Dark Ages . . . Dark Queen . . . Dark History.
There really is veil, or a sort of a blank space in my mind, covering the time between the end of the New Testament, around 100 AD, and the beginning of the Middle Ages, which will always begin in my mind at 1066 AD when The Norman invaders defeated the Saxons in England at the Battle of Hastings.
What happened between those two dates? The Romans sort of ebbed and flowed in response to repeated barbarian invasions and challenges. The Eastern Roman Empire flourished with its center at Constantinople. And in 60 or 61 AD, actually before my cut-off date but still under my historical radar, Boudica, queen of the Iceni tribe of East Anglia, led a group of British tribes in a rebellion against the Romans. Although the rebellion was ultimately unsuccessful, Boudica is still remembered, especially in Britain, and she has become a symbol of courage and female spirit and tenacity. Tennyson wrote a poem called Boadicea (a variant spelling), and Cowper also wrote a poem about the Dark Queen. And a statue of Boudica, commissioned by Victoria’s Prince Albert, stands near Westminster Pier in London.
Also Rosemary Sutcliff, prolific author of historical fiction, especially historical fiction set in ancient Britain, wrote this book, a fictional treatment of Boudica’s life and times. It would be appropriate for teens and young adults who were studying this time period, but it’s a little too bloody and violent for younger children, in my opinion. Unfortunately, the blood and guts are true to actual events since the Romans really did take Boudica’s kingdom, beat her and rape her daughters, after the death of her husband who left the kingdom in his will to Boudica and to the Roman Emperor. The Romans didn’t believe in women rulers, so they sort of ignored the part about Boudica’s inheriting jointly. The Britons requited the Roman rape and pillage with “slaughter by gibbet, fire, or cross,” destroying three Roman cities, including Londinium (London), and seventy or eighty thousand people before the Britons were defeated by the superiorly trained and disciplined Roman troops.
Good book, sad story. Song for a Dark Queen is out of print, by the way. There seems to be a
I’ve been a big fan of Boudica’s story for a long time now. It is horrible and bloody, true – but it’s also the story of a woman (and her people) standing up to the might of the Roman Empires and really getting their attention.
Thanks for reminding me Boudica … I might have to read about her again sometime.
I have also heard? or thought, myself, that the exclamation “bodacious!” is a reference to her. But I haven’t looked it up.
We really enjoyed Eagle of the Ninth by her…someday I’ll read more of her books.
~Jeanne