Statue of Boadicea by Thomas Thornycroft
............................ presented to London by his son and placed near the British Houses of Parliament in 1902 by the London County Council
Between AD 61 and AD 63 Boadicea led her Iceni
people to a glorious war against the Romans. The Iceni Celts had
submitted their kingdom in East Anglia to the conquering Romans and
the rule of Emperor Claudius in AD 43. In AD 61, Prasutagus,
Boadicea's husband and King of the Iceni died. A dispute followed
during which Boadicea, was publicly beaten by the soldiers of the
emperor, and her two daughters raped. The Iceni were insulted and
rose in revolt led by their queen Boadicea. So successful was the
uprising that the Romans were almost defeated. Unfortunately for the
Iceni and their allies, the military skill of the Roman army finally
led to the crushing of the rebellion.After the revolt, Roman rule was
re-established. For almost two glorious years, Boadicea pillaged the
Roman settlements; she remains to this day, the greatest of the
heroines of Britain.
... excerpts from The Rise of Venta , webpage by © John Peterson
For more on Boadicea, see Celts-Barbarians page.
For a Roman's perspective on her wars and for more on Boadicea, see this web-site. Here, you will find an abstract of Tacitus' account of the rape of Boudica.
... also: Libby Young admires Boadicea!
... and: Gillian Carcas' most tempestuous opera work, dedicated and named for Boudica, Boadicea.
Thanks to Andrea Denzler in Italy who directed me to this beautiful image of Boadicea by © Chris Achilleos.
Note: I am still and always looking for good images of Boadicea's monument in London. If you can suggest another image of Boadicea, e-mail me:
olivia@transsexy.geophys.mcgill.caOriginal
portions of this page © Olivia Jensen.
1998-05-11
