Queen Boudicca

Queen Boudicca of the Iceni Tribe

By: Michelle Ericsson

      

      Boudicca was the Celtic queen of the Iceni tribe. She is considered a British folk hero. Other names/spellings she was known by are: Boadicea, Boudica and Buddug. According to Historynet.com, Boudicca's husband was the King and he had friendly relations with the Romans. Once he has passed on, half of the land he ruled went towards the Romans due to their good relations and the remainder to his wife. The Romans did not take too kindly to this, nor did they take Boudicca seriously. As reported on Historysheros.e2bn.org, the Romans had beaten Boudicca in front of her tribe, raped her daughters, and stole the land that she ruled from her. This incident caused her people to be not only furious with the Romans, but embarrassed by their female leader. Due to how furious she was, Boudicca gathered up about 100,000 people to fight with and for her to gain land back and get revenge on the Romans. In her vengeance, she managed to burn three Roman towns to the ground, as well as kill about 70,000-80,000 people. Her fight took emperor Nero so off guard that he considered withdrawing the Romans attack for Britain. Though she was eventually stopped by a Roman general, she still managed to do what most women at that time could not imagine to do. Boudicca unfortunately died at the age of 31 around 60-61 AD, as posted by Sarah Pruitt of Askhistory.com.

Boudicca rose up to fight the Romans for a number of reasons. These reasons would include: Having to obey everything the Romans demanded in order to keep the land, the Romans attempting to raise taxes on the people in the tribe, the Romans trying to force Boudicca out of her throne, the Romans physically beating Boudicca publically in front of her tribe, the Romans raping her two daughters, and the Romans eventually taking over their land. According to Historysheros.e2bn.org, during her fight, Boudicca was able to get other tribes to join in and help her in fighting the Romans and with this they marched to Colchester - the capitol of Roman Britain, also known as Britannia. After conquering and burning Colchester, they moved onto London (known as Londinium at the time). This town was burned down as well. Though Boudicca had more soldiers than the Romans at the time, the Romans were more well trained. It is believed that to avoid being captured and more humiliated than she already was, Boudicca drank poison and killed herself according to bbc.co.uk.

      Though Boudicca was believed to have been forgotten during the Middle Ages, it is believed that she was remembered and viewed as legendary in the Elizabethan and Victorian times. Books, ships, and poems were named after her, as well as statues created, as reported by Historysheros.e2bn.org. Like many other women at the time of her ruling, Boudicca did not want to become a slave to the men. She had the courage and power to uprise against the Romans to prevent this from happening. She, like many others in her tribe, believed that women were almost, if not just as, strong as men were. She would stop at nothing to prove this. A quote of hers is: "I was whipped by the Romans when they tried to take our lands — and now I am fighting for my freedom. Think how many of us are fighting and why. We must win this battle or die. Let the men live as slaves if they want. I will not." (Quote also found on historyheros website).


     

Queen Boudicca is a figure not forgotten about today. There is a statue of her that is said to guard the Westminster Bridge and the Houses of Parliament. This statue has her two daughters and herself on a chariot, shown on Sarah Pruitt's article on AskHistory. Colchester was rebuilt, however there is still a layer underneath of the burnt town. This layer is known as the 'Boudican layer'. Desecrated graves are also seen throughout which are believed to be put there by Boudicca's army. Though, as mentioned above, she may have been forgotten in the Middle Ages, she was remembered and brought back up in the Elizabethan and Victorian era as reported by Historysheros.e2bn.org. Boudicca fought for what she and others believed was right and became a very strong female figure in history for it, despite her being taken over and so young. No one truly knows what happened to Boudicca's body, nor her daughters, but she will always be remembered. 



Works Cited:

“Ancient Celtic Women.” Metal Gaia, 2012, metal-gaia.com/2012/04/26/ancient-celtic-women/.

“Boudica.” History's Heroes?, E2BN, penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/britannia/boudica/boudicanrevolt.html.

“Boudica (Boudicca) .” Penelope.UChicago, UChicago, penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/britannia/boudica/boudicanrevolt.html.

“History - Boudicca.” BBC, BBC, www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/boudicca.shtml.

Donsbach, Margaret. “Boudica: Celtic War Queen Who Challenged Rome.” Historynet, 6 Dec. 2006, www.historynet.com/boudica-celtic-war-queen-who-challenged-rome.htm.