"Buduica, a Briton woman of the royal family and possessed of greater intelligence than often belongs to women. In stature she was very tall, in appearance most terrifying, in the glance of her eye most fierce, and her voice was harsh; a great mass of the tawniest hair fell to her hips; around her neck was a large golden necklace; and she wore a tunic of divers colours over which a thick mantle was fastened with a brooch. This was her invariable attire." ~Cassius Dio



Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni

Died A.D. 60

(Also known as Boadicea, she was probably named Boudiga after the Celtic goddess of Victory,the goddess Boudiga (Welsh root, 'budd'), whose name means "Victory.") Boudicca was a queen and priestess, and likely a druidess. She raised and control a huge army. Boudicca released a hare between the two armies before the battle, indicating that she was a priestess seeking augury. Also the mutilation of the dead suggests that many who were killed were sacrificed to the Celtic Goddess Andrasta.

Boudicca has long been the subject of legend. A symbol of British freedom, stories of her heroism have been told for hundreds of years. She was the wife of King Prasutagus of the Iceni, a British tribe from the area of Colchester (near my ancestral home of Coggeshall) during the time of Nero. When Prasutagus, an ally of the Romans, died, the local Roman government officials attempted to seize her wealth and lands. When Boudicca protested, the Roman soldiers flogged her and raped her daughters.

She called her tribe to arms. She burned the town at Colchester and killed the inhabitants. Next was Verulamium (St. Albans)where Petillius Cerialis met Boudicca's army of a hundred thousand with two thousand Roman troops. Verulamium was sacked and burned, as was Londinium (London.)

Suetonius met Boudicca where his 10,000 legionaries would have the advantage against her rather disorganized 100,000 rebels. With the forest behind them to protect their flank, they waited in a narrow space for her attack. The British were confident of victory, and all the people turned out to watch the expected rout. All day long, the Britons attacked Suetonius’ troops. Towards evening, the Romans turned the tide, and pushed Boudicca's forces back against their own wagons and pack animals. The Romans killed about 80,000 Britons, and Boudicca and her daughters poisoned themselves to avoid capture and slavery.



Boudicca's name is echoed in the word for a lively, spirited person, "bodacious", as well as derided with the term "bulldyke" or "dyke" to describe a masculine woman.