Queen Boudicca's Story
Queen Boudicca,
who was a sight to see in full battle gear, began her story and I was
spellbound. After all, it isn't every day that someone gets to
hear a first-hand account of a war fought for freedom
two thousand years prior to their birth.
She began somberly. "My story is a sad one I am afraid. How could it be happy? It truly began with the death of my husband, Prasutagus, the King of Iceni. You see, the great army of Rome had decided that it would conquer my homeland of Britain. In an attempt to keep my kingdom and daughters safe, Prasutagus left half of our kingdom to the Roman legion and half to me. Silly man. His stipulations probably fueled the hunger of Rome rather than appeased it. You see, I never fully believed that Rome would leave my kingdom alone. I should have listened to my intuition. Unfortunately, after the invasion, I was never in a position to change anything... even though I wish I could have." I could see this story was going to be a difficult one to hear, given her strong emotions. I let her continue uninterrupted until she had completed her tale.
"After the death of my husband, Roman emissaries came to speak with me. They claimed they wanted to discuss how we were to work together in order to govern my kingdom. These men seemed genuine, yet something was not quite right. One could call it an intuitive response or possibly a warning from the gods. I knew war would be coming to my land...and soon. I accepted their requests with grace hoping that my instincts were wrong and hoping these men would return to their leaders in the distant city of Rome and persuade them to discontinue their expansion into my homeland."
"I knew that my people would be unable to defend themselves; they lived off of the land you see. The living conditions in Britain are harsh and winter was coming soon. The Roman army surely would not want to stay; they must want to return to their warm baths, sunshine, and lives of comfort. It was obvious to me that the harsh conditions of my land were not a natural fit with the soft Roman men whom I had entertained in my court. I waited impatiently for any signs of trouble in my land. I had already gathered a small garrison to help patrol the borders of my land. I tried to compensate the soldiers of the garrison for the time away from their families and I only tried to task as many men as was absolutely necessary. In total, two hundred men volunteered their time. It was not enough, I'm afraid. The Romans sent an army that was five thousand strong. My men were unable to defend themselves against such an overwhelming force. Those that did not run were slaughtered by the cold soldiers of Rome. I was not disappointed in them; those that lost their lives that day fought valiantly for me."
"The Roman general, Suetonius, took my home by force. His men brutalized and raped my daughters as I was forced to watch. No mother should have to watch their children suffer. I could feel a cold and hard fury begin to grow from the bottom of my soul. When the Romans were finished with my daughters, they turned their attention to me. They beat and tortured me until I felt the draw of Death; he had come to greet me. I honestly believe that Death felt my fury and he decided it would be wiser to let me have my revenge. He left me alive to avenge my daughters and myself."
"The aftermath of this invasion left my people scattered, bloody, and battered...those who survived. I had not realized the overwhelming strength of the Roman army. They had acted upon a well-established plan to attack all of the kingdoms of Britain at once. The Druids, the people of Britain, had been slaughtered from the north to the south. The leaders of Rome never intended to leave us in peace. There plan, all along, had been to take us by force. After the attack on the different kingdoms, survivors began to arrive in my kingdom seeking aid. To my surprise, all of the kingdoms of Britain elected me to lead a war, for our freedom, against the beastly Romans. We, the Druid people, had an army of two hundred thousand. This force included all the people who had survived the attack and lived to fight another day. My daughters and I dressed for battle; we were prepared to give our lives if it meant justice. I was about to speak to my people, yet I suddenly found myself here. Where am I?"
Well...how do you answer such a simple question after being told such a sad story? "Hmmmm...yeah...sorry about that. I sort of read about you in my great-grandfather's journal and you just, sort of, appeared. I promise I'll fix it though! I'll get you back to your people." I didn't know how I would get her back to her own time but I would, hopefully before she figured out that she was in in a time two thousand years after her war ended.
Author's Note: I decided to leave Queen Boudicca's story at the point in which she was about to lead her people into war. This story is so tragic, not that any story of invasion and war is good, that I wanted to leave it with a hopeful note. Unfortunately, Queen Boudicca's army could not hold up against the Romans. Sadly, she ended up taking her own life, by drinking poison, at the end of the story. I chose the story of Queen Boudicca because it is one of the earliest stories I could find about how England came to be what it is today. The Roman influence is still an extreme presence in the United Kingdom; Bath got its name from the Roman baths that were established there, for example. Just as there is some question regarding the historical validity of the existence of King Arthur, there are some who believe that this Queen is also mythical. I found this story particularly interesting to write about because Queen Boudicca's kingdom was supposed to be located in East Anglia. Suffolk, where I am currently living, is a part of the geographic region of East Anglia. I guess you could say that while reading this story, it felt a bit more real to me than it would if I had been living in Oklahoma.
She began somberly. "My story is a sad one I am afraid. How could it be happy? It truly began with the death of my husband, Prasutagus, the King of Iceni. You see, the great army of Rome had decided that it would conquer my homeland of Britain. In an attempt to keep my kingdom and daughters safe, Prasutagus left half of our kingdom to the Roman legion and half to me. Silly man. His stipulations probably fueled the hunger of Rome rather than appeased it. You see, I never fully believed that Rome would leave my kingdom alone. I should have listened to my intuition. Unfortunately, after the invasion, I was never in a position to change anything... even though I wish I could have." I could see this story was going to be a difficult one to hear, given her strong emotions. I let her continue uninterrupted until she had completed her tale.
"After the death of my husband, Roman emissaries came to speak with me. They claimed they wanted to discuss how we were to work together in order to govern my kingdom. These men seemed genuine, yet something was not quite right. One could call it an intuitive response or possibly a warning from the gods. I knew war would be coming to my land...and soon. I accepted their requests with grace hoping that my instincts were wrong and hoping these men would return to their leaders in the distant city of Rome and persuade them to discontinue their expansion into my homeland."
"I knew that my people would be unable to defend themselves; they lived off of the land you see. The living conditions in Britain are harsh and winter was coming soon. The Roman army surely would not want to stay; they must want to return to their warm baths, sunshine, and lives of comfort. It was obvious to me that the harsh conditions of my land were not a natural fit with the soft Roman men whom I had entertained in my court. I waited impatiently for any signs of trouble in my land. I had already gathered a small garrison to help patrol the borders of my land. I tried to compensate the soldiers of the garrison for the time away from their families and I only tried to task as many men as was absolutely necessary. In total, two hundred men volunteered their time. It was not enough, I'm afraid. The Romans sent an army that was five thousand strong. My men were unable to defend themselves against such an overwhelming force. Those that did not run were slaughtered by the cold soldiers of Rome. I was not disappointed in them; those that lost their lives that day fought valiantly for me."
"The Roman general, Suetonius, took my home by force. His men brutalized and raped my daughters as I was forced to watch. No mother should have to watch their children suffer. I could feel a cold and hard fury begin to grow from the bottom of my soul. When the Romans were finished with my daughters, they turned their attention to me. They beat and tortured me until I felt the draw of Death; he had come to greet me. I honestly believe that Death felt my fury and he decided it would be wiser to let me have my revenge. He left me alive to avenge my daughters and myself."
"The aftermath of this invasion left my people scattered, bloody, and battered...those who survived. I had not realized the overwhelming strength of the Roman army. They had acted upon a well-established plan to attack all of the kingdoms of Britain at once. The Druids, the people of Britain, had been slaughtered from the north to the south. The leaders of Rome never intended to leave us in peace. There plan, all along, had been to take us by force. After the attack on the different kingdoms, survivors began to arrive in my kingdom seeking aid. To my surprise, all of the kingdoms of Britain elected me to lead a war, for our freedom, against the beastly Romans. We, the Druid people, had an army of two hundred thousand. This force included all the people who had survived the attack and lived to fight another day. My daughters and I dressed for battle; we were prepared to give our lives if it meant justice. I was about to speak to my people, yet I suddenly found myself here. Where am I?"
Well...how do you answer such a simple question after being told such a sad story? "Hmmmm...yeah...sorry about that. I sort of read about you in my great-grandfather's journal and you just, sort of, appeared. I promise I'll fix it though! I'll get you back to your people." I didn't know how I would get her back to her own time but I would, hopefully before she figured out that she was in in a time two thousand years after her war ended.
Author's Note: I decided to leave Queen Boudicca's story at the point in which she was about to lead her people into war. This story is so tragic, not that any story of invasion and war is good, that I wanted to leave it with a hopeful note. Unfortunately, Queen Boudicca's army could not hold up against the Romans. Sadly, she ended up taking her own life, by drinking poison, at the end of the story. I chose the story of Queen Boudicca because it is one of the earliest stories I could find about how England came to be what it is today. The Roman influence is still an extreme presence in the United Kingdom; Bath got its name from the Roman baths that were established there, for example. Just as there is some question regarding the historical validity of the existence of King Arthur, there are some who believe that this Queen is also mythical. I found this story particularly interesting to write about because Queen Boudicca's kingdom was supposed to be located in East Anglia. Suffolk, where I am currently living, is a part of the geographic region of East Anglia. I guess you could say that while reading this story, it felt a bit more real to me than it would if I had been living in Oklahoma.
My OU Homepage
Cover
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Introduction
Bibliography:
"The Destruction of the Druids" by W. Winwood Reade, from The Veil of Isis or, Mysteries of the Druids (1861). Web Source: Sacred Texts Archive.