Boudica

Statue of Boudica near Westminster Pier

Boudica (also Boudicca, Boadicea, Buduica, Bonduca) (d. 60/61) was a queen of the Brythonic Celtic Iceni people of Norfolk in Eastern Britain who led a major uprising of the tribes against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire. Upon the death of her husband Prasutagus (circa 60), the Romans annexed his kingdom and brutally humiliated Boudica and her daughters, spurring her leadership of the revolt.

In 60 or 61, while Roman governor Gaius Suetonius Paulinus was leading a campaign on the island of Anglesey in north Wales, Boudica led the Iceni, along with the Trinovantes and others, in a rebellion which destroyed the former Trinovantian capital and Roman colonia of Camulodunum (Colchester), and routed the Roman Legio IX Hispana under Quintus Petillius Cerialis. Boudica's army then burned the twenty-year-old settlement of Londinium (London) to the ground and destroyed Verulamium (St Albans), killing an estimated 70,000-80,000 people. Roman emperor Nero briefly considered withdrawing Roman forces from the island, but ultimately Boudica was defeated at the Battle of Watling Street by the heavily outnumbered forces of Roman provincial governor Gaius Suetonius Paulinus.

The chronicles of these events, as recorded by the historians Tacitus and Dio Cassius, were rediscovered during the Renaissance and led to a resurgence of Boudica's legendary fame during the Victorian era, when Queen Victoria was portrayed as her "namesake". Boudica has since remained an important cultural symbol in the United Kingdom.

History

Boudica's name

Until the late 20th century, Boudica was known as Boadicea, which is probably derived from a mistranscription when a manuscript of Tacitus was copied in the Middle Ages. Her name takes many forms in various manuscripts, but was almost certainly originally Boudicca or Boudica, derived from the Celtic word *bouda, victory (cf. Irish bua, Buaidheach, Welsh buddug).

The name is attested in inscriptions as "Boudica" in [Lusitania]], "Boudiga" in Bordeaux and "Bodicca" in Britain.

Based on later development of Welsh and Irish, Kenneth Jackson concludes that the correct spelling of the name is Boudica, pronounced /bəʊ'diː.ka:/, although it is mispronounced by many as /buː.dik'ə/.

Background

Tacitus and Dio agree that Boudica was of royal descent. Dio says that she was "possessed of greater intelligence than often belongs to women", that she was tall, had long red hair down to her hips, a harsh voice and a piercing glare. She was said to have habitually worn a large golden necklace (perhaps a torc), a many-coloured tunic and a thick cloak fastened by a brooch.

Location of modern Norfolk, once inhabited by the Iceni.

Her husband, Prasutagus, was the king of Iceni, who inhabited roughly what is now Norfolk. They were initially not part of the territory under direct Roman control, having voluntarily allied themselves to Rome following Claudius's conquest of 43. They were protective of their independence, revolting in 47 when the then-governor, Publius Ostorius Scapula, threatened to disarm them.

Prasutagus lived a long life of conspicuous wealth. Hoping to preserve his line, he made the Roman emperor co-heir to his kingdom along with his two daughters. It was normal Roman practice to allow allied kingdoms their independence only for the lifetime of their client king, who would agree to leave his kingdom to Rome in his will. The provinces of Bithynia and Galatia, for example, were incorporated into the Empire in just this way.

Roman law allowed inheritance only through the male line. So when Prasutagus died, his attempts to preserve his line were ignored. His kingdom was annexed as if it had been conquered. Lands and property were confiscated and nobles treated like slaves.

According to Tacitus, Boudica was flogged and her daughters raped.

Dio Cassius says that Roman financiers, including Seneca the Younger, chose this point to call in their loans. Tacitus does not mention this, but does single out the procurator, Catus Decianus, for criticism for his "avarice". Prasutagus, it seems, had lived well on borrowed Roman money, and on his death his subjects had become liable for the debt.

Boudica's uprising

In 60 or 61, while the current Roman governor, Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, was leading a campaign against the island of Anglesey in north Wales, which was a refuge for British rebels and a stronghold of the druids, the Iceni conspired with their neighbours the Trinovantes, and others, to revolt. Boudica was chosen as their leader.

They drew inspiration from the example of Arminius, the prince of the Cherusci who had driven the Romans out of Germany in AD 9, and their own ancestors who had driven Julius Caesar from Britain.

Dio says that at the outset Boudica employed a form of divination, releasing a hare from the folds of her dress and interpreting the direction it ran, and invoked Andraste, a British goddess of victory. Some say that Boudica was a high priestess of Andraste. It is perhaps significant that Boudica's own name means "victory" (see above).

File:Claud 1.jpg

A statue of Emperor Claudius

The rebels' first target was Camulodunum (Colchester), the former Trinovantian capital and now a Roman colonia. The Roman veterans who had been settled there mistreated the locals. A temple to the former emperor Claudius had been erected there at local expense, making the city a focus for resentment. Its inhabitants sought reinforcements from the procurator, Catus Decianus, but he sent only two hundred auxiliary troops.

Boudica's army fell on the poorly defended city and destroyed it. They besieged the last defenders in the temple for two days before it fell. The future governor Quintus Petillius Cerialis, then commanding the Legio IX Hispana, attempted to relieve the city, but his forces were routed. His infantry was wiped out. Only the commander and some of his cavalry escaped. Catus Decianus fled to Gaul.

When news of the rebellion reached him, Suetonius hurried along Watling Street through hostile territory to Londinium (London).

Londinium was a relatively new town, founded after the conquest of 43, but had grown to be a thriving commercial centre with a population of travellers, traders, and probably Roman officials.

Suetonius considered giving battle there, but considering his lack of numbers and chastened by Petillius's defeat, decided to sacrifice the city to save the province. Londinium was abandoned to the rebels, who burned it down, slaughtering anyone who had not evacuated with Suetonius.

Archaeology shows a thick layer of burnt debris covering coins and pottery dating before 60 within the bounds of the Roman city.

Verulamium (St Albans) was next to be destroyed.

During the destruction of the three cities, between seventy and eighty thousand people are said to have been killed. Tacitus says the Britons had no interest in taking or selling prisoners, only in slaughter by gibbet, fire or cross.

Romans rally

See also: Battle of Watling Street

Suetonius regrouped with the XIV Gemina, some vexillationes (detachments) of the XX Valeria Victrix, and any available auxiliaries. The prefect of Legio II Augusta, Poenius Postumus, ignored the call, but nonetheless the governor was able to call on almost ten thousand men.

He took a stand at an unidentified location, probably in the West Midlands somewhere along Watling Street, in a defile with a wood behind him. But his men were heavily outnumbered. Dio says that, even if they were lined up one deep, they would not have extended the length of Boudica's line: by now the rebel forces numbered 230,000.

Boudica exhorted her troops from her chariot, her daughters beside her. The historian Tacitus says she gave a short speech, presenting 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 exhorted that their cause was just, and the gods were on their side. The one legion that had dared to face them had been destroyed. She, a woman, expressed her resolve to win or die. Boudica told the men that if they wanted to live in slavery, that was their choice, goading them to fight with their all.

However, the unmaneuverability of the British forces, combined with lack of open field tactics to command these numbers put them at a disadvantage to the Romans, who were skilled at open combat due to their superior equipment and discipline. The narrowness of the field meant that Boudica could only put forth as many troops as the Romans could at a given time.

First, the Romans stood their ground and used waves of javelins to kill thousands of Britons who were rushing toward the Roman lines. The Roman soldiers, who had now used up their javelins, were then able to engage Boudica's second wave in the open. This made the Roman phalanx potent and difficult to break. As the phalanx advanced in a wedge formation, the Britons attempted to flee. But they were impeded by the presence of their own families, stationed in a ring of wagons at the edge of the battlefield. It was slaughter. Tacitus reports that "according to one report almost eighty thousand Britons fell" compared with only four hundred Romans. According to Tacitus, Boudica poisoned herself; Dio says she fell sick and died, and was given a lavish burial.

Postumus, on hearing of the Roman victory, fell on his sword in shame for his failure to heed the call to battle. Catus Decianus, who had fled to Gaul, was replaced by Gaius Julius Alpinus Classicianus. Suetonius conducted punitive operations. But criticism by Classicianus led to an investigation headed by Nero's freedman Polyclitus. Suetonius was removed as governor, replaced by the more conciliatory Publius Petronius Turpilianus. The historian Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus tells us the crisis had nearly persuaded Nero to abandon Britain. It was the courage and leadership of Boudica that is credited with giving the Celts the drive for their valient attempt to expel their occupier.

Location of her defeat

The site of Boudica's final battle is unknown. According to London legend it was at Battle Bridge Road, at King's Cross, London. Many believe that Boudica herself is buried under one of the platforms at King's Cross railway station.

However, based on Tacitus's account, it is unlikely Suetonius returned to London. Most historians favour a site in the West Midlands. Kevin K. Carroll suggests a site close to High Cross in Leicestershire, on the junction of Watling Street and the Fosse Way. This would have allowed the Legio II Augusta, based at Exeter, to rendezvous with the rest of Suetonius's forces. Manduessedum (Mancetter), near the modern day town of Atherstone in Warwickshire, has also been suggested.

Historical sources

Tacitus, the most important Roman historian of this period, took a particular interest in Britain. His father-in-law, Gnaeus Julius Agricola, and the subject of Tasitus' first book, served in Britain three times. He was a military tribune under Suetonius Paulinus. This almost certainly would have given Tacitus an eyewitness source for Boudica's revolt.

Dio Cassius's sources are less certain. 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.

Cultural Impact in History and Literature

By the Middle Ages Boudica was forgotten. She makes no appearance in Bede, the Historia Brittonum, the Mabinogion or Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain. But the rediscovery of the works of Tacitus and Dio Cassius during the Renaissance allowed Polydore Virgil to reintroduce her into British history in 1534. Interestingly, he misinterpreted the "Voadicea" he found in Tacitus and the "Bunduica" in Dio Cassius as two separate women.

Boudica's story was included in Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles and inspired Shakespeare's younger contemporaries Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher to write a play, Bonduca, in 1610. William Cowper wrote a popular poem, Boadicea, an ode, in 1782.

It was in the Victorian era that Boudica's fame took on legendary proportions. Queen Victoria was seen as her "namesake". Victoria's Poet Laureate, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, wrote a poem, Boadicea, and ships were named after her.

A great bronze statue of Boudica in her war chariot (furnished with scythes after Persian fashion), together with her daughters, was commissioned by Prince Albert and executed by Thomas Thornycroft. It was completed in 1905 and stands next to Westminster Bridge and the Houses of Parliament, with the following verse referring to the British Empire:

Regions Caesar never knew

Thy posterity shall sway.

Ironically, the great anti-imperialist rebel was now identified with the head of the British Empire.

Other cultural references

There have been scattered reports that the restless spirit of Boudica has been seen in the county of Lincolnshire. These reports, dating back to the mid-19th century, claim Boudica rides her chariot, heading for some unknown destination, and many a traveller and motorist have claimed to have seen her. There has been some debate as to how long this has been going on. Some say that the queen's restless spirit has been appearing since her death. Others suggest that the revival of interest in Boudica's story in the 19th century might have summoned her spirit back to our world. As with all reports of ghostly activity, it is up to the individual to decide whether they are true or not.

Further reading

• Vanessa Collingridge; Boudica, Ebury, London, 2004
• Richard Hingley & Christina Unwin, Boudica: Iron age Warrior Queen, 2004

External links

• James Grout: Boudica, part of the Encyclopædia Romana
• Trying to Rule Britannia; BBC; 6 August 2004
• Iceni at Roman-Britain.org
• Iceni at Romans in Britain