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Calling all armchair generals! Boudica's Last Stand.
(11-13-2015, 10:20 PM)Theoderic Wrote: Nathan does have a valid point however in that it was Paulinus who chose the battle site for its defensive and strategic attributes, not the Brythons, so tribal boundaries were probably irrelevant to the Romans.

This may not be strictly correct.  Tribal boundaries could have had a bearing on Paulinus' line of withdrawal.  I have argued that his main concern would have been to link up with his reinforcements as quickly as possible but, at the same time, he would have wanted to take a route that did not carry the constant danger of his being attacked by hostile local tribesmen.  My favoured route, as you all know, would be up Watling Street to Verulamium and then along Akeman Street to Tring.  This would have been entirely within the territory of the Catuvellauni, whom he may reasonably have expected to be friendly.  If Verulamium was the tribal centre, as Briggs' map suggests, and had recently been made a municipium, this could indicate that the process of Romanization was well advanced in that tribe.  This can be distinguished from the Trinovantes, who had had the colonia imposed upon them and who had been antagonized by the arrogant behaviour of the veterans settled in the colony.  Indeed, the sacking of Verulamium by Boudica's forces, as well is being an attack on a symbol of Romanization, could also be taken as a warning to the Catuvellauni of what they could expect if they continued to support the 'wrong' side.  In any event, my thought is that Paulinus may have chosen a route of withdrawal (and thus a battle site) that, so far as possible, kept him within the territory of a friendly tribe and that, therefore, tribal boundaries could have been of some relevance to him.
Michael King Macdona

And do as adversaries do in law, -
Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends.
(The Taming of the Shrew: Act 1, Scene 2)
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Messages In This Thread
Re: Calling all armchair generals! - by Ensifer - 03-11-2010, 03:13 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 02-18-2012, 06:26 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 02-19-2012, 12:02 AM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 02-19-2012, 02:50 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 02-19-2012, 05:40 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 02-19-2012, 11:26 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-24-2012, 05:11 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-24-2012, 09:42 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-24-2012, 10:10 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-25-2012, 03:11 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-25-2012, 03:25 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-25-2012, 08:36 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-26-2012, 02:57 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 04-27-2012, 01:50 PM
Re: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by Steve Kaye - 08-05-2012, 02:24 PM
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by antiochus - 11-07-2014, 02:18 PM
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by antiochus - 11-08-2014, 01:50 AM
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by antiochus - 11-11-2014, 02:03 AM
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by antiochus - 11-18-2014, 07:54 AM
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by antiochus - 11-20-2014, 02:37 AM
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica\'s Last Stand. - by antiochus - 11-25-2014, 08:29 AM
RE: Calling all armchair generals! Boudica's Last Stand. - by Renatus - 11-14-2015, 06:11 PM

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