Rome learned the hard way that if you push a woman down enough times...eventually she’ll rise up, unite the Celtic tribes, and burn your cities to the ground.

Boudicca was a Celtic warrior queen who led a violent rebellion against the Roman Empire’s domination of Britain. Boudicca’s life story is filled with victory and tragedy. As queen of the Iceni Celts, she protested the Roman occupier’s brutal treatment of her people. The Romans responded by publicly scourging the barbarian queen and raping her daughters. Rather than admit defeat, the Celtic queen led an army in a ruthless revolt against Roman rule of Brittania, and burned several cities to the ground. 

The facts about Boudicca’s life and uprising come to us through the writings of Roman historians Tacitus and Cassius Dio. The Romans were known to exaggerate the violence of their enemies to justify their own imperial ambitions. This raises the question of how much of the Roman account of Boudicca’s revolt is factual...and how much is Rome justifying its brutal treatment of the Celtic tribes. History has alternately painted her as either a noble queen defending the oppressed Celts, or a “treacherous lioness” (Gildas the Monk) terrorizing and torturing the unsuspecting Romans. 

Either way, the fiery red-haired Celtic queen has captured the imagination of people for centuries. Boudica’s story is remarkable:  ruling in a time where women were not viewed as natural leaders, surviving the Roman scourge, enduring the rape of her daughters, leading a savage rebellion to defend the Iceni tribe, and eventually dramatically dying after her last battle. Queen Boudicca continues to be a stirring symbol of victory and freedom. 

Who was Boudicca? And what did Boudicca do?

• Celtic warrior queen, famous for leading the Iceni Celts in a revolt against the Romans.
• Also known as Boudica, Boadicea, or Buddug
• What did Boudicca look like:  Tall, red-haired barbarian queen, wore a torque and carried a spear, and rode in a chariot. 
• Defeated by the Romans after burning three of their cities to the ground. 
• Boudica’s Rebellion has become legendary not only because it was led by a woman, but also because the Celts were an “underdog” who had incredible success warring against the Romans. 

➡️ Acknowledgements

A huge “thank you” to Brenda Mickelson for the artwork used in our thumbnail.

Long Road Ahead by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100588

Artist: http://incompetech.com/