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BOUDICA: Iron Age Warrior Queen

We all know the story of Boudica. The famous queen of the Britons who came close to vanquishing the Roman army, burning their cities to avenge the raping of her daughters. Of how she released a hare to augur the outcome of her campaign, and of how her story crosses that of the ancient and mysterious druids. However, as Hingley and Unwin show, her story as we now know it owes much to the misunderstandings and political expediency of historians down the ages. The truth is harder to find.

This book is split into two halves. The first examines the evidence for the Boudica story, looking at the classical written sources and archaeological evidence. The authors give a clear outline of this evidence and then look at the problems of interpretation, and how this scant information has been fleshed by speculation and invention into the popular version of events. For example, the tomb of Longinius, traditionally said to have been defaced and broken by Boudica’s army, is equally as likely to have been damaged by the modern workmen who discovered it. We learn that some of the archaeological evidence does support the written accounts of Tacitus and Cassius Dio. For example, Colchester and some parts of London do have burnt layers which correspond to the time of the rebellion.

The second part of the book examines how and why the Boudica story was popularised in Britain following the rediscovery of the Classical texts in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The authors look at the political climate of Britain at that time following the break with the Roman church and the discovery of the New World. We see how useful it was for Britain to have found a native hero who had also stood against Roman oppression. And the obvious parallels between Boudica and Elizabeth I, both standing against Mediterranean invaders, were made much of.

However, we also learn that Boudica’s image was also used by those seeking to denigrate women. For some writers of the Early Modern Period, she had become symbolic of the “savage excess that was the inevitable consequence of female rule.”

The authors then examine how Boudica’s story was treated by playwrights, and how this process introduces many of the elements that have become part of her story. For example, it was in John Fletcher’s play of 1609 that Boudica was first associated with ‘druides’. He shows the druids attending Boudica before her battle and performing a dignified ‘song and dance act’. While this might sound hilarious to us, the play was extremely popular and adaptations were showing up until 1837. These days, the idea that druids play a part in the Boudica story is almost taken for granted, but it has no basis in fact.

Given that the modern equivalent of Boudica would be Victoria, it is not surprising that her popularity only continued into the Victorian age and beyond, when the English (specifically) were exploring ideas of nationhood and empire.

Overall, this was an excellent book. The style is readable and accessible while not compromising on factual information. Throughout, points are made in lucid fashion. For a reader new to the subject, this would be a comprehensive introduction and the extensive footnotes and references provide opportunity for further study. For the knowledgable reader, this book is a useful summary of the sources and is an entertaining, insightful look at a subject only touched upon in many histories.