Women’s History Month: Boudica
The queen of the Iceni in the first century CE rebelled against Roman rule and burned down London.
Born roughly 2,000 years ago, little is known about Boudica’s early life. We do know when she turned 18, she married the Celtic King of the Iceni tribe and lived in what is now modern-day East Anglia, one of the few remaining Celtic territories not yet conquered by the Roman Empire. Unfortunately, her husband died before he could father a male heir. After his death, the Romans annexed the territory, confiscated all of the property, and assaulted Boudica and her two daughters.
The Roman scholar Tacitus recorded Boudica’s vow of vengeance: “Nothing is safe from Roman pride and arrogance. They will deface the sacred and deflower our virgins. Win the battle or perish; that is what I, a woman, will do.”
Illustrated History of England
Boudica led a rebellion, defeating the Roman Ninth Legion and the ancient towns of Camulodunum, Verulamium, and London.
The London Museum’s collection contains pottery and personal possessions from buildings burned by Boudica’s army. In central London, archaeologists have found thick layers of burned debris, and burned artifacts from Colchester further support the evidence.
Like most Celtic women, Boudica was trained as a warrior in a culture where horses were revered and even worshipped.
Epona, the Celtic goddess of horses, whose name comes from the Gaulish word epos, meaning horse, is often depicted as a young woman riding a horse. Rhiannon, a Welsh enchantress and queen who is considered by some scholars to be a variant of Epona, rides a white horse and can never be caught.
By I, QuartierLatin1968, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2387661
Archaeological evidence shows that equestrianism was widespread and embraced by women. In 2024, the remains of a Celtic mother and daughter were discovered.
“The older skeleton shows signs of frequent horse riding,” said Kirchengast. “Maybe both women were enthusiastic horse riders.”
In another find, a middle-aged woman, likely between 36 and 50 years old, was buried with an entire horse, as reported by the Smithsonian.
A photo of the horse following the recovery of the human remains. (Image credit: City Museum Wels; (CC-BY 4.0 Deed))
New research also points to the Celts being a matrilocal society, meaning women were at the center of their social networks.
“For the vast majority of human history,” says Lara Cassidy, a geneticist at Trinity College Dublin, in an interview with NPR, “societies were centered around ties of kinship, so you’re deciding whose family you’re going to live with.”
Cassidy and her colleagues found remains of a matrilocal Celtic tribe called the Durotriges, who lived during the Iron Age in Britain from around 100 BCE to 100 CE in what is now southern England.
“It’s a really rare pattern,” says Cassidy. “We’ve never seen anything like it before in European prehistory — so many people all related through the female line. It’s adding to the growing body of evidence that women wielded significant social and political influence in these societies.”
Boudica certainly wielded influence. In all, Tacitus claimed her forces massacred 70,000 Romans and pro-Roman Britons before Boudica died in battle.
She is celebrated today as a national heroine and an embodiment of the struggle for justice and independence. Boadicea and Her Daughters is a bronze sculpture in London, located on the north side of the western end of Westminster Bridge.
By Anhad Arora – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35121789
Go riding.
Amanda Uechi Ronan is an author, equestrian, and wannabe race car driver. Follow her on Instagram @amanda_uechi_ronan.
