BOUDICA/BOUDICCA/BOADICEA
TEXTS
A selection
and rationale by Dr Robert Guyver
College of St Mark St John
CONTENTS
WHAT TEXTS ARE IN THIS
PACK?
HOW TO USE THESE TEXTS
HOW TO ORDER THESE TEXTS
FOR YOURSELF
APPENDIX 1 –
BOUDICA TEXTS
FROM TACITUS
ANNALS OF IMPERIAL
Part 1 THE CAUSE OF
THE REVOLT
Part 2 THE ATTACK ON CAMULODONUM (
Part 3 THE ATTACKS ON
Part 4 THE FINAL
BATTLE
APPENDIX 2 – BOUDICA TEXTS
FROM DIO
CASSIUS ROMAN HISTORY
Part 1 THE CAUSE OF THE REVOLT
Part 2
BOUDICA PREPARES HER
ARMIES FOR WAR
Part 3 THE
REVOLT
Part 4 THE FINAL BATTLE
APPENDIX 3 – BOUDICA TEXTS
FROM
HENRIETTA MARSHALL OUR
Part 1 INTRODUCTION
AND BACKGROUND
Part 2 THE ROMANS INSULT THE
ICENI
Part 3 BOADICEA’S ATTACKS ON THE
CITIES
Part 4 THE FINAL BATTLE
APPENDIX 4 –
BOUDICA TEXTS
FROM R.J.
UNSTEAD PEOPLE IN
HISTORY
Part 1 INTRODUCTION AND
BACKGROUND
Part 2 THE ROMANS INSULT THE
ICENI
Part 3 BOADICEA’S ATTACKS ON THE
TOWNS
Part 4 THE FINAL
BATTLE
APPENDIX 5 –
BOUDICA TEXTS
MICHAEL WOOD
IN SEARCH OF THE
DARK AGES
APPENDIX 6 – BOUDICA
QUESTIONNAIRE MARK 1 (1996/7)
APPENDIX 7 – BOUDICA
QUESTIONNAIRE MARK 2 (1998 –
1999)
APPENDIX 8 – BOUDICA QUESTIONNAIRE
MARK 3 (1999 –
2000)
APPENDIX 9 – ARTICLE
ON ‘BOUDICCA TEXTS’ BY ROBERT GUYVER IN Teaching
History (2001)
APPENDIX 10 – REFLECTIONS ON BOUDICA ROLE-PLAY
BY FRANK
BRIDGEMAN-SUTTON (PGCE STUDENT 2001 - 2002)
Figure 1 – Picture in Marshall
Figure 2 – Picture in
Unstead by J.C.B. Knight
Figure 3 – Picture in
Unstead by J.C.B. Knight
Figure 4 – Map of Roman
Britain in Wood
Figure 5 – (Figure
3 in Teaching History article) Dio, Tacitus,
Unstead and
Figure 6 – Table of
Presentations in Guyver article
Figure 7 – Table of Questions on
texts in Guyver
article
WHAT
TEXTS ARE IN THIS PACK?
Building a
sophisticated substantive and syntactic knowledge base for teaching
(Substantive:
content; syntactic: methodological)
Tacitus’s account
is the most authentic because he had to an eye-witness, Agricola, his
father-in-law.
Which bits of Tacitus’s account did his father-in-law not witness?
These are
historical stories written for children from first nearly fifty and
second, a
hundred years ago.
Henrietta
Marshall gives a romanticised view of Boudica/Boadicea as a cult
celebrity.
Which sources has she read. Did Paulinus and Boudica ever meet (as she
suggests). Imagine Russell Crowe as Paulinus and Nicole Kidman as
Boudica in a
Unstead is rather
more factual and does appear to have read the contemporary sources.
Some teachers
read only sources written for children and miss out on the contemporary
and
scholarly.
C
Scholarly (written by a scholar, usually for adults)
Michael Wood
wrote this chapter in the early 1980s for a TV production in which he
went in
search of the Dark Ages. He provides a sophisticated contextual frame
in which
many modern parallels are drawn (e.g. imperialism through aid; the
First World
exploiting the Third World; Third World debt – al principles well-known
to the
Romans). There are other writers who have written at length on Boudica.
See
Todd and Dudley and Webster below. Wood also knows other Roman writers
and has
looked at archaeological evidence. Malcolm Todd refers to another
incident in
the Roman Empire (reported by Tacitus in his Annals of Imperial Rome)
where a rebellion (by Florus and Sacrovir in AD 21, see pp 138 – 140 in
the
Penguin version of the Annals, 1989) was precipitated by
flooding the
native population with loans etc, and calling in the loans too hastily.
HOW
TO
USE THESE TEXTS
The texts are
each divided into four parts which broadly correspond with four parts
of the
story:
- attack on
- attack on
- final battle and death of Boudica.
You can use these
texts to improve your knowledge and understanding of the Boudican
Rebellion (AD
60) in the context of the Roman invasion of AD 43 and its aftermath.
You can
also use the texts to study how a historian and children’s writers make
a
synthesis of the existing knowledge about an event from contemporary
(i.e.
Roman) and later archaeological sources.
You
can produce a play or series of plays (straight narrative, news report;
Newsnight report with comment; you can use the sources as a basis for a
discussion. For other ideas see the article ‘Working with Boudicca
texts –
contemporary, juvenile and scholarly’ Teaching History 103 pp 32 – 35
in
Teaching History (2001) (Appendix 9 from page 41).
- Cassius, D. and Cary, E. (Translator)
(1927) Roman
History Volume 8 (Books 61 – 70) (Loeb Classical Library Edition).
Harvard, Mass:
- Farmer, A. and Ewin, A. (Eds) (Adviser,
Professor David
Shotter) (1992) Implementing the National Curriculum:
The Romans in
- Guyver, R.M. (2001) Boudicca Texts:
scholarly,
contemporary and juvenile. Teaching History. (copy
provided in this booklet)
- Tacitus (1989 originally written c.100
AD) The Annals of Imperial Rome. Harmondsworth:
Penguin Classics (pages 327 - 331).
- Tacitus, C. and Grant, M. (Translator)
(1971) The
Annals of Imperial
- Fraser, A. (1988) The
Warrior
- Marshall, H. (c 1904; also published in
1922) Our
Island Story.
- Snow, P. and Snow, D. (2004) Battlefield
- Todd, M. (1999) Roman Britain
(Third Edition).
- Unstead, R.J. (1957) People in
History.
- Wood, M. (1981) In Search
of the Dark Ages.
- Wood, M. (2001) In Search
of the Dark Ages.
HOW TO ORDER
THESE TEXTS FOR
YOURSELF
1.
Tacitus, C. and Grant, M. (Translator) (1971) Annals of Imperial
4.
Unstead, R.J. (1957) People in History.
APPENDIX 1 – BOUDICA TEXTS –
FROM TACITUS ANNALS
OF IMPERIAL
Edited
by Robert M. Guyver for
TACITUS'S
ACCOUNT OF BOUDICA’S REVOLT
For
information about the author look at the end of the passage
TACITUS
PART ONE – THE CAUSE OF THE REVOLT
While Seutonius
was thus occupied, he learnt of a sudden rebellion in the province.
Prasutagus,
king of the Iceni, after a life of long and renowned prosperity, had
made the
emperor his co-heir with his own two daughters. Prasutagus hoped by
this
submissiveness to preserve his kingdom and household from attack. But
it turned
out otherwise. 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
Boudica was flogged and their daughters ravaged.
The Icenian chiefs were deprived of
their hereditary estates as if the Romans had been given the whole
country. The
king’s own relatives were treated like slaves.
And the
humiliated Iceni feared still worse, now that
they had been reduced to provincial status. So they rebelled, and with
them
rose the Trinobantes (or Trinovantes) and others. Servitude had not
broken
them, and they had secretly plotted together to become free again.
TACITUS
PART TWO – THE ATTACK ON CAMULODONUM (
They
particularly hated the Roman ex-soldiers who had
recently established a settlement at Camulodonum (*
It seemed
easy to destroy the settlement, for it had
no walls (*there are Roman walls to be seen in
As Seutonius
was far away they sent for help to the
procurator, Catus Decianus (a procurator dealt with the finances/taxes
of a
province). He sent barely two hundred men (and they were but barely
equipped),
although there was also a small body of troops in the town who decided
to rely
on the protection offered by the temple building. Secret supporters of
the
rebels further hampered their plans so they neither protected their
town with
walls and ditches nor took steps to send away the women and old folk to
leave
only the able-bodied men to fight. Their carelessness in neglecting the
defences would only have been appropriate if there had been universal
peace, so
they were overwhelmed by a great barbarian host. Everything was
pillaged or
burnt in the first attack; only the temple in which the troops had
gathered
withstood a two day siege, being then taken by storm.
TACITUS
PART THREE – THE ATTACKS ON
The
victorious Britons then turned to meet Petilius
Cerialis, commander of the Ninth Legion who was hurrying to the rescue.
They
defeated the legion and killed the infantry to the last men. Cerialis
escaped
with his cavalry to the shelter of his camp’s fortification. Horrified
by this
disaster and his unpopularity in the province which had been pushed
into war by
his greed, Catus fled to
TACITUS
PART FOUR - THE FINAL BATTLE
As the
native Britons loved plunder and hated hard
work, they left the garrisons and forts alone. Instead they would head
for
places that offered the richest pickings and the least safety for a
defending
force of men. It has been established that seventy thousand Roman
citizens and
allies fell in the places mentioned. The enemy took neither captives
nor sold
captives into slavery - there was none of the commerce of war. They
were eager
for slaughter and the gibbet, burnings and crosses. It was as if they
knew the
day of reckoning would come and so took their full measure of revenge.
Seutonius
already had the fourteenth legion, a
detachment of the twentieth, and auxiliaries from the nearest forts, a
total of
ten thousand men. He decided to risk a pitched battle without further
delay. He
chose for himself a position approached by a narrow defile, protected
at the
back by woods. He made sure that an enemy could only approach from the
front
and that the plain gave no cover for an ambush. The legionaries were
closely
ranked together, with lightly armed auxiliaries on either side and the
cavalry
on the furthest wings. The British forces were in high spirits and
their bands
of foot soldiers and horsemen spread out in all directions. Their
numbers were
unprecedented and confidence ran so high that they brought their wives
to see
the victory, installing them in wagons placed around the outer edge of
the
plain.
Boudica,
mounting her chariot with her daughters
before her, rode up to clan after clan to deliver her protest:
It is
customary, I know, for Britons to fight under the command of a woman
and I am
now avenging my destroyed land and power, my lost freedom, a beaten
body and my
daughters' outraged honour – not as a queen of glorious ancestors, but
as a
woman of her people. Roman greed is so
great that age or virginity, indeed our very bodies, are not safe from
harm.
Yet heaven is on our side in our cause for just and righteous revenge;
one
legion which fought against us has perished, and the rest are hiding in
their
camps or looking for a way of escape. They will never stand against the
noise and
clamour of our many thousands of warriors let al. one our swords and
attacks.
Think about this army and why we are here and know, deep in your hearts
that
you must conquer or die on this battlefield. Such is the determined
purpose of
this woman - you men can live on as slaves if you want!
Seutonius,
at this critical moment, broke the silence
to address his troops. Although he trusted their courage he still
blended
encouragement with entreaty:
Treat the
noise and threats of the enemy with contempt: in the ranks opposite you
can see
more women than men. They are undisciplined and unarmed. When they once
again
face the swords and courage of their conquerors, they will remember all
their
earlier defeats and break immediately. A few men can decide the fate of
the
whole battle and it is an additional glory if handful
of troops take the credit for an entire army. Keep
your ranks
close. When your javelins are thrown, use your shield boss and sword
and let
the dead pile up. Forget all thoughts of plunder – once victory is
assured,
everything will be yours.
The
battle-hardened soldiers listened eagerly and
such was their enthusiasm that they immediately prepared to hurl their
javelins.
Seutonius, without any doubt of the outcome, gave the signal for the
battle to
begin.
At first the
legionaries stood without moving,
keeping by the defile as a natural protection. Then, as the enemy
advanced they
threw their javelins with deadly accuracy. They immediately dashed
forward in a
wedge-shaped formation. The auxiliaries charged in the same style and
the
cavalry, with lances extended, broke up any areas of determined
resistance they
encountered. The remainder took to flight but escape was difficult as
the
barriers of wagons blocked the escape routes. The legionaries showed no
mercy
to the women and the baggage animals, which were also killed, added to
the pile
of bodies. The outstanding glory won on that day was equal to the
victories of
ancient days, for, by some accounts, about eighty thousand Britons fell
at a
cost of four hundred Romans and a slightly larger number of wounded.
Boudica
ended her days by taking poison.
About the
author:
Cornelius
Tacitus wrote this account of Boudica’s
revolt in about 100 – 110 AD. Tacitus’s father-in-law was Agricola who,
as a
junior officer serving under Seutonius was
in
APPENDIX 2
–
BOUDICA TEXTS – FROM DIO CASSIUS ROMAN HISTORY
ROMAN
SOURCE written c. 214 – 226 as much as 166 years after the events
Edited
by Robert M. Guyver for
DIO
CASSIUS: THE BOUDICAN REBELLION
For
information about the author look at the last page
DIO
CASSIUS PART ONE – THE CAUSE OF THE REVOLT
.... a
terrible disaster occurred in
An excuse
for the war was found in the confiscation
of the sums of money that Claudius had given to the foremost Britons;
for these
sums, as Decianus Catus the procurator maintained, were to be paid
back. This
was one reason for the uprising; another was the fact that Seneca, in
the hope
of receiving a good rate of interest, had lent to the islanders forty
million
sesterces they did not want and then called in this loan all at once
and had
taken severe measures in exacting it. 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 conducted
the
entire war, was Boudica, a Briton woman of the royal family, and
possessed of
greater intelligence than often belongs to women. This woman assembled
her army
of 120,000 and then ascended a tribunal which had been constructed of
earth in
the Roman fashion. 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 divers colours over which a thick
mantle was
fastened with a brooch. This was her invariable attire.
DIO
CASSIUS PART TWO – BOUDICA PREPARES HER
ARMIES FOR WAR
She now
grasped a spear to aid her in terrifying all
beholders and spoke as follows:
You have
learned from direct experience how different is freedom from slavery.
Hence,
although some of you may previously, through ignorance, have been
deceived by
the alluring promises of the Romans, yet, now that you have experienced
both,
you have learnt how great a mistake you made in preferring an imported
despotism to your ancestral way of life, and you now realise how much
better is
poverty with no master than wealth with slavery. For what shameful or
grievous
treatment have we not suffered ever since these men came to
The plain
truth is that we ourselves are responsible for these evils because we
allowed
them to set foot on our island in the first place as we did their
famous Julius
Caesar – yes and we did not deal with them far away as we dealt with
Augustus
and Gaius Caligula and made even the attempt to sail here a hazardous
venture.
As a consequence, though we inhabit so
large an island or, rather, a continent one might say encircled by the
sea and,
although we possess a world of our own separated by the ocean from the
rest of
mankind that we have been believed to dwell on a different earth and
under a
different sky. Some of the outside world, even the wisest men, have not
known
for a certainty the name by which we are known, and through all this we
have
been trampled underfoot by men who know nothing but how to secure gain.
However, even at this late day, though we have not done so before, let
us, my
countrymen, friends and kinsmen – for I consider you all kinsmen seeing
that we
dwell on a single island and are called by a common name – let us, I
say, so
our duty while we still remember what freedom is so that we may leave
to our
children not only the same name but the reality. For if we utterly
forget the
happy state in which we were born and bred what will they do reared in
bondage?
All this I
say to you not to inspire hatred of the present conditions
– that hatred you have already – not with
fear of the future – that fear you have already – but of commending you
now, of
your own accord, choose the requisite course of action, and of thanking
you for
so readily co-operating with me and with each other. Have no fear
whatever of
the Romans; for they are superior to us neither in numbers nor in
bravery. And
here is the proof: they have protected themselves with palisades, walls
and
trenches to ensure they suffer no harm when attacked by their enemies.
They are
thus influenced by their fears when they adopt this kind of fighting in
preference to our style of rough and ready action. Indeed, we enjoy
such an
excess of bravery, we see our tents as safer than their walls and our
shields
as better protection than their whole suits of armour. Consequently,
when we
are victorious we capture them, but when we are overpowered we slip
away; and
if we ever choose to retreat anywhere, we hide in marshes and mountains
so
remote that we cannot be found and captured. Our enemies, however,
cannot
pursue anyone because of their heavy armour, and cannot run away; and
if they
ever do manage to escape us, they take refuge in certain areas,
shutting
themselves up in a trap.
But these
are not the only ways in which they are inferior to us; there is the
fact that
they cannot stand hunger, thirst, cold or heat as we can. They need
shade and
shelter and have to have kneaded bread, wine and oil and if they cannot
get
these, they die. On the other hand, any grass or root serves us as
bread, any
plant juice as oil, and water as wine, any tree as a house.
Furthermore, we
know this region and it is thus our friend, but to them it is unknown
and
hostile. As for the rivers, we swim them naked but they cross them with
difficulty, even with boats. Therefore, let us go boldly against them,
trusting
to good fortune. Let us show them that they are hares and foxes trying
to rule
over dogs and wolves.
When she had
finished speaking, she used a certain
type of foretelling – letting a hare
escape from the folds of her dress and since it ran in what they
considered to
be a lucky direction, the whole assembly shouted with pleasure.
Boudica,
raising her hand toward the heavens, said:
I thank
thee, Andraste, and call upon thee, woman to woman.
I do not rule over Egyptians bearing burdens
as Nicrotis did, nor over bartering Assyrians as Seramis did (this much
learning we have gained from the Romans). Much less do I rule Romans as
Messalina once did, and afterwards Agrippina and now Nero (who, though
he had a
man’s name, is in fact a woman which is proved by his singing, lyre
playing and
beautifying his person); no, those I rule are Britons
– men who do not know how to till the soil or
ply a trade but men who are so skilled in war and hold all things in
common
even the children and wives who are as brave as the men. As the queen
of such
men and women, I ask and pray for victory, the preservation of life and
freedom
from unjust, insolent, insatiable and impious men - if we can call
these people
men who bathe in warm water, eat artificial dainties, drink unmixed
wine,
anoint themselves with myrrh, sleep on soft couches with boys for
bedfellows – boys past their prime at
that and are slaves to a lyre player, and a poor one too. Therefore,
this
Mistress Domitia-Nero will not rule over me or you men any longer; let
the
woman sing and lord it over the Romans which they surely deserve after
submitting to her for so long. But for us, Mistress, be thou alone our
leader.
Having
finished her appeal to her people, Boudica led
her army against the Romans. They, by chance, were without a leader as
Paulinus, their commanding officer, had gone on an expedition to Mona,
an
island near
DIO
CASSIUS PART THREE –
THE REVOLT
Having
finished her appeal to her people, Boudica led
her army against the Romans. They, by chance, were without a leader as
Paulinus, their commanding officer, had gone on an expedition to Mona
(Anglesey), an island near
DIO
CASSIUS PART FOUR –
THE FINAL BATTLE
Now it
happened that Paulinus had already brought
Mona (Anglesey) to terms and on hearing of the disaster in
Boudica rode
in her chariot at the head of about
230,000 men and assigned the chariots to their places. Paulinus could
not
extend his line along the whole length of hers for, even had the men
been drawn
up one deep, they would not have reached far enough – so superior were
they in
numbers; nor did he join battle in a single compact force for fear of
being
surrounded and cut to pieces. Therefore he separated the army into
three
divisions so he could fight at several points at the same time and he
made each
division so strong it could not be easily broken.
While
ordering his men he encouraged them saying:
Up, fellow
soldiers! Onwards Roman! Show these accursed savages how far we surpass
them
even when in the middle of misfortune. It would be shameful for you to
lose
with disgrace what you won with glory a short time ago. Many times have
we, and
our fathers, conquered far more numerous enemies than we face at the
present.
Do not fear their numbers or their spirit of rebellion, for their their
bravery
rests on nothing more than their headlong rashness, not arms and
training. Do
not fear them because they have burned a couple of cities for they did
not
capture them by force or after a battle –
one was betrayed and the other abandoned to them. Make
them pay the
proper penalty for these deeds and make them learn by experience the
difference
between us, the wronged, and themselves.
After this
address to one division, he spoke to
another:
Now is the
time, fellow soldiers, for zeal and daring. If you show bravery today
you will
recover all that you have lost; if you overcome these foes no one else
will
stand against us. With one battle you will secure the present
possessions and
subdue what remains; everywhere our soldiers will emulate you and
enemies will
be terror-stricken even if they are in foreign lands. Therefore, your
fathers
left you and those you have gained in addition or else to be deprived
of them
altogether. Choose to be free, to rule, to live in wealth and to enjoy
prosperity rather than suffer the opposite by lack of effort.
To the third
division he said:
You have
heard what outrages these damnable men have committed against us – indeed, you have witnessed some of them.
Choose, then, whether you wish to suffer the same treatment yourselves and be driven out of Britain
entirely,or else, by conquering, to avenge those that have perished and
at the
same time, to furnish to the rest of mankind an example of benevolent
clemency
towards the obedient but of inevitable severity towards the rebellious. For my part I hope above all that victory
will be ours; first because the gods are our allies (for they almost
always
side with those who have been wronged); second because of the courage
that is our
heritage, since we are Romans and have triumphed over all mankind
because of
our valour; next because of our experience (for we have defeated and
subdued
these very men who now face us) and lastly, because of our prestige
(for those
whom we are about to fight are not foes but our slaves whom we
conquered even
when they were free and independent). Yet if the outcome should prove
contrary
to my hope, for I will not back away from mentioning the possibility – it would be better to die bravely fighting
than to be captured and impaled, to look upon our entrails cut from our
bodies,
to be spitted on red hot skewers, to die by being melted in boiling
water – in a word, to suffer as though we
had been
thrown to lawless and impious wild beasts. Let us either conquer them
or die
here.
After these
and other like words he raised the signal
for battle. The armies approached each other, the barbarians with great
shouting and threatening battle songs, but the Romans silently until
they were
within a javelin's throw of the enemy. Then, whilst the enemy were
still
advancing, at a walk, the Romans rushed forward at a signal and charged
them with
great speed, and when the clash came, easily broke through their ranks,
but as
they were outnumbered they had to fight everywhere at once. Their
struggle took
many forms. Light- armed troops exchanged missiles with light-armed,
heavy-armed opposed heavy-armed, cavalry clashed against cavalry, and
the
archers contended with the chariots of the barbarians. The barbarians
would
assail the Romans with a rush of chariots but, as they fought without
breastplates, would themselves be driven back by arrows. Horsemen would
overthrow footsoldier and footsoldier strike down horseman. A group of
Romans,
forming in close order, would advance to meet the chariots and others
would be
scattered by them; a band of Britons would come to close quarters with
the
archers and rout them while others were content to dodge the shafts at
a
distance. All this was not in one place but in all three divisions at
once.
They fought for a long time – both parties being driven by the same
zeal and
daring. But finally, late in the day, the Romans prevailed and they
slew many
in battle beside the wagons and in the forest, and captured many alive.
Nevertheless some made their escape, preparing to fight again. However,
Boudica
fell sick and died. The Britons mourned her deeply and gave her a
costly
burial, but feeling that now at last they were really defeated, they
scattered
to their homes. So much for affairs in
About the author: Dio Cassius (or Cassius
Dio) Cocceianus (c A.D. 150
- 235) lived long after the events he describes here. The
editors of Loeb edition of his works
consider that he wrote the volume which includes the Boudica incident
some time
between 214 and 226. The Encyclopaedia Britannica comments in its
article on
Dio:
Dio’s industry was great and
the various offices he
held gave him opportunities for historical investigation. His narrative
shows
the hand of the practised soldier and politician; the language is
correct and
free from affectation. But his work, although far more than a mere
compilation,
is not remarkable for impartiality, vigour of judgement or critical
historical
faculty.
The offices which Dio Cassius
held included those of
administrator, advocate, senator, aedile (a magistrate who had the
charge of
games, markets, public buildings, and police) questor (an investigator,
prosecutor or judge in murder cases), consul (one of the two chief
magistrates
in the Roman republic), proconsul (governor of a province), and legate
(ambassador). The long speech which he puts into the mouth of Boudica
may reflect
some of his own skills as an advocate, magistrate or judge. Dio himself
understood and had had experience of both power and politics, and their
implications in the military situation he describes would not have been
lost on
him.
Dio wrote originally in Greek, not Latin. It is interesting that his (Greek) spelling of her name is Βουδουικα or Boudouika. The i before the k has an accent over it, thus: ˆ
APPENDIX 3 – BOUDICA TEXTS
FROM
HENRIETTA MARSHALL OUR
Edited
by Robert M. Guyver for
CHAPTER
V – THE STORY OF A WARRIOR QUEEN
PART ONE –
INTRODUCTION AND
BACKGROUND
Although the Britons had
lost their great general Caractacus, still they
would not yield to the Roman tyrants.
Soon another brave leader
arose. This leader was a
woman. Her name was Boadicea, and she was a queen. She ruled over that
part of
the country which is now called
As I said before, the
Romans were a very greedy
people. They wanted to take away the freedom of
The husband of Boadicea
knew how greedy the Romans
were, and when he was about to die he became very sad. He was afraid
That the
Roman Emperor would rob his wife and daughters of all their money, when
be was
no longer there to take care of them. So, to prevent this, he made the
Emperor
a present of half of his money and lands, and gave the other half to
his wife
arid children. Then he died happy, thinking that his dear ones
would be left
in peace.
PART TWO –
THE ROMANS INSULT THE ICENI
But the greedy Romans
were not pleased with only half of the dead king’s
wealth. They wanted the whole. So they came and took it by force.
Boadicea was
a very brave woman. She was not afraid of the Romans and she tried to
make them
give back what they had stolen from her.
Then these cruel, wicked
men laughed at her. And because she was a woman
and had, they thought, no one to protect her, they beat her with rods
and were
rude to her daughters.
But although the Romans
were clever, they sometimes did stupid things.
They thought very little of their own
women, and they did not understand that many of the women of
After Boadicea had been
so cruelly and unjustly treated, she burned with
anger against the Romans. Her heart was full only of thoughts of
revenge. She
called her people together, and, standing on a mound of earth, so that
they
could see and hear her, she made a speech to them. She told them first
how
shamefully the Romans bad behaved to her, their Queen. Then, like
Caractacus,
she reminded them how their forefathers had fought against Julius
Caesar, and
had driven the Romans away for a time at least. ‘Is it not better to be
poor
and free than to have great wealth and be slaves?’ she asked. ‘And the
Romans
take not only our freedom but our wealth. They want to make us both slaves and beggars. Let us rise. O brothers
and sisters, let us rise, and drive these robbers out of our land! Let
us kill
them every one! Let us teach them that they are no better than hares
and foxes,
and no match for greyhounds! We will fight, and if we cannot conquer,
then let
us die – yes, everyone of us, rather than submit!’
Queen Boadicea looked so
beautiful and fierce as she stood there, with
her blue eyes flashing, and her golden hair blowing round her in the
wind, that
the hearts of her people were filled with love for her and anger
against the
Romans. As she spoke, fierce desires for revenge grew in them. They had
hated
their Roman conquerors before, now the hatred became a madness.
So, when Boadicea had
finished speaking a cry of rage rose from The
Britons. They beat upon their shields with their swords, and swore to
avenge
their Queen. to fight and die for her and for their country.
Then Boadicea leaning
with one hand upon her spear, and lifting the
other to heaven - prayed. She prayed to the goddess of war and her
prayer was
as fierce as her speech, for she had never heard of a God who taught
men to
forgive their enemies.
As she stood there
praying, Boadicea looked more beautiful than ever.
Her proud head was thrown back and the sun shone upon her lovely hair
and upon
the golden band which bound her forehead. Her dark cloak, slipping from
her
shoulders, showed the splendid robe she wore beneath, and the thick and
heavy
chain of gold round her neck. At her feet knelt her daughters, sobbing
with
hope and fear.
It was a grand and awful
moment and deep silence fell upon the warriors
as they listened to the solemn words. Then, with wild cries, they
marched
forward to battle, forgetful of everything but revenge.
PART THREE – BOADICEA’S
ATTACKS ON THE
CITIES
The battles which
followed were terrible indeed. The words of Queen
Boadicea had stirred the Britons until they were mad with thoughts of
revenge,
and hopes of freedom. They gave no
mercy, and they asked none. They utterly destroyed the towns of
Again and again the
Romans were defeated, till it almost seemed as if
the Britons really would succeed in driving them out of the country.
Boadicea
herself led the soldiers, encouraging them with her brave words. ‘It is
better
to die with honour than to live in slavery,’ she said. ‘I am a woman,
but I
would rather die than yield. Will you follow me, men?’ and of course
the men
followed bet gladly.
At last the Roman Leader
was so downcast with his many defeats that he
went himself to the British camp. Bearing in his hand a green branch as
a sign
of peace. When Boadicea was told that an ambassador from The Romans
wished to
speak to her, she replied proudly, ‘My sword alone shall speak to the
Romans.’
And when the Roman leader asked for peace, she answered, ‘You
shall have peace, peace, but no
submission.. A British heart will
choose death rather than lose liberty. There can be peace only if you
promise
to leave the country.’
Of course the Romans
would not promise to go away from
PART FOUR – THE
FINAL
But their triumph did not
last long. The Roman soldiers were better
armed and better drilled
than the
British. There came a dark day when The Britons were utterly defeated
and many
thousands were slain.
When Boadicea saw that
all hope was gone, she called her daughters to
her. ‘My children,’ she said sadly. as she took them by the hand and
drew them
towards her, ‘my children, it has not pleased the gods of battle to
deliver us
from the power of the Romans. But there is yet one way of escape.’
Tears were
in her blue eyes as she kissed her daughters. She was no longer a queen
of fury
but a loving mother.
Then taking a golden cup
in her hands, ‘Drink,’ she said gently.
The eldest daughter
obeyed proudly and gladly, but
the younger one was afraid. ‘Must I,
mother?’ she asked timidly.
‘Yes, dear
one,’ said Boadicea gently. ‘I too
will drink, and we shall meet again.’
When the
Roman soldiers burst in upon them they found the great queen dead, with
her
daughters in her arms.
She had
poisoned both herself and them, rather than that they should fall again
into
the hands of the Romans.
Figure 1 – A.S.Forrest’s
famous illustration for
Henrietta Marshall’s chapter on Boadicea in Marshall, H.E. (1904) Our
Island
Story.
APPENDIX 4 – BOUDICA TEXTS – FROM R.J. UNSTEAD PEOPLE IN
HISTORY
BOADICEA
QUEEN OF THE ICENI by
R.J.Unstead
Soon after the Romans
came to rule
But
after
he died, the Romans said he owed them a great sum of money. They said
that the
Iceni must pay heavy taxes.
Other
tribes and chiefs were growing tired of the powerful
Romans, and they rushed eagerly to join the Iceni. Soon, the tall
handsome
queen was at the head of a great army ready to attack the Romans.
Figure
2 – Illustration by J.C.B. Knight in text of Unstead,
R.J. (1957) People in History.
When
Paulinus heard this news, he turned back from
APPENDIX 5
–
BOUDICA TEXTS – FROM CHAPTER 1 (‘BOADICEA’) MICHAEL WOOD IN SEARCH
OF THE
DARK AGES
The text
used for the teaching sessions was from Wood, M. (1981; re- published
2001) In
Search of the Dark Ages.
This
paragraph from Part 1 shows Wood’s ability to make modern
comparisons:
The
limited circulation of Icenian
coinage, and its small-scale manufacture, could suggest that their
rulers were
unfamiliar with the use of coinage as a means of trade and very likely
did not
understand the principles of finance. This would explain much of what
followed.
Rather like the British administrators did in the Raj, the Romans let
the Iceni
retain some privileges and a token independence in return for the
payment.of
tribute, the provision of auxiliary recruits for the Roman army, and
the
acceptance of ‘aid’. ‘Aid as imperialism’ is not a new concept and like
many
PART 1 INTRODUCTION
AND
BACKGROUND (BRITONS AND ROMANS)
Begins Boadicea has a place of
her
own in British folk history.
Ends … but the veterans did not
prove to be model citizens