Overview

In AD 60/61, Rome almost lost the province of Britain to a woman. Boudica, wife of the client king Prasutagus, fomented a rebellion that proved catastrophic for Camulodunum (Colchester), Londinium (London), and Verulamium (St Albans), destroyed part of a Roman legion, and caused the deaths of an untold number of veterans, families, soldiers, and Britons. Yet with one decisive defeat, her vision of freedom was destroyed, and the Iceni never rose again. Boudica: Warrior Woman of Roman Britain introduces readers to the life and literary importance of Boudica through juxtaposing her different literary characterizations with those of other women and rebel leaders. This study focuses on our earliest literary evidence, the accounts of Tacitus and Cassius Dio, and investigates their narratives alongside material evidence of late Iron Age and early Roman Britain. Throughout the book, Caitlin Gillespie draws comparative sketches between Boudica and the positive and negative examples with which readers associate her, including the prophetess Veleda, the client queen Cartimandua, and the rebel Caratacus. Literary comparisons assist in the understanding of Boudica as a barbarian, queen, mother, commander in war, and leader of revolt. Within the ancient texts, Boudica is also used as an internal commentator on the failures of the emperor Nero, and her revolt epitomizes ongoing conflicts of gender and power at the end of the Juilio-Claudian era. Both literary and archaeological sources point towards broader issues inherent in the clash between Roman and native cultures. Boudica's unique ability to unify disparate groups of Britons cemented her place in the history of Roman Britain. While details of her life remain elusive, her literary character still has more to say.

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9780197503652

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Reviews

Embraced by artists and feminists, Boudica continues to inspire and challenge ... Highly recommended. * CHOICE * Gillespie's fascinating book reveals why the study of Boudica, a British noblewoman of the Iceni who perished in 61 CE leading a rebellion against Roman occupation, is at once so difficult and so critical. * Karen E. Klaiber Hersch, Classical Journal Online *

Gillespie makes a significant contribution to the study of Boudica by placing her as complex literary construct in the geopolitical setting of Iron Age Roman Britain and its people and centering her textual sources within the cultural and historical framework of first- and third-century Imperial Rome.... [An] elegantly written and closely argued monograph. * Classical World * Gillespie's fascinating book reveals why the study of Boudica, a British noblewoman of the Iceni who perished in 61 CE leading a rebellion against Roman occupation, is at once so difficult and so critical. * Karen E. Klaiber Hersch, Classical Journal Online * Embraced by artists and feminists, Boudica continues to inspire and challenge ... Highly recommended. * CHOICE *

Author Information

Caitlin C. Gillespie is Assistant Professor in the Department of Classical Studies, Brandeis University.

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