BOUDICA’S BROOCH  (S6x32) 2C Anthony C Payne (2019)  1- 8 1s+2s   dance   first   6   bars   of   Diamond   Poussette   &   on   7-8   turn   BH   to line of 4 up/down centre-line (M above L)  9-24 1s+2s   dance   full   Celtic   Reel,   ending   in   same   positions   as   start   of figure 25-28 1s+2s set to partner, Petronella turn to own sides 29-32 1s+2s Set&Link to change places

Boudica   or   Boudicca,   also   known   as   Boadicea   or   Boudicea,   and   in   Welsh   as   Buddug   was   a   queen   of   the   British Celtic   Iceni   tribe   who   led   an   uprising   against   the   occupying   forces   of   the   Roman   Empire   in AD   60   or   61.   She   died shortly after its failure and is considered a British folk hero. The   story   which   we   have   is   based   on   the   writings   of   Tacitus   (whose   father-in-law   was   a   military   tribune   under Suetonius Paulinus at the time) with added embellishments, which cannot be verified, by Cassius Dio. Boudica   was   of   royal   descent,   described   as   tall,   with   tawny   hair   hanging   down   to   below   her   waist,   a   harsh   voice and   a   piercing   glare.   She   habitually   wore   a   large   golden   necklace   (perhaps   a   torc),   a   colourful   tunic,   and   a   thick cloak   fastened   by   a   brooch.   Boudica's   husband,   Prasutagus,   was   the   king   of   the   Iceni,   a   people   who   inhabited roughly what is now Norfolk. The   immediate   cause   of   the   rebellion   was   gross   mistreatment   by   the   Romans.   Tacitus   wrote,   " The   Icenian   king Prasutagus,    celebrated    for    his    long    prosperity,    had    named    the    emperor    his    heir,    together    with    his    two daughters;   an   act   of   deference   which   he   thought   would   place   his   kingdom   and   household   beyond   the   risk   of injury.   The   result   was   contrary   –   so   much   so   that   his   kingdom   was   pillaged   by   centurions,   his   household   by slaves;   as   though   they   had   been   prizes   of   war. "   He   added   that   Boudica   was   lashed,   her   two   daughters   were raped, and that the estates of the leading Iceni men were confiscated. In   AD   60   or   61,   while   the   current   governor,   Gaius   Suetonius   Paulinus,   was leading   a   campaign   against   the   island   of   Mona   (modern   Anglesey)   in   the   north of   Wales,   which   was   a   refuge   for   British   rebels   and   a   stronghold   of   the   druids, the   Iceni   conspired   with   their   neighbours   the   Trinovantes,   amongst   others,   to revolt.   Boudica   was   chosen   as   their   leader.   Tacitus   records   that   she   addressed her   army   with   these   words,   "It   is   not   as   a   woman   descended   from   noble ancestry,   but   as   one   of   the   people   that   I   am   avenging   lost   freedom,   my scourged   body,   the   outraged   chastity   of   my   daughters,"   and   concluded,   "This   is a woman's resolve; as for men, they may live and be slaves." The   rebels'   first   target   was   Camulodunum   (modern   Colchester),   the   former Trinovantian   capital   and,   at   that   time,   a   Roman   colonia.   Boudica's   army   fell   on the   poorly   defended   city   and   destroyed   it,   besieging   the   last   defenders   in   the temple   for   two   days   before   it   fell. Archaeologists   have   shown   that   the   city   was methodically   demolished.   The   future   governor   Quintus   Petillius   Cerialis,   then commanding   the   Legio   IX   Hispana,   attempted   to   relieve   the   city,   but   suffered an   overwhelming   defeat.   The   infantry   with   him   were   all   killed   –   only   the commander and some of his cavalry escaped. When   news   of   the   rebellion   reached   Suetonius,   he   hurried   along   Watling   Street   through   hostile   territory   towards Londinium,   a   relatively   new   settlement,   founded   after   the   conquest   of   AD   43,   but   one   which   had   grown   into   a thriving   commercial   centre   with   a   population   of   traders,   and,   probably,   Roman   officials.   Suetonius   considered giving   battle   there,   but   considering   his   lack   of   numbers   and   mindful   of   the   fall   of   Camulodunum,   decided   to sacrifice   the   city   to   save   the   province.   Londinium   was   therefore   abandoned   to   the   rebels,   who   burnt   it   down, torturing   and   killing   anyone   who   had   not   evacuated. Archaeology   shows   a   thick   red   layer   of   burnt   debris   covering coins and pottery dating before AD 60 within the bounds of Roman Londinium. Verulamium   (St   Albans)   was   next   to   be   destroyed.   In   the   three   settlements   destroyed,   between   seventy   and eighty   thousand   people   are   said   to   have   been   killed.   Tacitus   says   that   the   Britons   had   no   interest   in   taking   or selling prisoners, only in slaughter by gibbet, fire, or cross, and the accounts make gruesome reading. While   Boudica's   army   continued   their   assault   in   Verulamium   (St. Albans),   Suetonius   regrouped   his   forces   until   he commanded   an   army   of   almost   ten   thousand   men   and   then   took   a   stand   at   an   unidentified   location,   probably   in the   West   Midlands   somewhere   along   the   Roman   road   now   known   as   Watling   Street,   “ in   a   defile   with   a   wood behind   him ”   –   but   his   men   were   heavily   outnumbered.   Dio   says   that,   even   if   they   were   lined   up   one   deep,   they would   not   have   extended   the   length   of   Boudica's   line   which   by   now   were   said   to   have   numbered   230,000–300,000 (a   probable   over-estimate).   However,   the   Romans   won   a   decisive   victory   “ The   glory   won   in   the   course   of   the   day was   remarkable,   and   equal   to   that   of   our   older   victories:   for,   by   some   accounts,   little   less   than   eighty   thousand Britons fell, at a cost of some four hundred Romans killed and a not much greater number of wounded. ” According   to Tacitus,   Boudica   poisoned   herself,   though   Dio   says   she   fell   sick   and   died   and   then   was   given   a   lavish burial. There is no record of what happened to her two daughters. The   location   of   Boudica's   defeat   is   unknown.   Many   historians   favour   a   site   in   the   West   Midlands,   somewhere along the Roman road now known as Watling Street: • A site close to High Cross, Leicestershire, on the junction of Watling Street and the Fosse Way • Manduessedum (Mancetter), near the modern town of Atherstone in Warwickshire • More   recently,   a   discovery   of   Roman   artefacts   in   Kings   Norton   close   to   Metchley   Camp   has   suggested   another possibility • A   thorough   examination   of   a   stretch   of   Watling   Street   between   St.   Albans,   Boudica's   last   known   location, and   the   Fosse   Way   junction   has   suggested   the   Cuttle   Mill   area   of   Paulerspury   in   Northamptonshire,   which has   topography   very   closely   matching   that   described   by   Tacitus   of   the   scene   of   the   battle,   and   where   large quantities   of   human   bones   of   both   sexes,   and   including   children,   have   been   found   over   a   wide   area   together with fragments of Roman pottery from the 1 st  century • In    March    2010,    evidence    was    published    suggesting    the    site    may    be    located    at    Church    Stowe, Northamptonshire In   2009,   it   was   suggested   that   the   Iceni   were   returning   to   East   Anglia   along   the   Icknield   Way   when   they encountered the Roman army in the vicinity of Arbury Banks, Hertfordshire. [extracted from Wikipedia}

Boadicea Haranguing the Britons