Talk:Boudica

Nice job! Two things - the location of the Iceni territory (more or less), would be handy; and what happened to the daughters? I only vaguely remember that their rape and or otherwise outraging was a contributing factor. --MichaelTinkler

in the bit about (paraphrasing) "retreating soldiers prevented from fleeing by their families", it's written a little bit ambiguously: presumably it means that the families were physically crowding the way. Alternately, it could mean that their families refused to allow them to leave, urging them to stay and fight. Since I don't know the right answer, I won't clean it up.

I've rewritten that bit - it should be a bit clearer now. --Nicknack009 16:56, 18 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Everyone is a bit ambiguous about the exact dates involved. Is it really not known for sure exactly when Boudicca was defeated? Would the fact that it's descibed as 60/61 suggest that it was around the turn of the year? - Jayem

No, it's pretty clear from Tacitus that the revolt started in the spring or summer (campaigning season) and was defeated before the start of winter. Dates from Britain in this period have been worked out by counting up the years served by each governor. There's a one year margin for error because it's not clear whether Quintus Veranius died within twelve months of being appointed, or within the calendar year of his appointment. --Nicknack009 18:08, 1 Jun 2005 (UTC)

I have cross referenced the bit of trivial about Boudicca and platform 9-3/4 Kings Cross station from the Harry Potter page. --Andrew Grimmke

Yes it is true that it was started in spring but on the Roman calendar the year starts in March so it would be the March of 62 C.E but then considered the turn of the year. -Royal Russell 9:54 PM, 8/31/2005

It's true that the Roman calendar started in March, but the dates in question aren't based on the original Roman calendar. The relavant historians (Tacitus and Dio Cassius) used the consuls to identify the year, and the consuls took office on 1 January, so events they describe are dated retrospectively using a January-December year. However, Tacitus isn't entirely annalistic when dealing with Britain in his Annals, but often sums up a period of several years at an appropriate place in the overall narrative, and Dio Cassius's account comes from an epitome which doesn't mention the consuls, hence having to count up years served by governors. The rebellion (or at least the build-up) started before seed-time, as Tacitus says the Britons had neglected to sow their crops, hoping to seize Roman grain, so it could have started before March and therefore in the calendar year of 59 or 60 and ended at the start of winter 60 or 61. By the turn of 62 it would have been all over, and Suetonius Paulinus would have been carrying out his punitive operations. --Nicknack009 19:18, 1 September 2005 (UTC)

Now on to a different subject: MichaelTinkler you said you had a bit of trouble with under standing where Iceni is. Well Iceni is the bump sticking out just above Kent, which is modern-day Norwich. And her daughters, Cammora and Tasca probaly poisoned themselves with Boudicca. -Royal Russell, 9:31 PM, 9/28/2005

That "bump sticking out" is in fact East Anglia, comprising the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. Norwich is the main city in Norfolk..... 192.30.202.16 16:19, 26 November 2005 (UTC)Vivien Shiers

Roman forces outnumbered, or Boudica's forces?

In the second paragraph, this caught my attention: "Roman emperor Nero briefly considered withdrawing Roman forces from the island, but ultimately Boudica was defeated at the Battle of Watling Street by the heavily outnumbered forces of Roman provincial governor Gaius Suetonius Paulinus." (bold added for emphasis)

Is this correct? Were the Roman forces outnumbered, or were Boudica's forces outnumbered? I didn't edit it, since I don't the facts, but it makes more sense if Boudica's forces were outnumbered, not the Roman forces. Can someone look into this and make the necessary changes?