Boadicea

Boadicea

The

 Rebellious, Red-headed Roman-slayer

By

Hannah Long

Boadicea, one time queen of the Iceni tribe, north of the Roman city of Londinium, sat on her red velvet cushion, holding in her right hand a golden chalice. Through the window a sliver of moon peeked in, as if to see her final act. The candle flickered, reflecting off of the lifeless, glassy eyes of her two beloved daughters. There was no turning back now. It must be done. As Boadicea swirled the vile liquid she thought of the peaceful times before the Romans, of her rise as a warrior, of her victories, and her troubles; and then of the final blow of the Romans and of her crushing defeat.   

There had been a history of conflict between the Romans and the Iceni.  Almost a hundred years before, in 55 BC, Julius Caesar ordered an invasion against Britain, which had failed. A year later he ordered a second invasion. When he defeated the opposing armies, Julius Caesar withdrew after securing the promise of tribute. Nearly ninety years later, in 43 AD, greedy Claudius led a third invasion against the Celts. It succeeded.  After many horribly violent battles the Romans fashioned the city of Londinium, which became the new capital of Britain. In despair the Iceni kingdom, located to the north of the newly defeated territory, decided to make peace by paying tribute.

For a while there was peace, until Boadicea’s faithful husband, Prasutagus the king of the Iceni, sadly died. While Prasutagus was still alive, Suetonius, the Roman governor of the region, had already been planning to deal treacherously with the Iceni upon the death of their king.  The Romans stole Boadicea’s kingdom and plundered her people’s goods, although the Iceni had been paying tribute. The ruthless Romans also publicly shamed her, as well as her two teenage daughters. Carelessly, Suetonius left the ruins of the Iceni kingdom and traveled west to conquer Wales, leaving the eastern provinces largely undefended. Boadicea, who was greatly enraged by Rome’s treachery, saw her chance for revenge. She pulled together an army of 100,000 British fighters, and then she attacked the undefended Roman territory. She and her wild army burned the three largest cities in Britain. They killed thousands.

Fatefully, there was to be one final battle for Boadicea. Suetonius, who had heard of Boadicea’s victory, left wales, and headed straight back to his undefended territories. At the top of a tall hill the Roman army strategically camped, while some of Suetonius’s men burnt to the ground all the surrounding ripened crops, leaving the Iceni army with nothing to sustain their mortal health. But Boadicea’s anger blinded her to the reality of her situation, and she charged anyway. When her army was finally defeated, many were killed. That night she and her two daughters fled to their palace along hidden pathways, knowing that death was not far behind. The battle was over.

The hooting of a barn owl brought Boadicea back to the present. She sighed. There was no use thinking of those all too wonderful times when she and her husband had only heard rumors of a well-trained army invading lands far away. The owl called again. She remembered when she had made herself a warrior, and then when she had actually attacked Roman provinces. She thought of the things she could have done better, things that wouldn’t have resulted in this. But it was too late now. Though she had led a successful rebellion, she had lost the last battle. Her troops were either all dead or at least wounded. Anger filled Boadicea; she would not be put to shame again! In one swift motion she raised the horrible smelling stuff to her lips. She drank. The goblet clattered to the floor, and Boadicea queen of the Iceni fell, her unkempt flaming red hair streaming out beneath her.