Women Warriors

Boadicea (61AD) and Zenobia (275AD)

by Janet Phillips, Ashdown, Arkansas

Boadicea (Boudica)(Boudicca), Queen of Iceni

Boadicea has been the subject of myth and legend for centuries. Her story has been told to British school children for 200 years. In fact, she was the wife of Prasutagus of the Iceni, a Celtic tribe that lived near the modern town of Colchester in the time of the Emperor Nero. There are only three written sources of Boadicean rebellion against Rome that can be counted as primary, two from the writings of Tacitus in his Agricola and Annals published in around AD 98. The third is from Dio Cassius who was born in 163 and work was not read until about the second half of the eleventh century.

Rome was a man's world, but life among the Ancient Celts seemed a little more desirable for a woman. In the Celtic society women could enter a variety of professions, hold legal rights especially in the area of marriage-and have rights to redress in case of sexual harassment.

When Prasutagus, a client-king of the Romans--long renowned for his wealth, died around AD 61 he entrusted Boadicea with the regency on behalf to his two daughters. The local Roman government decided to seize her wealth and lands. When Boadicea protested, saying she was an ally and was being treated no better than a slave, the Roman soldiers flogged her and raped her daughters.

This was an atrocity that could not go without a fight. She called her tribe to arms and rebellion against Rome. A female leader was not that uncommon in the Celtic culture. Boadicea, according to Tacitus, rallied about eighty to one-hundred thousand war-mad rebels. The first town she hit was Colchester. Colchester was left defenseless against the onslaught for Suetonius Paulinus , Governor of Britian was on a search and destroy mission of Druids at the island Anglesey in the North. Boadicea leading the troops in her chariot burned the town and slaughtered the inhabitants.

Boadicea then moved on to Verulamium (St. Albans) attacking areas defenseless and easy to plunder and put to the torch. The Second Augusta Legion, under Petillius Cerialis met Boadicea's army with only 2,000 troops. The Second Augusta was totally wiped out except for the cavalry.

Suetonius had returned to Londinium (London) to advise the citizens to leave for he did not have enough of his army to defend the town. Word had spread of Boadicea's barbaric methods. Celts did not take prisoners. They wanted to cut throats, burn, hang, and crucify. So, Londinium was put to the torch. According to Tacitus, Suetonius sacrificed a town to save a province.

Suetonius, a seasoned general, chose to meet Boadicea where his 10,000 legionaries would have an advantage over her disorganized 100,000 rebels. He waited at a narrow passage with the woods to his back for her to attack. The Celts were so sure they were going to win they brought wagons of families out to watch the slaughter of Romans. The battle waged on all day with wave after wave Celts attacked the well-disciplined troops. At dusk, the Romans got the upper hand, trapping the Celts against their on wagons and animals. Eighty thousand Celts were slaughtered that day. What happened to Boadicea is not really know, some say she took poison rather than be captured. Others say she died on the battlefield. The conflagration of the three towns destroyed by Boadicea was so great that a thick layer of ash gives testimony to the devastation. Even today, when foundations are being dug, historians can map out the extent of ancient towns by tracing this layer of ash. Boadicea was not unique in Celtic history though.

The history of the Celts is an unwritten one. The basic knowledge of their culture comes from outside observations. We do know they were brave and loved a good fight. The din of loud noises-trumpets and clappers would fill the battle scene as bands of naked Celts charged into the fray. The Celts used a number of intimidation methods along with the noise, they washed their hair in lime to stand up on their heads.

Caesar described the entire Celtic people as being "exceedingly given to religious superstition." The Celts believed in shape shifting and charged into battle much like the Viking berserkers. Also, to the Celts, the head was literally the seat of divinity and center of the human soul. The heads of their enemies decapitated had symbolic importance. Livy wrote of Celtic horsemen with heads tied to their horse's manes riding home singing in triumph.

Celtic women were frequently in battle also. This could have been because of Celtic law providing for women to own land and property. Furthermore, in Celtic mythology , again and again, it is magical intervention, in the course of the battle, of a female goddess, queen or combination of the true, who provide the climax of the story. The character of Queen Madb in The Tain is a prime example of the Celtic view of the appetites of a woman for power and the combination of the magical powers of a goddess. The Celts were not the only people to have Warrior Queens. The Warrior Queen recurs in cultures throughout history.

Zenobia

Zenobia, third-century Queen of Palmyra from about 250 to 275 AD led her armies on horseback wearing full armor during Claudius' reign defeated the Roman legions so decisively they retreated much of Asia Minor and gave her claim to Egypt by right of ancestry. She is supposed to be a descendent of Cleopatra. Aurelian, Caludius' successor took 4 years of defeat Zenobia before the Palymyra fell. Zenobia was paraded through the streets of Rome in chains. Aurelian exiled her to Tibur.

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© Copyright 2000 by David W. Tschanz.
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