Does any one know of Boudica?

Question

ok i know Boudica was the Great Warrior Queen of the Iceni the lead a revolt against the Romans but does any one know more about her and her people? thank every one

Blessed be Flower

Answer 1

Boudica (also Boudicca, formerly better known as Boadicea) (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, the Romans annexed his kingdom and brutally humiliated Boudica and her daughters, spurring her leadership of the revolt.

Boudica was of royal descent, 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, and habitually wore a large golden necklace (perhaps a torc), a many-coloured tunic and a thick cloak fastened by a brooch.

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 and had revolted in 47 when the then-governor, Publius Ostorius Scapula, threatened to disarm them. Prasutagus lived a long life of conspicuous wealth, and, hoping to preserve his line, made the Roman emperor co-heir to his kingdom along with his two daughters. But when Prasutagus died, his attempts to preserve his line were ignored and his kingdom was annexed as if it had been conquered. Lands and property were confiscated and nobles treated like slaves. Boudica was flogged and her daughters raped. Roman financiers, including Seneca the Younger, chose this point to call in their loans. Prasutagus, it seems, had lived well on borrowed Roman money, and on his death his subjects had become liable for the debt.

At Boudica's uprising, in 60 or 61, 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. Eighty thousand Britons fell" compared with only four hundred Romans. Boudica poisoned herself, fell sick, died, and was given a lavish burial.

By the Middle Ages Boudica was forgotten. Shakespeare's younger contemporaries, Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, were inspired to write a play about her called, Bonduca, in 1610. William Cowper wrote a popular poem, Boadicea, an ode, in 1782. But it wasn't until 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 lines from Cowper's poem, 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.

There have been scattered reports that the restless spirit of Boudica has been seen in the county of Lincolnshire, England. 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, while other 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.

There is also a long-lived urban myth that she is buried under Platform 8, 9 or 10 of King's Cross railway station in London. This originates from the village of Battle Bridge (previously on the station's site), which was said to be the site of her last battle, suicide and burial. This is now accepted as a fiction and a hoax, whose origins can be traced back to Lewis Spence's book 'Boadicea - Warrior Queen of the Britons (1937) (where it is given but unevidenced) or earlier. It is now thought that Battle Bridge was a corruption of 'Broad Ford Bridge'. Other such legends place her burial on Parliament Hill, Hampstead or in Suffolk.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines her as: Bou·dic·ca (bōō-dĭk'ə) Queen of ancient Britain who led a temporarily successful revolt against the Roman army that had claimed her deceased husband's kingdom.

Answer 2

This site has an extensive biography of Boudicca. She was a real heroine!

Answer 3

I know her name and that she was a great warrior, but thats about it.

Answer 4

The Romans drew and quartered her, if memory serves.

Answer 5

u seem to have a handle on her. i think she's a testament to what can happen to a person who is pushed too far.

Answer 6

rent the movie