Topic Guide: Boudicca

Boudicca was a fearsome warrior queen who defended her lands and people from an invading force – who wouldn’t want to find out more?

Before we get started, we thought we should mention that there are several different ways of spelling ‘Boudicca’: some people spell it ‘Boudica’ and others use ‘Boadicea’ or even ‘Buddug’.

In this topic guide to Boudicca, we will look at: her life story, the Iceni tribe, a battle-ground and what she looked like.

Boudicca’s life story: The Encyclopaedia Britannica has a biography of Boudicca – did you know that the name ‘Boudicca’ meant ‘Victory’?

Iceni tribe: Boudicca was the Queen of the Iceni – a tribe of native Britons. The Iceni lived in what is now Norfolk, although they could also be found in parts of Suffolk and Hertfordshire as well. You can discover lots about the Iceni and Roman Britain in the Norwich Castle Museum’s Boudicca Gallery.

Battlegrounds: Archaeologists have unearthed some bones that they think are from a battle between Boudicca and the Roman soldiers in Camulodunum, which is modern-day Colchester in Essex.

What did Boudicca look like? The Roman writer Cassius Dio, wrote about Boudicca’s appearance:

In stature she was very tall, in appearance most terrifying, in the glance of her eye most fierce, and her voice was harsh; a great mass of the tawniest hair fell to her hips; around her neck was a large golden necklace; and she wore a tunic of divers colours over which a thick mantle was fastened with a brooch…”

This is an engraving by William Sharp of a painting by an artist called John Opie who lived between 1761 and 1807. Neither Opie nor the Roman writer had ever seen Boudicca. Do you think we can trust their depictions of her? You can see a few more depictions of Boudicca on the National Portrait Gallery website.