Boudicca aka Boadicea!

[Robert Vermaat]

Here is an alternative cover for Rosemary Sutcliff's "Song For A Dark Queen".

Yep, that's the one I have.

[Spedius]

The book may well be quite good, but the cover would put me off. How do we get away with using late animal style and Viking-inspired Irish knotwork for a Roman Iron Age English queen?

Ave Volker,

You are quite right, here is the cover that I mentioned but at the time had yet to learn how to scan it properly, my apologies.

I do hope that you like this one better, the cover is by George Underwood.

Vale

M. Spedius Corbulo

[Spedius]

Ave!

I would like to bring to your attention another novel about Boudicca. This book is by Mary Mackie and is entitled "The People of the Horse", first published by W.H. Allen in 1987 re-printed in paperback by Star in 1988, ISBN 0-352-32112-1, 415 pages.

This from the back cover:-

"BOUDICCA

-the flame haired woman-child, Queen of the Iceni, The People of the Horse.

She is destined to serve the Mare Goddess, Epona - a Goddess both cruel and demanding. If she fails in her duties disaster will befall her people.

As Roman invaders encroach on their lives the people turn to Boudicca to save their land. But can a mere woman lead the Iceni warriors to victory over the legions of Rome? Or will their ancient civilisation be destroyed forever?

Forbidden love and perverted desire, courageous deeds and profound mysteries surround this enigmatic warrior-woman as the legend of The People of the Horse unfolds..."

The cover is attached.

Vale

M. Spedius Corbulo

[Spedius]

Ave!

Over in the topic "Imperial Governor" I speculated about the identity of the sculptor who had created "Boadicca and her daughters".

Volker Bach, delving up information from his deep fund of knowledge, came up with the name and some details.

I instigated a search on the internet using j+havard+thomas and found this.

http://pmsa.cch.kcl.ac.uk/AH/CARDIFF001.htm

Vale

M. Spedius Corbulo

[Spedius]

Ave!

This another item transferred from "Imperial Governor".

I found this article yesterday and as it's pertinent to the topic have included it.

http://www.egeltje.org/archives/boudicca.php

"March 27, 2005
Boudicca

Boudicca (also called Boadicea) was most likely to have been born into the Royal house of a powerful Celtic Iron age tribe around 30 AD. Through marriage she became queen of the Iceni, an indigenous Celtic tribe that inhabited Great Britain at the time of the Roman invasion in 43 A.D.

According to the Greek historian Dio Cassius (who wrote one of only two accounts of these battles), "She was huge of frame, terrifying of aspect, and with a harsh voice. A great mass of bright red hair fell to her knees: she wore a twisted torc, and a tunic of many colours, over which was a thick mantle, fastened by a brooch. Now she grasped a spear, to strike fear into all who watched her."

Their territory covered a large part of East Anglia near what is today the modern town of Colchester, and the Iceni watched with concern as the emperor Claudius waged a campaign that threatened their independence. In an attempt to avoid any bloody conflict, Boudicca's husband, King Prasutagus, bargained with Roman officials and agreed to submit to terms that would insure that his tribe and their culture remain untouched. The Romans were happy enough with the arrangement so long as they could collect taxes from the Iceni, but that didn't change the fact that they had always held a dismal view of the Celts, viewing them as barbarians who treated their women as equals.

Life for Celtic women was one of comparative prestige and power. Women were allowed to own land, choose their own mates, and even divorce if they made the wrong choice. So when Prasutagus died he left his kingdom to Boudicca and their two daughters after bequeathing a full half of it to the new Roman Emperor, Nero. By including Nero in his will Prasutagus thought he was buying the future tranquility of his kingdom. But under Roman law royal inheritance could not be passed to daughters and co-ownership of a kingdom with a woman was downright ridiculous. Nero sent his men to take care of the situation, which meant the public flogging of Boudicca and the rape of her daughters.

While the Roman governor, Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, was leading a campaign against the druids on the island of Anglesey in north Wales, the Iceni rebelled, along with their neighbours the Trinovantes, under Boudicca's leadership. Their first target was Camulodunum (Colchester), the former Trinovantian capital, which had been settled with Roman veterans and where a temple to the former emperor Claudius had been erected at local expense. The city was poorly defended and the rebels destroyed it, beseiging the last defenders in the temple for two days before it fell.

Boudicca's retaliation was merciless: she took no prisoners. Throats were cut, people hanged or crucified, and entire villages were burned to the ground. Her tactics included a particularly cruel assault upon Roman women: "their breasts were cut off and stuffed in their mouths, so that they seemed to be eating them, then their bodies were skewered lengthwise on sharp stakes."

When news of the rebellion reached him, Suetonius hurried to Londinium (London), an important mercantile settlement, but concluded he did not have the numbers to defend it. "Let us show them that they are hares and foxes trying to rule over dogs and wolves!" cried Boudicca, addressing her troops as they stormed the town. Londinium was abandoned to the rebels, who burnt it down (archaeology shows extensive destruction by fire at this time), slaughtering anyone who had not evacuated with Suetonius. Verulamium (St Albans) was next to be destroyed.

Suetonius regrouped his troops and took a stand at an unidentified location, probably in the West Midlands somewhere along Watling Street, in a defile with a wood behind him. They were greatly outnumbered by the British rebels (who were 230,000 strong by now according to Dio Cassius) but superior Roman tactics and training won the day at the Battle of Watling Street. The Britons were prevented from fleeing by their own families, who they had stationed in a ring of wagons at the edge of the battlefield, and were slaughtered. (The German king Ariovistus is reported to have made the same mistake in Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars.) Tacitus reports that "According to one report almost eighty thousand Britons fell" compared with only four hundred Romans. Boudicca, according to Tacitus, poisoned herself; Dio Cassius says she fell sick and died, and was given a lavish burial.

Before the inevitable fall of her army, Boudicca outlined her cause (in this account by the Roman historian, Tacitus):
From the pride and arrogance of the Romans nothing is sacred; all are subject to violation; the old endure the scourge, and the virgins are deflowered. But the vindictive gods are now at hand. A Roman legion dared to face the warlike Britons: with their lives they paid for their rashness; those who survived the carnage of that day, lie poorly hid behind their entrenchments, meditating nothing but how to save themselves by an ignominious flight. From the din of preparation, and the shouts of the British army, the Romans, even now, shrink back with terror. What will be their case when the assault begins? Look round, and view your numbers. Behold the proud display of warlike spirits, and consider the motives for which we draw the avenging sword. On this spot we must either conquer, or die with glory. There is no alternative. Though a woman, my resolution is fixed: the men, if they please, may survive with infamy, and live in bondage.

The site of Boudicca's defeat is unknown. According to London legend it was at Kings Cross in London (a nearby street is named Battle Bridge Road), and that Boudicca herself is buried under one of the platforms at Kings Cross Station (different sources list platforms eight, nine or ten as her supposed resting place) but this is unlikely. Manduessedum near the modern day town of Atherstone in Warwickshire has been suggested as the most likely place of burial.

A large bronze statue depicting Boudicca and her daughers driving a (Persian-style) chariot was commissioned by Prince Albert in 1850 and still stands next to Westminster Bridge and the Houses of Parliament."

Vale

M. Spedius Corbulo

[Spedius]

Ave!

Here is an alternative version for the purposes of comparison.

"Boudica's story
Following the Roman invasion of AD 43, all the British tribes that put up a fight were eventually defeated. Others were more pragmatic.

The Iceni, who occupied what is now modern Norfolk and north Suffolk, had kept out of the internecine warfare so popular in pre-Roman Britain. When the Romans invaded, they again kept out of the conflict and were awarded 'client kingdom' status by the victors.

The client kingdoms maintained a considerable amount of independence – for instance, their rulers were allowed to mint coin. They were bound by treaty to Rome, which, in return, gave them backing, often against rivals. Nevertheless, the Romans always took the view that they could intervene in the internal affairs of their client kingdoms at any time.

In AD 47, the Iceni unsuccessfully revolted against Rome when the latter tried to disarm them. Their king was killed, and in his place, the Romans appointed Prasutagus as 'client king'.

The humiliated queen
The Romans left the Iceni alone as long as Prasutagus was alive. Then, in AD 60, he died. Prasutagus had tried to guard against this day by drawing up a will in which he left his kingdom jointly to his two daughters and to the Roman emperor Nero. At the least, he thought, this would give his widow Boudica and their children half of his property.

Unfortunately the Romans decided to interpret the will very much in their own favour. Client kingdoms were going out of fashion; direct rule was now more to the Romans' taste. On the emperor Nero's orders, the imperial procurator Decianus Catus seized all of Prasutagus's estate and declared that any resistance would be treated as an act of rebellion. When Boudica took the matter to a higher Roman authority, she was, according to the Roman historian Tacitus, publicly stripped and flogged and her daughters raped.

Even the humiliated Boudica must have cut a striking figure. According to another Roman historian, Cassius Dio, writing 150 years later: 'She was very tall and her aspect was terrifying, for her eyes flashed fiercely and her voice was harsh. A mass of red hair fell down to her hips, and around her neck was a twisted gold necklace.'

Rebellion
The treatment meted out to Boudica and her daughters – and to their people, many of whom were evicted and made slaves – turned the previously pragmatic Iceni into rebels. They attracted support from other tribes, particularly the neighbouring Trinovantes, which suggests widespread British discontent with Roman rule.

Setting out from the Iceni centre at Thetford in Norfolk in AD 61, Boudica and her followers descended on the Roman colonia of Camulodunum – modern-day Colchester – which they burned to the ground. Then they marched on to Londinium (London), which they sacked and razed. Finally, they turned north to Verulamium (present-day St Albans, Hertfordshire), on which they inflicted great damage.

According to Tacitus, a total of about 70,000 Romans were killed, including part of the 9th Legion. Boudica's successes so far were undoubtedly helped by the absence of the Roman governor Suetonius Paulinus and a number of legions, who were campaigning in north Wales.

Alerted to the rebellion, Paulinus hastened south-east with two legions. His forces and those of Boudica met somewhere in the Midlands. Where is not exactly known, but many historians believe it to have been at Mancetter in Warwickshire. Here the Iceni's luck ran out: they were slaughtered. It is said that Boudica poisoned herself rather than be taken by the Romans alive.

The aftermath
The immediate result of Boudica's rebellion and defeat was the harsh repression carried out by Suetonius Paulinus on the British tribes. This led to clashes with the new procurator Julius Classicianus, and eventually the governor was recalled to Rome. Under other governors, the military conquest of Britain was halted for about a decade, while the Romans consolidated what they already had and replaced the client kingdoms with direct rule.

Boudica was forgotten for centuries. Then, during the Renaissance, manuscripts unearthed in Italy revealed her story. But interest in her was limited until the 19th century, when it was sparked by the fact that 'Boudica' is the Celtic word for 'victory' – so the Iceni ruler was the very first Queen Victoria. The famous statue depicting her – mistakenly labelled as 'Boadicea' – was erected next to the Houses of Parliament in 1902."

I found this piece here http://www.channel4.com/history/microsi ... boud1.html

Vale

M. Spedius Corbulo