, Nero had replaced the more patient Emperor Claudius and was intent on squeezing as much wealth as possible from his new Celtic conquests. He was obsessed with money, status, and the ability to have whatever he wanted at any time. As Tacitus recorded in his Annals: Kingdom and household alike were plundered like prizes of war, the one by Roman officers, the other by Roman slaves. As a beginning, his widow Boudicca was flogged and their daughters raped. The Icenian chiefs were deprived of their hereditary estates as if the Romans had been given the whole country. The result would have been horrific and caused Boudicca to hemorrhage profusely before teetering on the edge of delirium. While the Hebrews adhered to a strict limit of 40 lashes, the Romans had no such boundary and were known to deliver over for the right infractions. And her two young daughters, who were approximately eight and ten years old, shrieked in terror as the soldiers grabbed their hair and dragged them to a nearby hut where they proceeded to gang-rape the helpless girls, rutting them like filthy boars until they were satisfied their innocence had been ground to dust. The Romans had shown the Barbarian nobility the measure of their worth and went on to impressed the mark even further by enslaving all influential Iceni and seizing their valuables. Under Roman law, daughters of disgraced Consuls could suffer habitual rape before being strangled and thrown to their deaths, so perhaps Boudicca should have considered herself lucky. The Rape of Proserpine. She steeled herself with resolveâ the Romans would pay for what they had done to her children, her body, her name, and her future. Her lifeblood had been thrown in the dirt and ravaged, mutilated, but she did not mourn her lossâ she mixed the dirt with water and used it to paint her eyes black with guile. Her heart had gone from flesh to flint, and she had no alternative other than to meet violence with violence. The Romans had not killed her, and she pledged from that moment forward to make them regret that decision. But despite her obvious strength and station, the neighboring tribes denied her request to come together in the name of war. To make matters worse for Boudicca, the Britons had also been fighting each other for centuries and were hesitant to come together under her leadership, even if it meant ridding themselves of Roman occupation. At the time, the spiritual and political advisors to Boudicca and her people were the Druids, whose mystical history dates back to the 3rd century BCE. They lived primarily on the Isle of Mona in Wales and were considered the learning class among the ancient tribes. According to Julius Caesar, who was the principal source of information on the Druids, they served as priests, teachers, and judges, overseeing tribal quarrels and establishing penalties for wrongdoings. Because Boudicca shared a strong connection with the Druids and was herself considered to be a priestess of the old ways, she was able to entice some of the tribes, the most famous being the Trinovantes, to band together under her leadership as a fierce fighter and a spiritually righteous figure. As a result, the crestfallen warrior Queen gained great military strength and formed a legitimately dangerous army of her own. Although the Roman campaign had stretched over the entire area of Britannia, the Empire greatly feared the Druid capital on Mona because it had fueled past rebellions against their Emperor Caesar. Over time, this island had become the geographical epicenter of heightened nationalism and anti-roman activities, and as such, it became a prized target for the Centurions. According to Tacitus, Boudicca had transitioned from a tragic victim to a calculated and merciless military figure. She knew the town of Camulodunum was filled with retired but influential military men, which made it the ideal soft target, and she planned to use this knowledge to maximize the damage. Batalla del Lago Trasimeno. Camulodunum was also filled with valuable infrastructure, including the Temple of Claudius, which had been built between 49 and 60 CE to honor the great Emperor of Rome. Claudius had conquered Britannia some five years before, and the building commemorated his accomplishment with a large octastyle temple, including a theatre, a council chamber, and a spiritual forum. It was the first thing she targeted upon entering the city, and after two days of constant siege against the people hiding behind its heavy metal doors, she finally sacked and burned it to rubble. To emphasize the symbolism, the bronze head of Claudius was struck from his equestrian statue out front and left somewhere in the smoldering ash. The Burning of Camulodunum. The scene was noted as being particularly wild and frightening, as screaming women ran about with wild hair, and the Druids raised their Page 7

8 arms to the sky and called upon the gods to bring Boudicca victory over the evil usurpers. The scene was chaotic and terrifyingâ and likely everything Queen Boudicca had hoped it would be. The Iceni used decapitation of a matter of religious principle were known to embalm the heads of their enemies before mounting them on their chariots of war, while the rest were thrown into the rivers where they are still occasionally found to this day. Troops were dispatched from Londinium, and it appeared the Celts would soon find themselves facing a more preparedâ and pissed offâ set of Legionnaires. But she was undeterred by the threat of Roman might and continued her military journey to East Anglia where she planned to attack the major port of Londiniumâ now modern-day Londonâ and essentially cut off their supply route. Although Boudicca had no military training or even a reliable map, she made these decisions based on the basic knowledge she possessed about her enemy and their geographic needs. Many of the Roman soldiers had left the area of Londinium to aid the smoldering town of Camulodunum, leaving the valuable city vulnerable to Boudiccaâ an opportunity she seized with great vigor. Red Hair Queen of the Fir Bolg. Somehow her next attack on Londinium grew even harsher, as her soldiers burned, choked, hanged, beheaded, and slit the throats of every Roman they found. And her vendetta was not just satiated with bloodâ she wanted true vengeance on the privilege of Rome which she exacted through many horrific tortures. Among them were black-robed women with disheveled hair like Furies, brandishing torches. Close by stood Druids, raising their hands to heaven and screaming dreadful curses. Like an apocalypse, this ripped the heart out of Briton and their religion, politics, and communication with their gods. The Druids had been eradicated. Most military leaders would have seen this destruction as a major blow to their efforts, but not Queen Boudiccaâ regardless of her love for the ancient Druids, their massacre only succeeding heating her endless fury. Boudicca and the Burning of London. Paulinus was a shrewd and calculating general, willing to swallow his pride and lose the battle in order to win the war. Word of her success had also spread among the Celts of Britannia who became increasingly willing to join her ranks in pursuit of the freedom they had been missing for some years. But Paulinus was not intimidated by this discrepancy and stood his ground outside Londinium, somewhere in the West Midlands along Watling Street. By this point, the Roman Empire was near the peak of its geographic holdings and had conquered almost all of Britannia. Although Roman control was based on sheer dominionâ tedious and pressurized to say the leastâ their campaign through Britannia had almost reached the sea, and the only thing now standing in their way was a wild-eyed ginger Queen who was determined to fight them at every turn. Rome had taken two violent hits so farâ a failure they had never before experiencedâ and all at the hands of a woman. They had anticipated her pathetic outbreak would have abated by now, yet Boudicca appeared stronger than everâ a suspicion that was soon confirmed. Under her leadership, the Britons went on to take Verulamium a few days later, also using the element of surprise to gain victory. This was the capital of the Catuvellauni tribe and had eventually become the official municipality of Rome when it was conquered, which meant the Briton inhabitants were treated most poorly. At this point, Boudicca had devastated the three main cities in the Roman Empireâ and still the most prominent regions in Britain todayâ ultimately ending the lives of over 70, Roman enemies. But Paulinus was headed her way, and it became clear a final battle was on the horizon for Boudicca and the Romansâ but who would emerge victorious was far from certain. In what is now known as the Battle of Watling Streetâ located near Wroxeter in Shropshireâ this epic confrontation marked the beginning of the end for dear Boudicca. Paulinus had chosen his battleground carefully, while she was forced to accommodate his position. Flanked by his forces, he emerged from a heavily wooded area to meet the Celts who were faced with only a narrow gorge ahead of them and a band of heavy wagons trailing behind. Filled with the families of the soldiers, this convoy took up position behind the tribes and essentially blocked any form of military exit. With the dense forest behind him and a narrow passage ahead of him, Paulinus held the better position, yet Boudicca possessed a larger, more savage army. As such, their confrontation depicted a delightfully romanticized clash of policy versus passion. With her daughters in front of her, Boudicca drover her chariot among the tribes, shouting encouragement, as the Romans waited to hurl their arrows before shouldering their way forward and attacking her directly. This was precisely what happened. With open plains in front of her, Boudicca had no choice but to charge the Romans head on and funnel her forces into a tight mass, where they were inevitably cut down by a volley of Page 8

9 javelins. And when they finally realized their vulnerability, the retreat of the Britons was blocked by the ring of wagons behind them which carried their own families. Page 9

10 Chapter 6 : BBC - History - Boudicca In 60 AD, Boudicca, queen of the Iceni, a ferocious warrior tribe from Britannia, leads a rebellion against the Romans to free her people from the empire's control. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Queen Boudica is not alive â given that she was born around A. Boudica is described as very tall in stature and grim in appearance, with a mass of hair down to her hips. She was born during the early Roman era in Camulodunum, which today is the town of Colchester, England. She married Prasutagas, king of the eastern Britain tribe known as the Iceni tribe. They allowed Prasutagas to continue ruling over his land. D 60, the Romans promptly ignored his will and instead annexed his kingdom. In doing so, they flogged, beat, tortured, and raped Boudica and her daughters. As a beginning, his widow Boudicca was flogged and their daughters raped. Boudica gathered, along with the Iceni, people from other tribes who had also had a bone to pick with the Roman Empire. And it seemed there were many. One such tribe was the Trinovantes to the south. Their native people were expelled by Roman Veterans, making them willing participants. The Romans had placed a ban on weapons, but the Trinovantes had a secret stockpile. Once assembled, they struck. Boudica and her army went from town to town, destroying and killing. Reconstruction of the revolt by the Iceni against the Roman occupation of Britain. They first struck Camulodunum, which was the capital of Roman Britain at the time. Boudica and her army overthrew the town. They burned through the city and its people. They smashed down buildings, including an unfinished temple. Quintus Petilius Cerialis was the commander of the only force immediately available to fight the rebellion. Boudica and her army ambushed them on their way, slaughtering the cavalry before Cerialis retreated. Next was Londinium, which is modern-day London. Boudica and her troops massacred the inhabitants and torched the city. Tracings of a charred layer can still be found under the city today. After that, they made her way to Verulamium, where the rebels carried out the same acts as the previous cities. The killings performed by Boudica and her army are described as extremely gruesome and savage, cutting people up, impaling them on skewers, crucifying and hanging them. Statue of Boadicea, Thames Embankment, London. Though no exact number has been established, Boudica and her army killed an estimated 80, people during the rebellion. Most of them were Romans, though there were pro-roman Britons as well. With a great revenge, came a great fall. Ultimately the rebellion was defeated during an unknown battle led by the Roman Governor Gaius Suetonius Paulinus. The story goes Paulinus used strategic warfare and got the rebel army to cut off its own escape route. Page 10

11 Chapter 7 : Queen Boudica And Her Epic Revenge Against The Romans Note: Citations are based on reference standards. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. The specific requirements or preferences of your reviewing publisher, classroom teacher, institution or organization should be applied. She torched Londinium, leaving a charred layer almost half a meter thick that can still be traced under modern London. Why was she so angry? She was born around AD 25 to a royal family in Celtic Britain, and as a young woman she married Prasutagus, who later became king a term adopted by the Celts, but as practiced by them, more of an elected chief of the Iceni tribe. They had two daughters, probably born during the few years immediately after the Roman conquest in ad She may have been Iceni herself, a cousin of Prasutagus, and she may have had druidic training. Even the color of her hair is mysterious. Another Roman historian, Cassius Dio â who wrote long after she died â described it with a word translators have rendered as fair, tawny, and even flaming red, though Dio probably intended his audience to picture it as golden-blonde with perhaps a reddish tinge. Her name meant victory. Nearly years earlier, when Gaius Julius Caesar made the first Roman foray into Britannia in 55 and 54 BC, the Iceni were among six tribes that offered him their allegiance. But this greatest of all Roman generals was unable to cope with either the power of the coastal tides or the guerrilla tactics of the other Britons who fought him. After negotiating a pro forma surrender and payment of tribute, Caesar departed. For the next 97 years, no Roman military force set foot on British soil. The Iceni watched as their southern neighbors, the Catuvellauni, grew rich from exporting grain, cattle and hides, iron and precious metals, slaves and hunting dogs to Rome. From Rome, they imported luxury goods such as wine and olive oil, fine Italian pottery, and silver and bronze drinking cups, and they minted huge numbers of gold coins at their capital, Camulodunum. A century of Roman emperors came and went. There were many practical reasons why he might have thought it useful to add Britannia to the empire, one being that the island was an important source of grain and other supplies needed in quantity by the Roman army. Stories abounded about the mineral wealth there. Outbreaks of unrest in Gaul were stirred up â so the Romans believed â by druid agitators from Britannia. The most compelling reason for Claudius, however, was political. Born with a limp and a stutter, he had once been regarded as a fool and kept out of public view â although those handicaps were largely responsible for his survival amid the intrigue and murder that befell many members of his noble family. Now the emperor desperately needed a prestige boost of the sort that, in Rome, could be provided only by an important military victory. So when the chief of a minor British tribe turned up in Rome, complaining that he had been deposed and asking the emperor to restore his rule, Claudius must have thought it the perfect excuse to launch an invasion. Boudica would have been about 18 years old in 43, the year Claudius invaded, old enough to be aware of the events that would transform her life. She may already have been married to Prasutagus, but the king of the Iceni was still Antedios, probably an older relative of Prasutagus. Antedios seems to have taken a neutral position toward Rome. Caradoc, king of the Catuvellauni called Caractacus by the Romans, and his brother Togodumnus led an alliance of tribes to repel the invaders. When the Roman troops landed at the far southeastern tip of Britannia, Caractacus and his allies harried them as they marched inland. Then the Britons retreated to gather into a single force on the other side of the River Medway. At that point, Emperor Claudius himself came to Britannia to seal the conquest with a victory at Camulodunum â now known as Colchester â where he accepted the formal submission of 11 British rulers, including Antedios of the Iceni. Boudica and the Iceni may well have expected the Romans to sail away as they had in the past. They soon learned otherwise. Claudius built a Legionary fortress at Camulodunum, stationed troops there and established other fortresses throughout eastern Britannia. Caractacus retreated westward, recruited fresh troops and continued to fight a guerrilla war against the Romans. The ham-fisted Ostorius Scapula replaced Plautius in Caractacus timed a series of raids to coincide with the change of governors, so Ostorius arrived to news of fighting. Was it this unpleasant reception that made Ostorius so mistrustful of all the Britons, even those who had surrendered? Or was he short-tempered because he already suffered from the illness from which he would die five years later? For whatever reason Ostorius decided to Page 11

12 disarm those subject tribes that he felt he could not fully trust, including the Iceni. Established Roman law forbade subject populations to keep weapons other than those used for hunting game, but that was contrary to Celtic law and custom. The Iceni rebelled, and Ostorius defeated them. Antedios may have been killed in the rebellion. If not, it seems likely that Ostorius removed him immediately afterward and installed Prasutagus as client-king in his place. Boudica was now queen of the Iceni. Two years later, in 49, Ostorius confiscated land in and around Camulodunum to set up a colonia. This was a town for retired Legionaries, in which each veteran was granted a homestead. The town gave the veterans a secure retirement and concentrated an experienced reserve force in the new province, on which Rome could call in case of emergency. In theory, it was supposed to provide a model of Roman civilization to which the natives might aspire. Unfortunately, the colonia at Camulodunum caused more problems than it solved. As it grew over the next decade, more and more Britons were driven off their land, some enslaved by the veterans, others executed and their heads exhibited on stakes. The Iceni had once avoided trade with Rome, while the Catuvellauni grew rich from it. Now, the Iceni submitted, while the former king of the Catuvellauni fought Rome, and his people suffered the consequences. Ostorius finally defeated Caractacus in 51 and captured him in That same year, Ostorius died. Rome replaced him with Didius Gallus, who provoked no internal rebellions, though the unconquered western tribes continued to fight. Now the British chieftains would be obliged not only to worship once a year at the altar of the man who had invaded and occupied their lands, but also to finance the building of the extravagant and costly temple. Rome further pressed British patience by calling for the repayment of money given or loaned to the tribes. It is possible that Antedios had received some of the money Claudius had handed out, and his successor, Prasutagus, was now expected to repay it. And Seneca, according to Dio, resorted to severe measures in exacting repayment of his loans. His agents, backed by force, may have showed up at the royal residence and demanded the money. Boudica would not have forgotten such an insult. Caius Suetonius Paullinus, a man in the aggressive mold of Ostorius, became governor of Britain in He began his term with a military campaign in Wales. By the spring of 61, he had reached its northwestern limit, the druid stronghold on the Isle of Mona. Tacitus described the forces Suetonius faced: The enemy lined the shore in a dense armed mass. Among them were black-robed women with disheveled hair like Furies, brandishing torches. Close by stood Druids, raising their hands to heaven and screaming dreadful curses. For a moment, the Romans stood paralyzed by fright. Then, urged by Suetonius and each other not to fear a horde of fanatical women, they attacked and enveloped the opposing forces in the flames of their own torches. When the battle ended in a Roman victory, Suetonius garrisoned the island and cut down its sacred groves â the fearsome site of human sacrifices, according to Tacitus, who claimed it was a Celtic religious practice to drench their altars in the blood of prisoners and consult their gods by means of human entrails. In view of the routine, organized murder of the Roman gladiatorial games, one might wonder whether a Roman was in a position to criticize. Though the Celts did practice human sacrifice, most of their sacrifices consisted of symbolic deposits of such valuable objects as jewelry and weapons into sacred wells and lakes. For Boudica and her people, news of the destruction of the druidic center on Mona, the razing of the sacred groves and the slaughter of druids must have been deeply painful. But Boudica suffered a more personal loss during this time. Prasutagus of the Iceni died sometime during the attack on Mona or its aftermath. He left behind a will whose provisions had no legal precedent under either Celtic or Roman law. It named the Roman emperor as co-heir with the two daughters of Prasutagus and Boudica, now in their teens. According to Celtic tradition, chiefs served by the consent of their people, and so could not designate their successors through their wills. If it was, it did not succeed. After Prasutagus died, the Roman procurator, Decianus Catus, arrived at the Iceni court with his staff and a military guard. He proceeded to take inventory of the estate. He regarded this as Roman property and probably planned to allocate a generous share for himself, following the habit of most Roman procurators. When Boudica objected, he had her flogged. Her daughters were raped. At that point, Boudica decided the Romans had ruled in Britannia long enough. The building fury of other tribes, such as the Trinovantes to the south, made them eager recruits to her cause. Despite the Roman ban, they had secretly stockpiled weapons, and they now armed themselves and planned their assault. Dio wrote that before she attacked, Boudica engaged in a type of divination by releasing a hare from the fold of her tunic. When it ran on the side the Britons believed Page 12

13 auspicious, they cheered. Boudica mounted a tribunal made in the Roman fashion out of earth, according to Dio, who described her as very tall and grim in appearance, with a piercing gaze and a harsh voice. She had a mass of very fair hair which she grew down to her hips, and wore a great gold torque and a multi-colored tunic folded round her, over which was a thick cloak fastened with a brooch. The torque, the characteristic ornament of the Celtic warrior chieftain, was a metal band, usually of twisted strands of gold that fit closely about the neck, finished in decorative knobs worn at the front of the throat. If so, it is significant that Boudica wore one â they were not normally worn by women. Tacitus, whose father-in-law served as a military tribune in Britain during that time, recounted the rebellion in detail. Boudica moved first against Camulodunum. Before she attacked, rebels inside the colonia conspired to unnerve the superstitious Romans. Delirious women chanted of destruction at hand. They cried that in the local senate-house outlandish yells had been heard; the theater had echoed with shrieks; at the mouth of the Thames a phantom settlement had been seen in ruins. A blood-red color in the sea, too, and shapes like human corpses left by the ebb tide, were interpreted hopefully by the Britons â and with terror by the settlers. Chapter 8 : Fascinating History: Boudicca: Revenge of the Warrior Queen Celebrated for centuries as a national hero and early feminist, Boudica was the "warrior queen" of the Iceni tribe who led a revolt against Roman invaders in Britain. But new evidence casts her in a different light: as a brutal woman bent on revenge. Chapter 9 : Is Celtic Birdlip Grave the Final Resting Place of Queen Boudicca? Ancient Origins The Roman city of Londinium, (London), was overrun and burnt by Queen Boudicca's warriors. They first struck Camulodunum, which was the capital of Roman Britain at the time. Confident as they were, the Roman's hadn't built a wall around the city. Page 13