> Figure 1.-- There is of course no portrait of Boudica or any other Celtic tribal chief. There are, however, countless often fancifal efforts to picture her. This one is by Howard David Johnson. And is of course ansyurd.

There was no centralized political entity in Briton before the Roman invasion. England was inhabited by a number of Celtic tribes. There was a general cultural similarity, but the tribes often wared with each other abd could not unite in the face of the Roman invasion. As the ancient Britons were a pre-literate peoole, our understanding of them is limited. Almost all of what we know outsude of archeological work comes from the Romans. Very little information is known about individual British leaders at this time. They would probably more accurately be called tribal chiefs than kings. One of the best known is Boudica (Boudicca), the fabeled warrior queen who for a long time was lost to history. Boudica was a leader of the Iceni people of Norfolk (Eastern England). The Roman conquest began (43 AD) and the Roman gradually established control over much of modern England. Boudica led an uprising of the Iceni who were joined by other Celtic tribes against the occupying Romans. The united the Britons almost suceeded in driving the Romans out of Briton. The Roman commander Suetonius with a small force managed to defeat a huge army of Britons in the in the Battle of Watling (61 AD). It was the last important effort of the Celts to resist the Romans.

Created: 6:58 AM 1/12/2008
Last updated: 6:58 AM 1/12/2008