Cartimandua, Boudicca, and Rebellion: British Queens and Roman Colonial Views

Abstract

From a tiny village on the banks of the Tiber, the city of Rome grew to encompass a huge empire, including millions of inhabitants in the Mediterranean world and beyond. The conquest and subjugation of this vast territory, which took place over the course of several centuries, was the responsibility of the armies of the republic and the emperors; the administration of it fell first to the Senate and then to imperial appointees. As areas of the Empire were conquered, they were organized into provinces and the process of Romanization began. The adoption of Roman law and customs, obligations and amenities occurred at varying rates and with a greater or lesser degree of completeness, depending on the indigenous culture of the conquered peoples. But in virtually no case was a territory subdued and pacified without difficulties, setbacks, and conflicts, often including outright rebellion. Stephen Dyson’s important articles demonstrate clearly the patterns of native revolt in the Roman Empire and present cogent reasons for these rebellions. It is my intention in this essay to examine the role of women in native unrest and revolts in Britain, focusing on identified leaders who not only worked behind the scenes, using their marital or religious status to influence native resistance to Rome, but also took active roles in rebellion. After a discussion of the events shaped by their participation, I will analyze the way in which the Roman historians reporting on these issues present them, and discuss how their attitudes reflect on the status of non-Roman women in the Roman Empire. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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