The Woman Who Humiliated Rome | Boudicca | Odyssey

[Music] [Music] [Music] when the british warrior queen bleeding from the roman rod sought with an indignant mean council of our country's gods sage beneath a spreading oak sat the druid hoary chief every burning word he spoke full of rage and full of grief [Music] princess if our aged eyes weep upon thy matchless wrongs tis because resentment ties all the terrors of our tongues had been almost entirely forgotten until 18th century thomas calper wrote these verses that ended with the words she with all a monarch's pride felt them in a bosom glow rushed to battle fought and died dying hurled them at the foe ruffians pitiless as proud heaven awaits the vengeance due empire is on us bestowed shame and ruin wait for you the poem so sees public imagination that this first century icini tribal queen entered british mythology even if it took another hundred years for it to be cast in bronze paradoxically as the british empire expanded under queen victoria a female tribal leader who had fought imperialism became its archetypal heroine for all that it is only recently that her name has been settled as a buddhica confusion arose in the middle ages when scribes making copies of tacitus's history wrote down the unfamiliar name in a variety of ways including buddhisia and boudicca beaudocia first appeared in 1697 and became accepted until scholars agreed that the correct version was boudicca this is a recognized celtic female name found in various roman inscriptions in 1902 thomas thorny croft's sculpture of a chariot-born buddhica and her two daughters was finally completed only to be positioned as if attacking london's houses of parliament opposite calpers ode the buddhican myth and thony croft's statue are all open to question the fact war chariots of that period carried only driver and warrior may be overlooked as artistic license as can its scythe-bladed wheels but how could this tribal queen have come to represent britain possibly even inspiring its symbolic female britannia boudicca was not even british two thousand years ago this nation did not exist and the many warring tribes occupying these islands would never have considered themselves one people it took rome to bring that about so why did a woman of whom little is known achieves such a position in national folklore while other truly heroic figures are largely forgotten boudicca has survived and how ironic is the fact this tribal queen became an archetypal british heroine whose heroic status stands in a city her forces tormented and burned until 54 years before christ britain was at the known world's edge a strange and remote island beyond which lay vast seas few had ever seen and those who had believed led onto nothingness surrounded by dangerous tidal waters british tribes had developed their own special character this island race had evolved gradually progressing from stone to bronze and then iron tools boudicca's iron age society had experienced no massive invasions but some twelve thousand years of gradual evolution [Music] newcomers crossing the narrow seas from europe were few in number but the influence is great founding a ruling warrior class and creating for a relatively short period a british celtic culture like other british tribes buddhica's icini people developed and evolved not because of large-scale invasions but from adopting new ideas [Music] britannia's southern coastline was divided from europe by a narrow channel made hazardous by tide and gales even so by boudicca's day european celtic dialects and religious practices had spread into britain although its southern tribes probably had closer contacts with gaul now modern france than with compatriots living in yorkshire or wales bronze and then iron artifacts conferring power and status had been introduced for warfare hunting and farming the arrival of a more efficient knife sickle sword or spear changed local communities as dramatically as television and car altered modern life the people were the same but their culture altered [Music] no tribe living in these islands would have considered itself british there was no concept of national identity the country was divided into at least 23 distinct and mutually hostile tribal regions many of whose place names suggest ancient tongues that fell into disuse as celtic dialects spread [Music] tribal areas were often delineated by natural boundaries such as rivers or hills even though all people were basically the same stock they were molded by their particular environments just as welsh ponies bred outside the principality rapidly lose their hardiness a tribe living in gentle east anglia would have developed differently from those struggling to survive on exposed western hills the lives of ordinary tribes people had probably changed little over the centuries lowland dwellers occupied scattered farms planting crops and tending animals while upland life was more pastoral and subsistence level with free ranging warrior herdsmen eking out their existence by raiding houses such as those recreated at butzer hill hampshire or near thetford norfolk had changed little over the centuries although they were regional variations huts would have been predominantly circular in plan their wattled clay daubed walls capped with conical thatched roofs all livestock other than that retained for breeding was killed before winter's onset meat was smoked or salted and grains stored in sunken pits a half where food was cooked baked or dried stood centrally on a reed or straw covered earthen floor that provided living and sleeping space billowing smoke would always have been a problem and hot roofs like those of medieval great halls a thousand years later were high pitched so that it could gather and escape the typical britain would have been pickled by smoke as late as the 17th century many opposed wall fireplaces and chimneys in a belief smoke hardened bodies and prevented disease buddhical icini would have lived in small communities or scattered farms and in more restless regions a banked and ditched enclosure would have stood nearby many of these hill or promontory forts contained huts but whether they can be considered early towns is open to question specialist trades existed and by boudicca's day superb personal ornaments and weaponry were being produced men might have worn leather wool or animal skin jerk-ins over baggy trousers the women home-spun woolen dresses and shawls it is possible these later iron age tribes had come to regard their hill thoughts more as status symbols by buddhicus day many possessed ramparts so complex they could have aided rather than hindered attackers even though slingshot was used their palisades were too long for efficient supervision and the fact that most lack long-term water supplies suggest warfare was short-term whatever their purpose such huge structures could not provide long-term protection for humans or animals and it is possible that it become major gathering trading or administrative centers rather like celtic town halls with markets attached however impressive they might appear not one british hill thought posed major problems for roman attackers with no other standing army other than chieftains and their entourage warriors could be called from their homes when the need arose while roman soldiers were professional british tribesmen were brave amateurs who often entered battle almost naked because clothing hindered agility in the wielding of weapons even though chainmail seems to have been worn by some leaders the majority seem to have relied upon blue wood in a belief this bestowed supernatural protection and terrified enemies according to the roman strabo this was a restless and aggressive community not given to the ways of peace the whole race is madly formed of war high spirited and quick to battle but otherwise straightforward and not of evil character but when they are stirred up they assemble in their bands for battle quite openly and without forethought so they are easily handled by those who desire to outwit them some warriors wore gold neck talks and bracelets adornments revealing according to strabo a vanity that makes them unbearable in victory and completely downcast in defeat [Music] while roman historian tacitus observed they're torn apart by the warning parties of different leaders they do not act in concert it's rare that two or more british tribes come together to repel a common danger they fight separately and separately are defeated british tribes such as the icini were still employing war chariots whose two lightweight wickerwork body carried fighting man and driver according to caesar drivers would run along the chariot pole and stand on the yoke while traveling at full speed they drive in all directions throwing spears to disturb the enemy with their noise warriors leap down to fight on foot and if hard press can easily get away to safety they have the mobility of cavalry and the stability of infantry [Music] even so the chariot in reality was more of a psychological than an effective killing weapon british tribes throve on warfare and the discovery of slave chains indicates captives could have ended up in british or continental slave markets [Music] boudicca's iron age britain also needed victims for druidic ritual and sacrifice if british tribesmen had kept their fighting to themselves perhaps rome might not have invaded when it did matters came to a head in 55 bc when julius caesar having crushed resistance in gaul sought fresh fields of conquest for political and other reasons warriors from britain had hated the gaelic struggle and close links existed between british and gaelic druids indeed during caesar's wars many of the latter seem to have fled to britain where the druidic ritual sacrifice and divination influence had helped unite its divided society a confident rome believed its mission was to bring civilization to the barbarian a view clearly expressed later by poet virgil forget not roman that it is your special genius to rule the peoples to impose the ways of peace to spare the defeated and to crush those proud men who will not submit in 55 bc such inspiring thoughts would have meant little to caesar's 10 000 legionaries and 500 horsemen gazing uneasily towards britain's white cliffs across the narrow sea in late august they should have been moving into winter quarters not waiting to board transports that would carry them to britannia and foo would have been happy at the thought caesar's transports finally grounded somewhere between walmer and deal on a beach filled with road dorbz semi-naked warriors and shrieking women ten thousand legionaries hesitated until the tenth legion standard bearer shouted jump comrades unless you wish to betray your eagle before leaping into the waves that one act began a process that would make britannia a roman province even though it took another 100 years to complete it took 104 years until in 49 a.d rome's emperor claudius would end what julius caesar had begun and drag a reluctant iron-aged country into the roman world roman legions consisted of six thousand heavy infantry divided into cohorts and centuries all under the command of a legit several of whom went on to become emperors everyday control lay with 60 centurions tough korea soldiers each bearing the vine staff that was both badge of office and means of inflicting summary and immediate punishment more serious offenses could result in flogging even crucifixion by the first century legions were recruiting widely from tribes they had conquered although most officers may have still originated in italy legionaries became roman citizens when they took their oath of allegiance something regarded as a great privilege even saint paul had claimed i am a roman soldiers could march 20 miles in their hob nailed sandals while carrying some 30 kilos fight a battle and end the day in a temporary camp they had built complete with gates ditches and palisades they could build roads and bridges construct defensive walls and operate artillery so efficient that similar weaponry was still being used fourteen hundred years later while bridges they built still carry modern traffic [Music] british iron age tribes were wild and fearless in battle until it turned against them when their bravery quickly became despair named barbarians by the romans because of the uncouth barbar sounds of their language they were capable of extreme cruelty practicing human sacrifice and cannibalism the romans tolerant of other religions whose deities they were often happy to adopt put down celtic druidism largely because it practiced human sacrifice religious superstition coupled with the fact in age tribes entered battle having drunk heavily to inspire courage made them unpredictable allies individual british heroism and fighting ability counted for little when confronted by highly trained and disciplined roman legions however brave even terrifying was the british tribal warrior his lack of discipline and armor even his typical spear and long slashing sword were usually no match for the roman infantry cavalry supported rome's heavy legions and lightly armed auxiliary regiments lack of stirrups made charging with a lunch or spear held under arm impossible the cavalryman's purpose was to break up attackers or harass a fleeing enemy by cutting or thrusting downwards each legionary carried two throwing spears of different weights the lighter hurled some 25 meters as the enemy approached the heavier when he was about 15 meters away thousands of these javelins would plunge at the same moment into attackers still at some distance combined with quick action baluster an enemy attack could be hindered or even broken before any man-to-man contact was made with his body heavily armored and protected by a large curved shield the legionary did not remain stationary awaiting an attack but advanced steadily with his short sword the gladius stabbing upwards one tactic was to employ wedge-shaped formations resembling the teeth of a huge saw and like the saw its cutting power was great doubling effective numbers in contact with the enemy this formation also forced attackers into tightly packed groups where it was difficult to use their weapons effectively [Music] assaults on hill thoughts or defensive positions began with artillery volleys usually from cairo ballista massive crossbows whose heavy arrows could penetrate several bodies at a time and if bearing fire wreak havoc amongst thatched dwellings the roman legion was a superb fighting machine against which few could stand on the one hand was a half naked and blue dobbed warrior of undoubted courage and agility on the other a bronze armored and steadily advancing infantryman of whom little could be seen but thrusting sword and eyes glaring beneath a crested helmet even before the invasion of emperor claudius in 43 a.d southeastern britain was already experiencing roman culture even though one observer stated the people of the interior for the most part do not grow corn but live on meat and milk and dress in skins those nearer europe were already familiar with roman wine oil pottery and a variety of other luxury goods boudicca's icini living in what is now norfolk and suffolk had such close links with rome they took no part in the fighting and submitted quickly to claudius who in reward made them a client kingdom while their king prasadagas was declared friend of rome in the main rome was benevolent and as long as tributes and taxes were paid and recruits provided for for its legions preferred divide and rule to outright and expensive oppression during the claudian conquest for spazian and his second augusta legion had campaigned westwards along the coast fighting 30 battles and capturing 20 tribal strongholds many fugitives fled to maiden castle tribal center of the duratridges near modern dorchester some 47 acres in area its ramparts some were vetted with stone towered 50 feet over 15 meters above ditch floors while strong gateways stood east and west this sprawling enclosure contained numerous huts and thousands of refugees yet maiden castle's very size and complexity provided the second augusta with advantage and soon its ballistas were showering fire and heavy bolts as huts began to burn the legion attacked through the smoke probably making a faint attack on the western gate to draw away defenders the spazian's legionaries linking shields in testudo or tortoise formation stormed and took its eastern entrance the war cemetery where many tribal dead would be thrown indicates a hard-fought battle skeletons had been savagely cut and hacked as if in revenge and particularly telling is a ballista bolt driven deep into a man's spine the legion's death toll is unknown but its burial fans were probably depleted 300 years later one of the best roman shrines in britain was built at maiden castle perhaps indicating christianity had by then driven out paganism from rome and dorchester in southern wales the cyleries were being whipped up by coracticus a southern tribal leader and with southern britain pacified rome's governor astoria scapular began campaigning against him much of southern britain was becoming romanized with new towns constructed and former settlements enlarged roman style palaces and villas were provided with central heating bathing and sewerage systems that must have astounded the indigenous population chedworth gloucestershire at the colon valley's head is britain's most complete and finest roman villa founded shortly after the boudiccan revolt center of an estate chedworth contains suites of rooms surrounding courtyards one of which was a garden it's two bath houses one with dry heat the other damp were well used there is marked where on the door sills latrines running water and cereals would have a standard that did not reappear in britain for many centuries remarkable also are mosaic floors that of the dining room depicting bacchus surrounded by eight panels filled with nymphs and satires the four seasons were illustrated although that of autumn has vanished all portrayed by young boys bearing appropriate garlands winter seems the most telling since it features a hooded cloak and leggings together with a bare twig and a dead hair for those of southern blood a british winter was obviously harsh although an underfloor hypercoarse heating system minimize discomfort [Music] in the garden's upper corner stands a shrine to nymphs protecting the villa's water supply yet this pagan site was later inscribed with christian symbols the roman world would change canterbury london verilamium and silchester would expand into important trading and administrative centers while colchester became roman britain's capital built on trinivanti's tribal lands it was a colonia this was the name given to settlements of time expired legionaries that had been established together with a temple where the emperor claudius was worshiped but it was not just any tribal lands it was the trinivantis capital which had been seized and given to the ex-soldiers the advantages to rome were twofold a colonia could serve as a supplementary garrison and it rewarded loyalty at no cost to the empire paid for by local taxes this was a constant reminder of conquest and submission buddhicus iceni faced problems in 54 a.d when claudius died and nero became emperor under roman law this client kingdom now became no different from a newly conquered territory subject to inventories tributes confiscation of lands and property and nero's procurator or chief administrator declines katus carried out this process greedily matters worsened in 60 a.d when prasa targus the husband of boudicca leader of the icini both an ally of rome and a wealthy king died near what is now the norfolk town of thetford nothing remains of the capital from which he and later his wife was to rule the whole area has been covered by a modern industrial estate and it is only in the names given to the roads within that any clue remains of the once powerful icini kingdom with no possibility of buddhica succeeding and to protect his legacy prasatargas divided his lands and property between his two daughters and the emperor in hope he would protect both them and their territory but deckianus ordered a full inventory of the dead king's estate seizing isini leaders as slaves in order to cow and humiliate the native population boudicca was flogged by servants and her two young daughters raped flogging had been recognized by the romans as a torture the poet horus had referred to the horrible whip as he named it in his satires and called for an end to its use so unpleasant to torture was it that the romans inflicted it only on non-citizens the instrument used was similar to the naval cattle nine tails being whips with small pieces of bone or metal on the tips and flagellation was referred to as half death due to the number of fatalities a flogging could cause the back could be laid bare to the bone with both skin and flesh thrashed away the psychological results of much less severe corporal punishment is known to be capable of causing psychotic states where the victim withdraws from reality and is obsessed with feelings of resentment and a need to express revenge there is no doubt that boudicca would have been subject to such feelings although sufficient in itself to provoke rebellion there were other even more significant reasons the icini had borrowed heavily from romans and with their kingdom being stripped by nero's men anxious traders and money lenders began to call in what they were owed all the while tribute money and army recruits were being demanded creating a combination of tribal dishonor and greed that triggered the icini uprising colchester's military veterans were seizing prisoners to be sold as slaves while centurions were practicing rape and plumber even the roman tacitus condemned the events in response to these outrages buddhicus summoned her isini people to rise at a moment when britain's new governor suetonius paulinus was far away campaigning in north wales an experienced fighting soldier suetonius's intention was to seize anglesey whose grain fields were perhaps as significant to resistance as its reputation as a druid stronghold it was also a rebel stronghold where the priestly order offered protection to those who defied rome tacitus condemned that anglesey was a sanctuary for fugitives and rebels success against the druids would provide suetonius with a needful victory if his career was to be advanced having built boats for his infantry sewertonius swam cavalry across the menai straits their riders clinging alongside before them lay a mysterious and frightening island through shores lined with huge fires were thronged with warriors and shrieking black-clad women while druids called down curses upon attackers even the bravest soldiers hesitated at the site but urged onwards by their general shouting scorn at any afraid of women they stormed a short of victory and would burn thousands of tribal dead in their own fires suetonius then began systematically destroying druidism's sacred groves still red with the blood of sacrificed captives they cut down the groves devoted to the druids cruel superstitions for it was part of their religion to spill the blood of captives on their altars and to inquire of the gods by means of human entrails wrote tacitus [Music] druids are often romanticized but contemporaries described sacrifices and divinations that are opposed to our usage since suppressed by rome victims could be stabbed so the future be read from their death throes or impaled on stakes or pierced with arrows to prolong their agonies or burned alive with others imprisoned in huge wickerwork figures even accepting some roman anti-druid propaganda and all this there seems little doubt the religion was as cruel to its own people as to enemies and its eradication was a great step towards civilization even as anglesey and north wales past and roman control there was little time to rest the army almost immediately arrived news of the icini rising southeastern britain was being ravaged by tribes led by a tall raw boned redhead whose name was boudicca roman dio cassius described the queen spearing hands or wranging her troops in stature she was very tall an appearance most terrifying a glance was fierce and a voice harsh a great mass of the torniest hair fell to her hips around her neck was a large golden torque [Music] she wore as usual a tunic of various colors over which a thick mantle was fastened with a brooch [Music] it should be noted that cassius was writing 150 years after the icini uprising and the figure of buddhica may have been mythologized still any woman capable of leading british warriors into battle probably possessed a striking appearance and dominant personality allied with the neighboring trinivantes the queen began her rebellion by attacking an almost undefended camellidonium modern colchester burning butchering or crucifying its entire romano british population other than its colonia of time expired legionaries colchester was a soft target whose original military ramparts had been demolished and few of its citizens escaped boudicca's torments many sought shelter in the stone-built temple of claudius where together with a few soldiers they held out for two days before being dragged out to join the other victims men women and children to be butchered impaled burned or crucified amongst them were british who had committed the crime of accepting roman rule the temple vaults where terrified fugitive shelters still lie beneath the norman castle so comprehensive was the temple's destruction that some religious significance is indicated the trinivantis would have seen its presence as an insult the symbol of a tyrannical and alien religion statue of victory was toppled streams ran red with blood while a triumphant boudicca urged her forces on evidence of deliberate desecration appears in broken roman tombstones in colchester's museum that together with other evidence suggests boudicca's rebellion had a strong religious element thick ash layers from colchester's holocaust known as the buddhical destruction horizon are still being uncovered some clearly visible in the george hotel cellars another roman legacy is the town's rectilinear street pattern sited near where the colin river makes a wide bend the town was laid out on a typically roman north-south east-west grid its western most balkan gate linked by avir principia now high street with that of the east some two kilometers distant when the time came for colchester to be rebuilt the romans took the precaution of surrounding the town with strong walls so strong with a the two-thirds of the walls survive today including the balkan gate the main gate of the town which was probably erected as a triumphal arch to celebrate claudius's conquest the temple of claudius was rebuilt but as we see here part of the original temple also remains having been used to form the foundations of the norman castle when the normans came colchester presented them with the same problem the romans had faced a lack of good building stone the temple provided them with excellent footings for their part the romans had made use of the abundant local clay to make bricks and tiles which they used in combination with the relatively poor stone to make the impressive fortifications which we can still see today 250 miles away in anglesey suetonius paulinus realized this rebellion unchecked could drive out the legions but with roman forces in britain totaling no more than twenty thousand reinforcements from the continent might be too late his 14th legion and part of the 20th together with auxiliaries totaled some ten thousand men while the ninth legion was at lincoln and the second augusta at exeter if these forces were moved not only could their regions rebel but they would be exposed to ambush when patillius carriales legate of the ninth marched with two thousand men to colchester's aid they were trapped by buddhicus tribesmen possibly near little connard in suffolk where the roman infantry went down fighting and only their cavalry escaped [Music] hearing this news nero's chief administrator catus whose poor administration and greed had triggered the rebellion departed hurriedly for gaul suetonius immediately ordered his tired army to march southwards along wattling street gathering what few men it could on the way messages were sent to other legions the second augusta at exeter being ordered to join him on route tacitus described how suetonius accompanied by a small cavalry escort pressed on a head through hostile territory riding undaunted ahead of his troops to londinium which is a busy emporium for traders [Music] roman london then held some 30 000 inhabitants many of the merchants and traders but its defense may never have been an option roman soldiers were trained to fight in the open not from behind walls their permanent forts and even marching camps provided with four large valves gateways through which troops could exit and deploy rapidly but london had not been designed for military purposes it owed its existence to commercial interests and lacked fortification tacitus described how sewertonius had to abandon an undefeated london to its fate and deflected by prayers and tears he gave the signal to move taking with him any who had joined the column those who were unfit because of their sex or too aged or too fond of the place to leave were butchered by the enemy londinium from which the modern city takes its name has largely disappeared after two millennia of development but some evidence exists near the tower roman london became britain's most important settlement a legacy confirmed by the fact that its site contains the great financial institutions of today such as the bank of england saint paul's cathedral today stands on the wattling streets along which cetone is hurried it seems that almost everywhere within the city roman london lies just beneath once thought to be connected with boudicca's destruction is the collection of decapitated skulls from london's wallbrook now in the museum of london it is now known that these are a part of celtic ritual practice rather than mere tribal savagery the skulls without jawbones were offerings to the river part of the druidic practices that continued long after the rebellion the wholesale slaughter that was taking place may also have been druidic with the victims being sacrificed to their goddess of war and drast in gratitude for the victory she was granting her worshippers the population remaining in londinium faced certain death as buddhica's hordes having destroyed colchester continued its advance their fate would be terrible barbarian british happiest one looting and enthusiastic about real effort bypassed the forts and galaxies and headed for places where undefended booty lay seventy thousand roman citizens and friends of rome many british amongst them died here the britons took no prisoners or captives of slaves but went about their bloody business of hanging burning and crucifying there are other contemporary descriptions of dreadful horrors inflicted particularly upon women and children of which in palin's but one impaling was a druidic form of sacrifice but however boudicca's rebellion is interpreted or excused it is without any doubt the bloodiest and most horrible event in the whole of britain's island history [Applause] the future of roman britain now depended upon tired legionaries marching south along wattling street at a steady 20 miles each day having destroyed colchester and with boudicca's forces moving towards london sewertonius paulinus was in danger of being cut off mustering the few soldiers from neighboring garrisons and with fugitives straggling behind he headed back along wattling street to meet his legions marching south [Music] london would soon begin to burn and suffer thick layers of ash and mass graves from his terrible destruction still being uncovered when new foundations are dug passing through verilarmium that would also soon burn behind him and the same obscene horrors inflicted suetonius hastened through an increasingly hostile countryside rejoining his army he would have learned the second augusta was still at exeter its prefact peonia's posthumous then temporary legit having disobeyed the command to march in a belief the region would rise and his legion be destroyed by now numbering some two hundred and thirty thousand buddhicus horde had already destroyed a legionary detachment and must have thought itself invincible but that had been the result of ambush and few tribal warriors would never have faced a determined and ready battle-hardened force whose only remaining options were death or victory diocassius claimed boudicca's force comprised of 230 000 against a roman army numbering no more than ten thousand legionaries and auxiliaries even if this was an exaggeration there was certainly an enormous disparity that could only result in total roman defeat [Music] patillius carriales may then have been marching south with the ninth legion but pioneers posthumous and the second augustus still hesitated in his exeter fortress whatever happened both legions were too far away to strengthen suetonius paulinus's tiny force [Music] roman britain was disintegrating and many of its tribesmen hurrying to join boudicca suetonius paulinus and his few men could soon face attack from all sides and there was nothing left but to stand and fight outnumbered 20 to 1 there seemed little doubt they were going to die but it would be at a place of their choosing and their ending would be magnificent although there is no certainty as to where the battle took place there is a growing body of opinion that it may have been in this valley near manceta where suetonius paulinus found what he had been looking for roman britain would stand or fall on rising ground at the head of a small valley where dense forest protected his rear massively outnumbered the legions watched boudicca's tribe's assembly women and children falling behind to see the sport at its head would have been boudicca's chariot thousands of others rolling close by dust and stench would have filled the air even after many centuries later the stink downwind of a marching regiment was remarkable it is said that every great battle was preceded by a strange silence and perhaps this was also the case tacitus described how boudicca and her two daughters drove through the masked british tribesmen reminding them how they had suffered in roman hands and of the mortal insults she and her family had suffered i am avenging lost freedom my scourged body the outraged chastity of my daughters a legion that dared to fight has been destroyed the rest are hiding themselves in their camp or are thinking anxiously of flight they will not sustain even the din and the shouting of so many thousands much less our charge and our blows [Music] suetonius poor lioness also addressed his troops but from horseback a hard fighting soldier speaking directly to other soldiers and using words they would understand ignore the noise made by these barbarians and all their empty threats they have as many women as men in their ranks these are not soldiers they are not properly equipped and we have beaten them before when they see our weapons and valor they'll crack glory awaits you oh victory will win the renown of the whole army just stick together throw your javelins strike with your shield bosses finish them off with your swords forget about booty when you win you'll have the lot there was no need to say anything about the legion's honor and following their eagles everyone knew what had to be done [Music] he had positioned his tiny force as well as he could if he could prevent it from being surrounded there was some slight chance but if all failed every man would die fighting [Music] heavily armored legionaries were positioned at the center lightly armed troops and cavalry on either flank brightly coloured battle crests had been fitted to helmets armor and sandal straps tightened swords loosened in their scabbards the legion's hornblowers waiting ready to transmit signals well into the 19th century trumpets and bugles provided the only effective method of controlling most battlefield movements each legionary would have been hefting the lighter of his two peeler balanced throwing javelins he could hurl accurately at those whose soft shank bending on impact rendered them or any shield they penetrated incapable of further use tired though they must have been this was a grim and home force whose discipline steel leather and bronze had already defeated similar tribesmen warriors boudicca's army was also preparing itself many blue daubed warriors were naked others were animal skins over bare chests and baggy trousers shrieks and shouts rent the air spears would have been hammered against shields horns would have blade creating a talmud of noise boudicca had claimed would terrify the quiet ranks that stood waiting at the iceni queen's signal the huge host chariots and men began moving towards the roman line she then released a hair from the fold of her dress its course indicated good luck within the druidic ritual of which she addressed the goddess of war undressed i thank thee andrast and call upon me speaking as woman speaking to woman there were no eyewitness accounts of what actually happened but tacitus had probably spoken to some who were there making sure there was no enemy but in front saturnias drew up his legions in close order the light armed troops on the flank while the cavalry was masked at the extremity of the wings [Music] keeping infantry and cavalry close together had been a lesson learned during caesar's two british campaigns at that time the romans had never before faced an enemy using chariots and at first were baffled and disorganized these swiftly moving vehicles breaking up their cavalry while the heavily armored legionaries could not move quickly enough to give help caesar soon realized that keeping cavalry and infantry together and using them in concert could neutralize this threat something suetonius understood well buddhicus tribesmen had drawn their loot-filled wagons across the valley behind them to provide women and children with a grandstand view of a certain victory it would prove a disastrous mistake warfare practiced by british tribesmen was individualistic in character whether on foot or in chariots moreover once such an enormous force as that led by boudicca was launched into attack no tribal leader could control or direct it with war horns blaring and shields thundering buddhica's huge army began rolling towards the tiny force that stood waiting when the tribesmen were perhaps 100 paces distant roman trumpets would have warned each legionary to ready himself at exactly the correct distance centurions would have shouted orders that brought thousands of the lightest spears plunging down into warriors and horses alike immediately they must have been hideous confusion packed into such a narrow space and surrounded by thousands of men chariots could neither move nor deploy then the second heavier spear volley would have made impact when british survivors rallied and began a game pushing forward suetonius paulinus would have known the crucial moment had arrived with horn signalling legions began advancing steadily in linked wedge-shaped formations each century closely following his standard gladius stabbing upwards hobnailed sandals kicking and stamping down hard upon the fallen enemy roman cavalry would have swept in from the flanks while likely armoured auxiliaries cut down any tribesmen they could reach tacitus said the battle was short-lived cassius deal that had continued for some time but the latter writer may have included the period of dreadful slaughter that followed dismayed by the resistance of a tiny roman army that they'd expected to sweep away in minutes tribal warriors began first to hesitate and then retreat over smashed chariots in the mounds of dead but there was nowhere for them to go roman cavalry was funneling the retreating masses towards their own wagons a barrier where the killing would reach its awful climax now would be avenged the roman settlements on their families in the relief and excitement of such unexpected victory no mercy would be shown [Music] the legionary's vengeance was terrible tacitus recording that some 80 000 tribesmen women and children were cut down for a loss of 400 romans killed and about the same number wounded boudicca remained at liberty long enough afterwards to kill herself according to tacitus by taking poison while diocasius has her dying of illness and there are even suggestions that she was killed by her own followers poison seems most likely the queen of the icini would have understood well that the alternative was being dragged to death or slavery behind the victor's chariot in some roman triumph her burial place remains unknown although there have been suggestions it lies somewhere under london's king's cross station [Music] at exeter learning of the great victory peonia's posthumous of the second legion threw himself on his sword he was no coward but his decision had proved incorrect and he was disgraced for british tribes rome's vengeance was similarly swift and harsh icee territories were ravaged and laid waste a destruction that spread into lands of their allies even western districts paid the price the fact somerset hill thoughts revealed violence and burning at this time indicates just how far unrest it spread reinforcements arrived from germany and throughout the winter the army remained on active service stamping rome's authority on the island [Music] new forts were built as a clear indication rome was there to stay and that for many areas control would be military and harsh boudicca's rebellion had drawn men from their farms and in the belief roman grain stores would be seized few crops had been planted famine now stalked a blackened and despoiled land they make a wilderness and call it peace said a later british chieftain in defeat [Music] it could have been even worse had not rome's new procurator classic ianas realized a blighted country was of no benefit to the empire and called a halt by directly opposing the vengeance being imposed by suetonius paulinus slowly and gradually ravaged lands recovered its procurator eventually being buried in the country he had protected yet sewer tonius and his legionaries had finally brought britannia into the empire until rome's departure 400 years later the country would never again rise in revolt how did buddhica persuade the icini and others to rise on her behalf and could there have been other influences at work certainly she and her people had suffered much and revolt seemed preferable to poverty and depression the fact that she was a woman was no impediment within celtic society women played an influential role often fighting alongside their men and considered their equal if dio's description is correct this was a woman of determination and character well able to sway any mob it is possible boudicca was a druid priestess her name suggesting association with a celtic deity which may be roughly translated as victory buddhica thus resembles victoria it has also been suggested that this was a name she took upon herself to give her a semi-divine status her positioning herself as the equal of the goddess of war suggests that she was at the very least a druid priestess of the highest level all leaders whether emperor king or chieftain gained status through ritual links with the gods behind every uprising and revolt against established authority have been underlying forces that help to inflame and manipulate the masses throughout history the most dreadful acts have been committed in the name of religions both christian and islamic inspired by fanatics who whipped up unthinking mobs so it was during the crusades and so it is today what better way to encourage the killing of a selected enemy than an assurance it will not only be forgiven but rewarded in some afterlife so it may have been in 60 a.d when with druidism facing destruction under roman rule buddhica inspired rebellion amongst her people the ease with which caracticus leader of an alien tribe was able to organize the fiercely independent sailuries suggests a powerful underlining influence was at work one capable of overriding tribal differences and that later inspired boudicca's revolt this was not mere reaction against wrongs but a rising with a cause that cause was neither britain it did not exist nor sympathy for isini's sufferings something else was providing the spur and spreading hatred the spur could only have been druidism the religious force controlling this celtic world priests were almost certainly drawn from the ruling classes and like those of later centuries employed religion as a tool of social control possibly offended by its practice of human sacrifice as well as its political affiliation with the anti-imperial forces rome had cleansed conquered territories of druidism driving out priests and destroying their sacrificial groves [Music] its priests seem to have fled to anglesey making it their final stronghold and center of resistance the relationship between suetonius paulinus's assault on that island and buddhica's revolt must have been more than mere coincidence while the atrocities committed by her forces appear sacrificial and ceremonial in character [Music] the retaliatory slaughter committed by the romans had no such religious significance whether that made it worse or not is a matter of individual judgment had boudicca succeeded in driving the romans from britain they might have followed a few years of so-called freedom but druids would still have impaled or burned captives or ripped out living entrails and sacrificed while tribes continued to raid their neighbors and sell them into slavery in time rome would almost certainly have returned and prevailed but britain might have become a strictly controlled military province shut off from many of the empire's advantages with all its faults roman occupation made britain part of an empire spanning the known world with the benefits of language trade and civilization this bestowed to answer the question what did the romans do for us one has only to consider the destruction and turmoil erupting after the legions departed [Music] without rome's conquest and indeed that of the normans who followed britain could have become a totally different and less effective country [Music] of course it was easy to say this with the benefit of hindsight what the celtic tribes appeared to be faced with was an alien conqueror seemingly intent on depriving them of all their heritage both material and cultural and reducing them to slavery of the worst kind [Music] their response was accordingly savage [Music] historian r g collingwood talking of the whole cycle of events comments the story of buddhica from first to last is a story of horror and shame a story of things that should never have happened so [Music]

Channel: Odyssey - Ancient History Documentaries

Views: 38,645

Keywords: ancient history, classical history, ancient civilisations, classical antiquity, history documentary, classical documentary, boudica, boudicca, icenii, queen of the icenii, boudiccan revolt, boudican revolt, celtic queen, roman rebel, roman rebellion, rome's worst defeats, ninth legion, 9th legion, roman britain, history channel, roman empire, ancient roman society, roman slaves documentary

Id: OiksplAlQ44

Length: 66min 2sec (3962 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 07 2021