Boadicea Iceni
-1962
Born: Britânia, Goias
Died: Romans, Gorizia, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy
|
-1962
Born: Britânia, Goias
Died: Romans, Gorizia, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy
Boudica From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia <div>Jump to: navigation, search</div> <!-- start content --> <div> <div style="width: 302px"> <div> <div></div> A sculpture depicting Boudica, the warrior queen of the Iceni who led the revolt against the Romans in AD 61, and her daughters, commissioned by Prince Albert and executed by Thomas Thornycroft, stands near Westminster Pier, London</div> </div> </div> <p><strong>Boudica</strong> (also spelled <strong>Boudicca</strong>, formerly better known as <strong>Boadicea</strong>) (d. AD 60 or 61 ) was a queen of the Iceni people of Norfolk in Eastern Britain who led an uprising of the tribes against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire.</p> <p>Her husband, Prasutagus, an Icenian king who had ruled as a nominally independent ally of Rome, had left his kingdom jointly to his daughters and the Roman Emperor in his will, but when he died his will was ignored, possibly because the Romans, unlike the Britons, did not recognise daughters as heirs. The kingdom was annexed as if conquered, Boudica was flogged and her daughters raped, and Roman financiers called in their loans.</p> <p>In AD 60 or 61, while the Roman governor, Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, was leading a campaign on the island of Anglesey in north Wales, Boudica led the Iceni, along with the Trinovantes and others, in revolt. They destroyed Camulodunum (Colchester), formerly the capital of the Trinovantes, but now a <em>colonia</em> (a settlement for discharged Roman soldiers) and the site of a temple to the former emperor Claudius, built and maintained at local expense, and routed a Roman legion, the IX <em>Hispana</em>, sent to relieve the settlement.</p> <p>On hearing the news of the revolt, Suetonius hurried to Londinium (London), the twenty-year-old commercial settlement which was the rebels' next target, but concluding he did not have the numbers to defend it, evacuated and abandoned it. It was burnt to the ground, as was Verulamium (St Albans). An estimated 70,000-80,000 people were killed in the three cities. Suetonius, meanwhile, regrouped his forces in the West Midlands, and despite being heavily outnumbered, defeated Boudica in the Battle of Watling Street. The crisis had led the emperor Nero to consider withdrawing all Roman forces from the island, but Suetonius's eventual victory over Boudica secured Roman control of the province.</p> <p>The history of these events, as recorded by Tacitus<sup>[1]</sup> and Cassius Dio,<sup>[2]</sup> were rediscovered during the Renaissance and led to a resurgence of Boudica's legendary fame during the Victorian era, when Queen Victoria was portrayed as her "namesake". Boudica has since remained an important cultural symbol in the United Kingdom.</p> <div> Contents <span>[show]</span></div> <ul style="display: none"><li><span>1</span> <span>History</span> <ul><li><span>1.1</span> <span>Boudica's name</span><br> </li><li><span>1.2</span> <span>Background</span><br> </li><li><span>1.3</span> <span>Boudica's uprising</span><br> </li><li><span>1.4</span> <span>Romans rally</span><br> </li><li><span>1.5</span> <span>Location of her defeat</span><br> </li><li><span>1.6</span> <span>Historical sources</span><br> </li></ul> <br> </li><li><span>2</span> <span>Cultural depictions</span> <ul><li><span>2.1</span> <span>History and literature</span><br> </li><li><span>2.2</span> <span>Fiction</span><br> </li><li><span>2.3</span> <span>Other cultural references</span><br> </li></ul> <br> </li><li><span>3</span> <span>References</span><br> </li><li><span>4</span> <span>Further reading</span><br> </li><li><span>5</span> <span>See also</span><br> </li><li><span>6</span> <span>External links</span><br> </li></ul> //<![CDATA[ if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); } //]]> <p></p> <span>[edit]</span> <span>History</span> <p></p> <span>[edit]</span> <span>Boudica's name</span> <p>Until the late twentieth century, Boudica was known as Boadicea, which is probably derived from a mistranscription when a manuscript of Tacitus was copied in the Middle Ages. Her name takes many forms in various manuscripts–<em>Boadicea</em> and <em>Boudicea</em> in Tacitus; <em>Βουδουικα</em>, <em>Βουνδουικα</em>, and <em>Βοδουικα</em> in Dio–but almost certainly, it was originally <em>Boudicca</em> or <em>Boudica</em>, and is the Proto-Celtic feminine adjective <em>*boudīka</em>, <em><strong>victorious</strong></em>, derived from the Celtic word <em>*bouda</em>, <em>victory</em> (cf. Irish <em>bua</em> (Classical Irish <em>buadh</em>), <em>Buaidheach</em>, Welsh <em>buddug</em>). The name is attested in inscriptions as "Boudica" in Lusitania, "Boudiga" in Bordeaux, and "Bodicca" in Britain.<sup>[3]</sup> Based on later development of Welsh and Irish, Kenneth Jackson concludes that the correct spelling of the name in Brythonic is <em>Boudica</em>, pronounced <span>[bɒʊˈdiːkaː]</span><sup>[4]</sup> (the closest English equivalent to the vowel in the first syllable is the <em>ow</em> in "bow-and-arrow"). The modern English pronunciation is IPA: <span>/buːˈdɪkə/</span>.<sup>[5]</sup></p> <p></p> <span>[edit]</span> <span>Background</span> <p>Tacitus and Dio agree that Boudica was of royal descent. Dio says that she 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.</p> <div> <div style="width: 152px"> <div> <div></div> Location of modern Norfolk, once inhabited by the Iceni</div> </div> </div> <p>Her husband, Prasutagus, was the king of Iceni, people who inhabited roughly what is now Norfolk. They initially were not part of the territory under direct Roman control, having voluntarily allied themselves to Rome following Claudius's conquest of AD 43. They were jealous of their independence and had revolted in AD 47 when the then-governor, Publius Ostorius Scapula, threatened to disarm them.<sup>[6]</sup> 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 wife and two daughters.</p> <p>It was normal Roman practice to allow allied kingdoms their independence only for the lifetime of their client king, who would agree to leave his kingdom to Rome in his will: the provinces of Bithynia<sup>[7]</sup> and Galatia,<sup>[8]</sup> for example, were incorporated into the Empire in just this way. Roman law also allowed inheritance only through the male line. So 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. According to Tacitus, Boudica was flogged and her daughters raped. Dio Cassius says that Roman financiers, including Seneca the Younger, chose this time to call in their loans. Tacitus does not mention this, but does single out the procurator, Catus Decianus, for criticism for his "avarice". Prasutagus, it seems, had lived well on borrowed Roman money, and on his death his subjects had become liable for the debt.</p> <p></p> <span>[edit]</span> <span>Boudica's uprising</span> <p>In AD 60 or 61, while the current governor, Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, was leading a campaign against the island of Mona (modern Anglesey) in north Wales, which was a refuge for British rebels and a stronghold of the druids, the Iceni conspired with their neighbours the Trinovantes, amongst others, to revolt. Boudica was chosen as their leader. According to Tacitus, they drew inspiration from the example of Arminius, the prince of the Cherusci who had driven the Romans out of Germany in AD 9, and their own ancestors who had driven Julius Caesar from Britain.<sup>[9]</sup> Dio says that at the outset Boudica employed a form of divination, releasing a hare from the folds of her dress and interpreting the direction in which it ran, and invoked Andraste, a British goddess of victory. Perhaps it is significant that Boudica's own name means "victory" (see above).</p> <div> <div style="width: 202px"> <div> <div></div> A statue of the emperor Claudius, to whom a temple had been raised in Camulodunum by the Romans at British expense</div> </div> </div> <p>The rebels' first target was Camulodunum (Colchester), the former Trinovantian capital and now a Roman <em>colonia</em>. The Roman veterans who had been settled there mistreated the locals, and a temple to the former emperor Claudius had been erected there at local expense, making the city a focus for resentment. The Roman inhabitants of the city sought reinforcements from the procurator, Catus Decianus, but he sent only two hundred auxiliary troops. Boudica's army fell on the poorly defended city and destroyed it, besieging the last defenders in the temple for two days before it fell. Archaeology shows the city was methodically demolished.<sup>[10]</sup> The future governor Quintus Petillius Cerialis, then commanding the Legio IX <em>Hispana</em>, attempted to relieve the city, but his forces were completely annihilated. His infantry was wiped out: only the commander and some of his cavalry escaped. Catus Decianus fled to Gaul.</p> <p>When news of the rebellion reached him, Suetonius hurried along Watling Street through hostile territory to Londinium (London). Londinium was a relatively new town, founded after the conquest of 43 AD, but it had grown to be a thriving commercial centre with a population of travellers, traders, and probably, Roman officials. Suetonius considered giving battle there, but considering his lack of numbers and chastened by Petillius's defeat, decided to sacrifice the city to save the province. Londinium was abandoned to the rebels, who burnt it down, slaughtering anyone who had not evacuated with Suetonius. Archaeology shows a thick red layer of burnt debris covering coins and pottery dating before 60 AD within the bounds of the Roman city.<sup>[11]</sup> Verulamium (St Albans) was next to be destroyed.</p> <p>In the three cities destroyed, between seventy and eighty thousand people are said to have been killed. Tacitus says the Britons had no interest in taking or selling prisoners, only in slaughter by gibbet, fire, or cross. Dio's account gives more prurient detail: that the noblest women were impaled on spikes and had their breasts cut off and sewn to their mouths, "to the accompaniment of sacrifices, banquets, and wanton behaviour" in sacred places, particularly the groves of Andraste.</p> <p></p> <span>[edit]</span> <span>Romans rally</span> <span><em>See also: Battle of Watling Street</em></span> <p>Suetonius regrouped with the XIV <em>Gemina</em>, some <em>vexillationes</em> (detachments) of the XX <em>Valeria Victrix</em>, and any available auxiliaries. The prefect of Legio II <em>Augusta</em>, Poenius Postumus, ignored the call, but nonetheless the governor was able to call on almost ten thousand men. He took a stand at an unidentified location, probably in the West Midlands somewhere along the Roman road now known as Watling Street, in a defile with a wood behind him. But his men were heavily outnumbered. Dio says that, even if they were lined up one deep, they would not have extended the length of Boudica's line: by now the rebel forces numbered 230,000. However, this number should be treated with scepticism: Dio's account is known only from a late epitome, and ancient sources commonly exaggerate enemy numbers.</p> <p>Boudica exhorted her troops from her chariot, her daughters beside her. Tacitus gives her a short speech in which 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. Their cause was just, and the deities were on their side; the one legion that had dared to face them had been destroyed. She, a woman, was resolved to win or die; if the men wanted to live in slavery, that was their choice.</p> <p>However, the lack of maneuverability of the British forces, combined with lack of open-field tactics to command these numbers, put them at a disadvantage to the Romans, who were skilled at open combat due to their superior equipment and discipline, and the narrowness of the field meant that Boudica could only put forth as many troops as the Romans could at a given time.</p> <p>First, the Romans stood their ground and used volleys of <em>pila</em> (heavy javelins) to kill thousands of Britons who were rushing toward the Roman lines. The Roman soldiers, who had now used up their <em>pila</em>, were then able to engage Boudica's second wave in the open. As the Romans advanced in a wedge formation, the Britons attempted to flee, but were impeded by the presence of their own families, whom they had stationed in a ring of wagons at the edge of the battlefield, and were slaughtered. This is not the first instance of this tactic. The women of the Cimbri, in the Battle of Vercellae against Gaius Marius, were stationed in a line of wagons and acted as a last line of defence;<sup>[12]</sup> Ariovistus of the Suebi is reported to have done the same thing in his battle against Julius Caesar.<sup>[13]</sup> Tacitus reports that "according to one report almost eighty thousand Britons fell" compared with only four hundred Romans. According to Tacitus, Boudica poisoned herself; Dio says she fell sick and died, and was given a lavish burial.</p> <p>Postumus, on hearing of the Roman victory, fell on his sword. Catus Decianus, who had fled to Gaul, was replaced by Gaius Julius Alpinus Classicianus. Suetonius conducted punitive operations, but criticism by Classicianus led to an investigation headed by Nero's freedman Polyclitus. Fearing Suetonius' actions would provoke further rebellion, Nero replaced the governor with the more conciliatory Publius Petronius Turpilianus.<sup>[14]</sup> The historian Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus tells us the crisis had almost persuaded Nero to abandon Britain.<sup>[15]</sup></p> <p></p> <span>[edit]</span> <span>Location of her defeat</span> <p>The location of Boudica's defeat is unknown. Most historians favour a site in the West Midlands, somewhere along the Roman road now known as Watling Street. Kevin K. Carroll suggests a site close to High Cross in Leicestershire, on the junction of Watling Street and the Fosse Way, which would have allowed the Legio II <em>Augusta</em>, based at Exeter, to rendezvous with the rest of Suetonius's forces, had they not failed to do so.<sup>[16]</sup> Manduessedum (Mancetter), near the modern day town of Atherstone in Warwickshire, has also been suggested.<sup>[17]</sup> More recently a new discovery of Roman artifacts in Kings Norton close to Metchley Camp has suggested another possibility.<sup>[18]</sup></p> <p></p> <span>[edit]</span> <span>Historical sources</span> <p>Tacitus, the most important Roman historian of this period, took a particular interest in Britain as Gnaeus Julius Agricola, his father-in-law and the subject of his first book, served there three times. Agricola was a military tribune under Suetonius Paulinus, which almost certainly gave Tacitus an eyewitness source for Boudica's revolt. Cassius Dio's account is only known from an epitome, and his sources are uncertain. He is generally agreed to have based his account on that of Tacitus, but he simplifies the sequence of events and adds details, such as the calling in of loans, that Tacitus does not mention.</p> <p>It is possible that Gildas, in his 6th century polemic <em>De Excidio Britanniae</em>, alludes to Boudica in his typically oblique fashion as a "treacherous lioness", although his general lack of knowledge about the real history of the Roman conquest of Britain makes this far from certain.<sup>[19]</sup></p> <p></p> <span>Cultural depictions</span> <p></p> <span>History and literature</span> <p>By the Middle Ages Boudica was forgotten. She makes no appearance in Bede, the <em>Historia Brittonum</em>, the <em>Mabinogion</em> or Geoffrey of Monmouth's <em>History of the Kings of Britain</em>. But the rediscovery of the works of Tacitus during the Renaissance allowed Polydore Virgil to reintroduce her into British history as "Voadicea" in 1534.<sup>[20]</sup> Raphael Holinshed also included her story in his <em>Chronicles</em> (1577), based on Tacitus and Dio,<sup>[21]</sup> and inspired Shakespeare's younger contemporaries Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher to write a play, <em>Bonduca</em>, in 1610.<sup>[22]</sup> William Cowper wrote a popular poem, <em>Boadicea, an ode</em>, in 1782.<sup>[23]</sup></p> <p>It was in the Victorian era that Boudica's fame took on legendary proportions as Queen Victoria was seen to be Boudica's "namesake". Victoria's Poet Laureate, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, wrote a poem, <em>Boadicea</em>,<sup>[24]</sup> and several ships were named after her. A great bronze statue of Boudica with her daughters in her war chariot (furnished with scythes after the Persian fashion) 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:</p> <blockquote> <div> <p>Regions Caesar never knew<br> Thy posterity shall sway.</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Ironically, the great anti-imperialist rebel was now identified with the head of the British Empire, and her statue stood guard over the city she razed to the ground.<sup>[25]</sup></p>
Boudica<!-- /firstHeading --><!-- bodyContent --><div><!-- tagline --><div>From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div><!-- /tagline --><!-- subtitle --><!-- /subtitle --><!-- jumpto --><div>Jump to: <font color="#0645ad">navigation</font>, <font color="#0645ad">search</font> </div><!-- /jumpto --><!-- bodytext --><div>"Boudicca" redirects here. For the cruise ship, see <font color="#0645ad">MV Boudicca</font>.</div><div>"Boadicea" redirects here. For warships of this name, see <font color="#0645ad">HMS Boadicea</font>.</div><div><div style="width: 222px"><img class="thumbimage" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bd/Queen_Boudica_by_John_Opie.jpg/220px-Queen_Boudica_by_John_Opie.jpg" alt="" width="220" height="290"> <div><div><img src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.17/common/images/magnify-clip.png" alt="" width="15" height="11"></div><em>Boadicea Haranguing the Britons</em> by <font color="#0645ad">John Opie</font></div></div></div><p><strong>Boudica</strong> (pronounced <span><font color="#0645ad">/ˈbuːdɨkə/</font></span>; also spelled <strong>Boudicca</strong>), formerly known as <strong>Boadicea</strong> <span><font color="#0645ad">/boʊdɨˈsiːə/</font></span> and known in <font color="#0645ad">Welsh</font> as "Buddug" <span><font color="#0645ad">[ˈbɨ̞ðɨ̞ɡ]</font></span><sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>1<span>]</span></font></sup> (d. AD 60 or 61) was queen of the <font color="#0645ad">Iceni</font> tribe who led an uprising against the occupying forces of the <font color="#0645ad">Roman Empire</font>.</p><p>Boudica's husband <font color="#0645ad">Prasutagus</font>, ruler of the Iceni tribe who had ruled as a nominally independent ally of Rome, left his kingdom jointly to his daughters and the Roman Emperor in his will. However, when he died, his will was ignored. The kingdom was annexed as if conquered, Boudica was <font color="#0645ad">flogged</font> and her daughters <font color="#0645ad">raped</font>, and Roman financiers called in their loans.</p><p>In AD 60 or 61, while the Roman governor, <font color="#0645ad">Gaius Suetonius Paulinus</font>, was leading a campaign on the island of <font color="#0645ad">Anglesey</font> in north <font color="#0645ad">Wales</font>, Boudica led the Iceni people, along with the <font color="#0645ad">Trinovantes</font> and others, in revolt. They destroyed <font color="#0645ad">Camulodunum</font> (modern <font color="#0645ad">Colchester</font>), formerly the capital of the Trinovantes, but now a <em><font color="#0645ad">colonia</font></em> (a settlement for discharged Roman soldiers) and the site of a temple to the former emperor <font color="#0645ad">Claudius</font>, which was built and maintained at local expense. They also routed a Roman legion, the <font color="#0645ad">IX <em>Hispana</em></font>, sent to relieve the settlement.</p><p>On hearing the news of the revolt, Suetonius hurried to <font color="#0645ad">Londinium</font> (London), the twenty-year-old commercial settlement that was the rebels' next target. Concluding he did not have the numbers to defend it, Suetonius evacuated and abandoned it. It was burnt to the ground, as was <font color="#0645ad">Verulamium</font> (<font color="#0645ad">St Albans</font>). An estimated 70,000–80,000 people were killed in the three cities (though the figures are suspect).<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>2<span>]</span></font></sup> Suetonius, meanwhile, regrouped his forces in the <font color="#0645ad">West Midlands</font>, and despite being heavily outnumbered, defeated the Britons in the <font color="#0645ad">Battle of Watling Street</font>. The crisis caused the emperor <font color="#0645ad">Nero</font> to consider withdrawing all Roman forces from the island, but Suetonius' eventual victory over Boudica secured Roman control of the province. Boudica then killed herself so she would not be captured, or fell ill and died; Tacitus and Dio differ.</p><p>The history of these events, as recorded by <font color="#0645ad">Tacitus</font><sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>3<span>]</span></font></sup> and <font color="#0645ad">Cassius Dio</font>,<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>4<span>]</span></font></sup> was rediscovered during the <font color="#0645ad">Renaissance</font> and led to a resurgence of Boudica's legendary fame during the <font color="#0645ad">Victorian era</font>, when <font color="#0645ad">Queen Victoria</font> was portrayed as her '<font color="#0645ad">namesake</font>'. Boudica has since remained an important cultural symbol in the United Kingdom. The absence of native British literature during the early part of the first millennium means that Britain owes its knowledge of Boudica's rebellion solely to the writings of the Romans.</p><tbody><tr><td><div id="toctitle"><h2>Contents</h2><span class="toctoggle">[<a id="togglelink" href="/" class="internal"><font color="#0645ad">hide</font></a>]</span></div><ul><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="/#History"><font color="#0645ad"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">History</span></font></a> <ul><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-2"><a href="/#Boudica.27s_name"><font color="#0645ad"><span class="tocnumber">1.1</span> <span class="toctext">Boudica's name</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-3"><a href="/#Background"><font color="#0645ad"><span class="tocnumber">1.2</span> <span class="toctext">Background</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-4"><a href="/#Boudica.27s_uprising"><font color="#0645ad"><span class="tocnumber">1.3</span> <span class="toctext">Boudica's uprising</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-5"><a href="/#Romans_rally"><font color="#0645ad"><span class="tocnumber">1.4</span> <span class="toctext">Romans rally</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-6"><a href="/#Location_of_her_defeat"><font color="#0645ad"><span class="tocnumber">1.5</span> <span class="toctext">Location of her defeat</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-7"><a href="/#Historical_sources"><font color="#0645ad"><span class="tocnumber">1.6</span> <span class="toctext">Historical sources</span></font></a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-8"><a href="/#Cultural_depictions"><font color="#0645ad"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">Cultural depictions</span></font></a> <ul><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-9"><a href="/#History_and_literature"><font color="#0645ad"><span class="tocnumber">2.1</span> <span class="toctext">History and literature</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-10"><a href="/#Fiction"><font color="#0645ad"><span class="tocnumber">2.2</span> <span class="toctext">Fiction</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-11"><a href="/#Other_cultural_references"><font color="#0645ad"><span class="tocnumber">2.3</span> <span class="toctext">Other cultural references</span></font></a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-12"><a href="/#See_also"><font color="#0645ad"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">See also</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-13"><a href="/#References"><font color="#0645ad"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">References</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-14"><a href="/#Further_reading"><font color="#0645ad"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">Further reading</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-15"><a href="/#External_links"><font color="#0645ad"><span class="tocnumber">6</span> <span class="toctext">External links</span></font></a></li></ul></td></tr></tbody><span class="editsection">[<a href="w/index.php?title=Boudica&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: History"><font color="#0645ad">edit</font></a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">History</span><span class="editsection">[<a href="w/index.php?title=Boudica&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Boudica's name"><font color="#0645ad">edit</font></a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Boudica's name</span><p>Boudica has been known by several versions of her name. <font color="#0645ad">Raphael Holinshed</font> calls her Voadicia, while <font color="#0645ad">Edmund Spenser</font> calls her "Bunduca", a version of the name that was used in the popular Jacobean play <em><font color="#0645ad">Bonduca</font></em>, in 1612.<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>5<span>]</span></font></sup> <font color="#0645ad">William Cowper</font>'s poem, <em>Boadicea, an ode</em> (1782) popularised an alternate version of the name.<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>6<span>]</span></font></sup> From the 19th century and much of the late 20th century, "Boadicea" was the most common version of the name, which is probably derived from a mistranscription when a manuscript of <font color="#0645ad">Tacitus</font> was copied in the <font color="#0645ad">Middle Ages</font>. Her name was clearly spelled <em>Boudicca</em> in the best manuscripts of Tacitus, but also <em>Βουδουικα</em>, <em>Βουνδουικα</em>, and <em>Βοδουικα</em> in the (later and probably secondary) epitome of Cassius Dio. <em>Boudica</em> is a commonly repeated spelling based upon Jackson's hypothesis that it was originally a <font color="#0645ad">Proto-Celtic</font> feminine adjective <em>*boudīka</em>, "victorious", derived from the <font color="#0645ad">Celtic</font> word <em>*bouda</em>, "victory" (cf. <font color="#0645ad">Irish</font> <em>bua</em> (Classical Irish <em>buadh</em>), <em>Buaidheach</em>, <font color="#0645ad">Welsh</font> <em>buddugoliaeth</em>). It is suggested that the most comparable English name would be "Victoria".<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>7<span>]</span></font></sup> The name is attested in inscriptions as "Boudica" in <font color="#0645ad">Lusitania</font>, "Boudiga" in <font color="#0645ad">Bordeaux</font>, and "Bodicca" in Algeria.<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>8<span>]</span></font></sup> Based on later development of Welsh and Irish, <font color="#0645ad">Kenneth Jackson</font> concludes that the correct spelling of the name in the <font color="#0645ad">British language</font> is <em>Boudica</em>, pronounced <span><font color="#0645ad">[bɒʊˈdiːkaː]</font></span><sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>9<span>]</span></font></sup> (the closest English equivalent to the vowel in the first syllable is the <em>ow</em> in "bow-and-arrow"). The modern English pronunciation is <span><font color="#0645ad">/ˈbuːdɪkə/</font></span>.<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>10<span>]</span></font></sup></p><span class="editsection">[<a href="w/index.php?title=Boudica&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Background"><font color="#0645ad">edit</font></a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Background</span><div><div style="width: 152px"><img class="thumbimage" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/Map_of_the_Territory_of_the_Iceni.svg/150px-Map_of_the_Territory_of_the_Iceni.svg.png" alt="" width="150" height="212"> <div><div><img src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.17/common/images/magnify-clip.png" alt="" width="15" height="11"></div>Location of Iceni territory within England; modern county borders for England and Wales are shown for context.</div></div></div><p>Tacitus and Dio agree that Boudica was of <font color="#0645ad">royal</font> descent. Dio says that she was "possessed of greater intelligence than often belongs to women", that she was tall, had long very yellow hair down to her hips, a harsh voice and a piercing glare, and habitually wore a large golden necklace (perhaps a <font color="#0645ad">torc</font>), a many-coloured tunic, and a thick cloak fastened by a <font color="#0645ad">brooch</font>.<sup style="white-space: nowrap">[<em><font color="#0645ad">citation needed</font></em>]</sup></p><p>Her husband, <font color="#0645ad">Prasutagus</font>, was the king of <font color="#0645ad">Iceni</font>, people who inhabited roughly what is now <font color="#0645ad">Norfolk</font>. They initially were not part of the territory under direct Roman control, having voluntarily allied themselves to Rome following <font color="#0645ad">Claudius</font>' <font color="#0645ad">conquest</font> of AD 43. They were jealous of their independence and had revolted in AD 47 when the then-<font color="#0645ad">governor</font> <font color="#0645ad">Publius Ostorius Scapula</font> threatened to disarm them.<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>11<span>]</span></font></sup> Prasutagus lived a long life of conspicuous wealth, and, hoping to preserve his line, made the <font color="#0645ad">Roman emperor</font> co-heir to his kingdom along with his wife and two daughters.</p><p>It was normal Roman practice to allow allied kingdoms their independence only for the lifetime of their <font color="#0645ad">client king</font>, who would agree to leave his kingdom to Rome in his will: the provinces of <font color="#0645ad">Bithynia</font><sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>12<span>]</span></font></sup> and <font color="#0645ad">Galatia</font>,<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>13<span>]</span></font></sup> for example, were incorporated into the Empire in just this way. <font color="#0645ad">Roman law</font> also allowed <font color="#0645ad">inheritance</font> only through the male line. So 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. According to <font color="#0645ad">Tacitus</font>, Boudica was flogged and her daughters were raped. Dio Cassius says that Roman financiers, including <font color="#0645ad">Seneca the Younger</font>, chose this time to call in their loans. Tacitus does not mention this, but does single out the <font color="#0645ad">procurator</font>, <font color="#0645ad">Catus Decianus</font>, for criticism for his "avarice". Prasutagus, it seems, had lived well on borrowed Roman money, and on his death his subjects had become liable for the debt.</p><span class="editsection">[<a href="w/index.php?title=Boudica&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Boudica's uprising"><font color="#0645ad">edit</font></a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Boudica's uprising</span><p>In AD 60 or 61, while the current governor, <font color="#0645ad">Gaius Suetonius Paulinus</font>, was leading a campaign against the island of Mona (modern <font color="#0645ad">Anglesey</font>) in north Wales, which was a refuge for British rebels and a stronghold of the <font color="#0645ad">druids</font>, the Iceni conspired with their neighbours the Trinovantes, amongst others, to revolt. Boudica was chosen as their leader. According to Tacitus, they drew inspiration from the example of <font color="#0645ad">Arminius</font>, the prince of the <font color="#0645ad">Cherusci</font> who had driven the Romans out of Germany in AD 9, and their own ancestors who had driven <font color="#0645ad">Julius Caesar</font> from Britain.<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>14<span>]</span></font></sup> Dio says that at the outset Boudica employed a form of <font color="#0645ad">divination</font>, releasing a <font color="#0645ad">hare</font> from the folds of her dress and interpreting the direction in which it ran, and invoked <font color="#0645ad">Andraste</font>, a British <font color="#0645ad">goddess</font> of <font color="#0645ad">victory</font>. Perhaps it is significant that Boudica's own name means "victory" (see <font color="#0645ad">above</font>).</p><p>The rebels' first target was <font color="#0645ad">Camulodunum</font> (<font color="#0645ad">Colchester</font>), the former Trinovantian capital and at that time a Roman <em><font color="#0645ad">colonia</font></em>. The Roman veterans who had been settled there mistreated the locals, and a temple to the former emperor <font color="#0645ad">Claudius</font> had been erected there at local expense, making the city a focus for resentment. The Roman inhabitants of the city sought reinforcements from the procurator, Catus Decianus, but he sent only two hundred <font color="#0645ad">auxiliary troops</font>. Boudica's army fell on the poorly defended city and destroyed it, besieging the last defenders in the temple for two days before it fell. <font color="#0645ad">Archaeologists</font> have shown that the city was methodically demolished.<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>15<span>]</span></font></sup> The future governor <font color="#0645ad">Quintus Petillius Cerialis</font>, then commanding the <font color="#0645ad">Legio IX <em>Hispana</em></font>, attempted to relieve the city, but suffered an <font color="#0645ad">overwhelming defeat</font>. His infantry was wiped out; only the commander and some of his cavalry escaped. The location of this famous battle is claimed by the village of <font color="#0645ad">Great Wratting</font>, in Suffolk, which lies in the Stour Valley on the Icknield Way West of Colchester, and by a village in Essex.<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>16<span>]</span></font></sup> After this defeat, Catus Decianus fled to <font color="#0645ad">Gaul</font>.</p><p>When news of the rebellion reached him, Suetonius hurried along <font color="#0645ad">Watling Street</font> through hostile territory to <font color="#0645ad">Londinium</font> (London). Londinium was a relatively new town, founded after the conquest of 43 AD, but it had grown to be a thriving commercial centre with a population of travellers, traders, and probably, Roman officials. Suetonius considered giving battle there, but considering his lack of numbers and chastened by Petillius's defeat, decided to sacrifice the city to save the province. Londinium was abandoned to the rebels, who burnt it down, slaughtering anyone who had not evacuated with Suetonius. Archaeology shows a thick red layer of burnt debris covering coins and pottery dating before 60 AD within the bounds of the Roman city.<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>17<span>]</span></font></sup> <font color="#0645ad">Verulamium</font> (<font color="#0645ad">St Albans</font>) was next to be destroyed.</p><p>In the three cities destroyed, between seventy and eighty thousand people are said to have been killed. Tacitus says the Britons had no interest in taking or selling prisoners, only in slaughter by <font color="#0645ad">gibbet</font>, fire, or cross. Dio's account gives more detail: that the noblest women were impaled on spikes and had their breasts cut off and sewn to their mouths, "to the accompaniment of sacrifices, banquets, and wanton behaviour" in sacred places, particularly the groves of Andraste.</p><span class="editsection">[<a href="w/index.php?title=Boudica&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Romans rally"><font color="#0645ad">edit</font></a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Romans rally</span><div><div style="width: 202px"><img class="thumbimage" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fc/Boudiccastatue.jpg/200px-Boudiccastatue.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="139"> <div><div><img src="http://bits.wikimedia.org/skins-1.17/common/images/magnify-clip.png" alt="" width="15" height="11"></div><em>Boadicea</em> by <font color="#0645ad">Thomas Thornycroft</font>, standing near <font color="#0645ad">Westminster Pier</font>, London</div></div></div><div>See also: <font color="#0645ad">Battle of Watling Street</font></div><p>Suetonius regrouped with the <font color="#0645ad">XIV <em>Gemina</em></font>, some <em>vexillationes</em> (detachments) of the <font color="#0645ad">XX <em>Valeria Victrix</em></font>, and any available auxiliaries. The <font color="#0645ad">prefect</font> of <font color="#0645ad">Legio II <em>Augusta</em></font>, <font color="#0645ad">Poenius Postumus</font>, ignored the call, but nonetheless the governor was able to call on almost ten thousand men. He took a stand at an unidentified location, probably in the <font color="#0645ad">West Midlands</font> somewhere along the <font color="#0645ad">Roman road</font> now known as <font color="#0645ad">Watling Street</font>, in a <font color="#0645ad">defile</font> with a wood behind him. But his men were heavily outnumbered. Dio says that, even if they were lined up one deep, they would not have extended the length of Boudica's line: by now the rebel forces numbered 230,000. However, this number should be treated with scepticism: Dio's account is known only from a late <font color="#0645ad">epitome</font>, and ancient sources commonly exaggerate enemy numbers. While Boudica's army continued their assault in <font color="#0645ad">Verulamium</font> (<font color="#0645ad">St. Albans</font>), Suetonius regrouped his forces. According to Tacitus, he amassed a force including his own <font color="#0645ad">Legio XIV <em>Gemina</em></font>, parts of the <font color="#0645ad">XX <em>Valeria Victrix</em></font>, and any available auxiliaries, a total of 10,000 men.<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>18<span>]</span></font></sup> A third legion, <font color="#0645ad">II <em>Augusta</em></font>, near <font color="#0645ad">Exeter</font>, failed to join him;<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>19<span>]</span></font></sup> a fourth, <font color="#0645ad">IX <em>Hispana</em></font>, had been routed trying to relieve Camulodunum.<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>20<span>]</span></font></sup></p><p>Boudica exhorted her troops from her <font color="#0645ad">chariot</font>, her daughters beside her. Tacitus gives her a short speech in which she presents herself not as an <font color="#0645ad">aristocrat</font> avenging her lost wealth, but as an ordinary person, avenging her lost freedom, her battered body, and the abused chastity of her daughters. Their cause was just, and the deities were on their side; the one legion that had dared to face them had been destroyed. She, a woman, was resolved to win or die; if the men wanted to live in slavery, that was their choice.</p><p>However, the lack of manoeuvrability of the British forces, combined with lack of open-field tactics to command these numbers, put them at a disadvantage to the Romans, who were skilled at open combat due to their superior equipment and discipline, and the narrowness of the field meant that Boudica could put forth only as many troops as the Romans could at a given time.</p><p>First, the Romans stood their ground and used volleys of <em><font color="#0645ad">pila</font></em> (heavy javelins) to kill thousands of <font color="#0645ad">Britons</font> who were rushing toward the Roman lines. The Roman soldiers, who had now used up their <em>pila</em>, were then able to engage Boudica's second wave in the open. As the Romans advanced in a <font color="#0645ad">wedge</font> formation, the Britons attempted to flee, but were impeded by the presence of their own families, whom they had stationed in a ring of wagons at the edge of the battlefield, and were slaughtered. This is not the first instance of this tactic. The women of the <font color="#0645ad">Cimbri</font>, in the <font color="#0645ad">Battle of Vercellae</font> against <font color="#0645ad">Gaius Marius</font>, were stationed in a line of wagons and acted as a last line of defence;<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>21<span>]</span></font></sup> <font color="#0645ad">Ariovistus</font> of the <font color="#0645ad">Suebi</font> is reported to have done the same thing in his battle against <font color="#0645ad">Julius Caesar</font>.<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>22<span>]</span></font></sup> Tacitus reports that "according to one report almost eighty thousand Britons fell" compared with only four hundred Romans. According to Tacitus, Boudica poisoned herself; Dio says she fell sick and died, and was given a lavish burial.</p><p>Postumus, on hearing of the Roman victory, fell on his sword. <font color="#0645ad">Catus Decianus</font>, who had fled to Gaul, was replaced by <font color="#0645ad">Gaius Julius Alpinus Classicianus</font>. Suetonius conducted punitive operations, but criticism by Classicianus led to an investigation headed by <font color="#0645ad">Nero</font>'s <font color="#0645ad">freedman</font> <font color="#0645ad">Polyclitus</font>. Fearing Suetonius' actions would provoke further rebellion, Nero replaced the governor with the more conciliatory <font color="#0645ad">Publius Petronius Turpilianus</font>.<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>23<span>]</span></font></sup> The historian <font color="#0645ad">Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus</font> tells us the crisis had almost persuaded Nero to abandon Britain.<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>24<span>]</span></font></sup></p><span class="editsection">[<a href="w/index.php?title=Boudica&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Location of her defeat"><font color="#0645ad">edit</font></a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Location of her defeat</span><p>The location of Boudica's defeat is unknown. Most historians favour a site in the <font color="#0645ad">West Midlands</font>, somewhere along the Roman road now known as <font color="#0645ad">Watling Street</font>. Kevin K. Carroll suggests a site close to <font color="#0645ad">High Cross</font> in <font color="#0645ad">Leicestershire</font>, on the junction of Watling Street and the <font color="#0645ad">Fosse Way</font>, which would have allowed the <font color="#0645ad">Legio II <em>Augusta</em></font>, based at <font color="#0645ad">Exeter</font>, to rendezvous with the rest of Suetonius's forces, had they not failed to do so.<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>25<span>]</span></font></sup> <font color="#0645ad">Manduessedum</font> (<font color="#0645ad">Mancetter</font>), near the modern town of <font color="#0645ad">Atherstone</font> in <font color="#0645ad">Warwickshire</font>, has also been suggested,<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>26<span>]</span></font></sup> as has 'The Rampart' near <font color="#0645ad">Messing</font> in <font color="#0645ad">Essex</font>, according to legend.<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>27<span>]</span></font></sup> More recently, a discovery of Roman artifacts in <font color="#0645ad">Kings Norton</font> close to <font color="#0645ad">Metchley Camp</font> has suggested another possibility.<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>28<span>]</span></font></sup></p><span class="editsection">[<a href="w/index.php?title=Boudica&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Historical sources"><font color="#0645ad">edit</font></a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Historical sources</span><p>Tacitus, the most important Roman historian of this period, took a particular interest in <font color="#0645ad">Britain</font> as <font color="#0645ad">Gnaeus Julius Agricola</font>, his father-in-law and the subject of his first book, served there three times. Agricola was a military <font color="#0645ad">tribune</font> under Suetonius Paulinus, which almost certainly gave Tacitus an eyewitness source for Boudica's revolt. Cassius Dio's account is only known from an <font color="#0645ad">epitome</font>, and his sources are uncertain. He is generally agreed to have based his account on that of Tacitus, but he simplifies the sequence of events and adds details, such as the calling in of loans, that Tacitus does not mention.</p><p><font color="#0645ad">Gildas</font>, in his 6th century <em><font color="#0645ad">De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae</font></em>, may have been alluding to Boudica when he wrote <em>"A treacherous lioness butchered the governors who had been left to give fuller voice and strength to the endeavours of Roman rule."</em><sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>29<span>]</span></font></sup></p><span class="editsection">[<a href="w/index.php?title=Boudica&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Cultural depictions"><font color="#0645ad">edit</font></a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Cultural depictions</span><span class="editsection">[<a href="w/index.php?title=Boudica&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: History and literature"><font color="#0645ad">edit</font></a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">History and literature</span><p>By the <font color="#0645ad">Middle Ages</font> Boudica was forgotten. She makes no appearance in <font color="#0645ad">Bede</font>'s work, the <em><font color="#0645ad">Historia Brittonum</font></em>, the <em><font color="#0645ad">Mabinogion</font></em> or <font color="#0645ad">Geoffrey of Monmouth</font>'s <em><font color="#0645ad">History of the Kings of Britain</font></em>. But the rediscovery of the works of Tacitus during the <font color="#0645ad">Renaissance</font> allowed <font color="#0645ad">Polydore Virgil</font> to reintroduce her into British history as "Voadicea" in 1534.<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>30<span>]</span></font></sup> Raphael Holinshed also included her story in his <em>Chronicles</em> (1577), based on Tacitus and Dio,<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>31<span>]</span></font></sup> and inspired <font color="#0645ad">Shakespeare's</font> younger contemporaries <font color="#0645ad">Francis Beaumont</font> and <font color="#0645ad">John Fletcher</font> to write a play, <em><font color="#0645ad">Bonduca</font></em>, in 1610.<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>5<span>]</span></font></sup> <font color="#0645ad">William Cowper</font> wrote a popular poem, <em>Boadicea, an ode</em>, in 1782.<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>6<span>]</span></font></sup></p><p>It was in the <font color="#0645ad">Victorian era</font> that Boudica's fame took on legendary proportions as <font color="#0645ad">Queen Victoria</font> was seen to be Boudica's "namesake". Victoria's <font color="#0645ad">Poet Laureate</font>, <font color="#0645ad">Alfred, Lord Tennyson</font>, wrote a poem, <em>Boadicea</em>,<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>32<span>]</span></font></sup> and several ships were named <font color="#0645ad">after her</font>. A great bronze statue of Boudica with her daughters in her war chariot (furnished with <font color="#0645ad">scythes</font> after the <font color="#0645ad">Persian</font> fashion) was commissioned by <font color="#0645ad">Prince Albert</font> and executed by <font color="#0645ad">Thomas Thornycroft</font>. It was completed in 1905 and stands next to <font color="#0645ad">Westminster Bridge</font> and the <font color="#0645ad">Houses of Parliament</font>, with the following lines from Cowper's poem, referring to the British Empire:</p><blockquote><div><p>Regions Caesar never knew<br>Thy posterity shall sway.</p></div></blockquote><p>Ironically, the great anti-imperialist rebel was now identified with the head of the <font color="#0645ad">British Empire</font>, and her statue<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>33<span>]</span></font></sup> stood guard over the city she razed to the ground.<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>34<span>]</span></font></sup></p><p>In more recent times, Boudica has been the subject of numerous documentaries, including some by <font color="#0645ad">Discovery Channel</font>, <font color="#0645ad">History International Channel</font>, and the <font color="#0645ad">BBC</font>.</p><span class="editsection">[<a href="w/index.php?title=Boudica&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Fiction"><font color="#0645ad">edit</font></a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Fiction</span><p>Boudica has been the subject of two feature films, the 1928 film <em><font color="#ba0000">Boadicea</font></em>, where she was portrayed by <font color="#0645ad">Phyllis Neilson-Terry</font>,<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>35<span>]</span></font></sup> and 2003's <em><font color="#0645ad">Boudica</font></em> (<em>Warrior Queen</em> in the USA), a UK <font color="#0645ad">TV</font> film written by <font color="#0645ad">Andrew Davies</font> and starring <font color="#0645ad">Alex Kingston</font> as Boudica.<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>36<span>]</span></font></sup> She has also been the subject of a 1978 British TV series, <em><font color="#0645ad">Warrior Queen</font></em>, starring <font color="#0645ad">Siân Phillips</font> as Boudica. <font color="#0645ad">Jennifer Ward-Lealand</font> portrayed Boudica in an episode of <em><font color="#0645ad">Xena - Warrior Princess</font></em> entitled "The Deliverer" in 1997.</p><p><font color="#0645ad">The Viking Queen</font> is a 1967 Hammer Films adventure film set in ancient Britain, in which the role of Queen Salina is based up on the historical figure of Boudica.</p><p>Boudica's story is the subject of several novels, including books by <font color="#0645ad">Rosemary Sutcliff</font>, <font color="#0645ad">Pauline Gedge</font>, <font color="#0645ad">Manda Scott</font>, <font color="#0645ad">Alan Gold</font>, <font color="#0645ad">Diana L. Paxson</font>, <font color="#0645ad">David Wishart</font>, <font color="#0645ad">George Shipway</font>, <font color="#0645ad">Simon Scarrow</font> and J. F. Broxholme (a pseudonym of <font color="#0645ad">Duncan Kyle</font>). She plays a central role in the first part of <font color="#0645ad">G. A. Henty</font>'s novel <em><font color="#0645ad">Beric the Briton</font>.</em> One of the viewpoint characters of <font color="#0645ad">Ian Watson</font>'s novel <em>Oracle</em> is an eyewitness to her defeat. She has also appeared in several comic book series, including the <em><font color="#0645ad">Sláine</font></em>, which featured two runs, entitled "Demon Killer" and "Queen of Witches" giving a free interpretation of Boudica's story. Other comic appearances include <em><font color="#0645ad">Witchblade</font></em> and <em><font color="#0645ad">From Hell</font></em>. Boudicca is a character in the animated series <em><font color="#0645ad">Gargoyles</font></em>.<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>37<span>]</span></font></sup> Additionally, in the <font color="#0645ad">alternate history</font> novel <em><font color="#0645ad">Ruled Britannia</font></em>" by <font color="#0645ad">Harry Turtledove</font>, Boudicca is the subject of a play written by <font color="#0645ad">William Shakespeare</font> to incite the people of Britain to revolt against Spanish conquerors.</p><p><font color="#0645ad">Henry Purcell</font>'s last major work, composed in 1695, was music for play entitled <em>Bonduca, or the British Heroine</em> (Z. 574). Selections include "To Arms", "Britons, Strike Home" and "O lead me to some peaceful gloom". Boudica has also been the primary subject of songs by Irish singer/songwriter <font color="#0645ad">Enya</font>, Dutch soprano <font color="#ba0000">Petra Berger</font>, Scottish singer/songwriter <font color="#0645ad">Steve McDonald</font>, English metal band <font color="#0645ad">Bal-Sagoth</font>, <font color="#0645ad">Faith and the Muse</font> and <font color="#ba0000">Dreams in the Witching House</font>. She has also been mentioned in <font color="#0645ad">The Libertines</font>' song The Good Old Days.</p><span class="editsection">[<a href="w/index.php?title=Boudica&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Other cultural references"><font color="#0645ad">edit</font></a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Other cultural references</span><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div style="width: 52px"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f4/Ambox_content.png" alt="" width="40" height="40"></div></td><td class="mbox-text">This "<a href="wiki/Wikipedia:%22In_popular_culture%22_content" title="Wikipedia:"In popular culture" content"><font color="#0645ad">In popular culture</font></a>" section <strong>may contain minor or trivial references</strong>. Please <a href="wiki/Wikipedia:Trivia_sections" title="Wikipedia:Trivia sections" class="mw-redirect"><font color="#0645ad">reorganize this content</font></a> to explain the subject's impact on popular culture rather than simply listing appearances, and remove trivial references. <em><font size="2">(August 2009)</font></em></td></tr></tbody><p>There have been scattered reports that the restless spirit of Boudica has been seen in the county of <font color="#0645ad">Lincolnshire</font>. 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.<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>38<span>]</span></font></sup></p><p>There is also a long-lived urban myth that she is buried under Platform 10 of <font color="#0645ad">King's Cross railway station</font> in London.<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>39<span>]</span></font></sup> 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 <em>Boadicea — Warrior Queen of the Britons</em> (1937) (where it is given but unevidenced)<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>40<span>]</span></font></sup> or earlier.<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>41<span>]</span></font></sup> 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.</p><p>In 2003, an LTR <font color="#0645ad">retrotransposon</font> from the <font color="#0645ad">genome</font> of the human <font color="#0645ad">blood fluke</font> <em>Schistosoma mansoni</em> was named <em>Boudicca</em>.<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>42<span>]</span></font></sup> The Boudicca retrotransposon, a high-copy retroviral-like element, was the first mobile genetic element of this type to be discovered in <em>S. mansoni</em>.</p><p>In July 2008, the UK Television series Bonekickers, dedicated an hour to Boudicca in the episode named "The Eternal Fire"<sup style="white-space: nowrap">[<em><font color="#0645ad">citation needed</font></em>]</sup></p><p>On her 1987 <font color="#0645ad">debut album</font>, the Irish singer <font color="#0645ad">Enya</font> performed the song "Boadicea".</p><p>Various female politicians, including former <font color="#0645ad">Prime Minister</font> of New Zealand, <font color="#0645ad">Helen Clark</font> have been called Boadicea.<sup><font color="#0645ad"><span>[</span>43<span>]</span></font></sup></p><p><font color="#0645ad">Róisín Murphy</font> is featured in a song titled "Boadicea" from <font color="#0645ad">Mason (DJ)</font>'s 2010 debut album.</p></div>