Thread Rating:
  • 4 Vote(s) - 5 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Calling all armchair generals! Boudica's Last Stand.
(09-19-2016, 01:32 PM)Renatus Wrote: He also mentions in the Agricola the castella that were overrun in the initial stages of the revolt. I take these to be small fortified posts or fortlets
(09-21-2016, 09:27 AM)Theoderic Wrote: the “castella” were the forts imposed upon the Iceni

Agricola and Annals seem to be in contradiction here - the latter claims that the rebels avoided the fortified posts. Perhaps the Iceni captured some forts initially, but later avoided them, or something?

There may have been small forts in Iceni country, although there's no evidence for them and I don't think we need to assume they existed. Forts in Trinovantes territory might be more likely: the one at Stanway, just west of Colchester, was apparently built on the old Trinovantes royal oppidum, so they would have been eager to destroy that. Braintree, Chelmsford and perhaps even Great Chesterford could also have been what Tacitus was referring to; the first two would have lain on the probable route between Colchester and London.


(09-21-2016, 09:27 AM)Theoderic Wrote: What evidence is that exactly

I was thinking of the note above about Mons Graupius; I take it to mean that wives and parents were present at that battle to cheer on the warriors!


(09-21-2016, 09:27 AM)Theoderic Wrote: the Brythons would have left to go on the offensive by at the very latest April and possibly March when the crop could be sown, which is really early in the Fighting Season and seems unlikely given the timescales.

Hmm, very true - the crop planting is a headtwister. March/April is too early, as you say - they'd have to wait until Paulinus had at least set off on his Anglesey expedition, which was probably a month later, until they 'left for the war'

If they sowed their crops in March/April, but then didn't come back in August/September to harvest that crop or to plant the winter wheat, they would have no supplies for the winter or any winter wheat crop the following year. This might be the only explanation, although it would still mean that failing to harvest would have been more critical than failing to plant... (unless, of course, crops were only planted in Aug/Sept, grown over the winter and harvested the following year?)


(09-21-2016, 09:27 AM)Theoderic Wrote: “His dominions were ravaged by the centurions...the most illustrious of the Icenians...The relations of the deceased king...” it seems that the Rome reduced the Iceni aristocracy from allies to slaves in a very short time indeed

I don't know if we can read it that way. All the explicit offences were against the king's own property, his family, or the 'most illustrious' of the nobility. This was not large scale colonisation - it was plundering by small groups, no doubt under imperial orders. The 'reduced to being slaves in their own land' implication from T seems like hyperbole!


(09-21-2016, 09:27 AM)Theoderic Wrote: “the barbarians pressed relentlessly upon him...” – if the Brythons were catching him how was this a slow moving horde, made up of families?

Could somebody provide a literal translation of the Greek Dio uses for the phrase 'pressed relentlessly upon him'?

In English it sounds like the rebels were in hot pursuit, but we've seen before how translations (particularly older ones) can be deceptive! Dio could just mean something like 'advanced continually in his direction' or something, with no implication of speed...


(09-21-2016, 01:00 PM)Alecto Wrote: Brython

Et tu, Alecto?  [Image: tongue.png]
Nathan Ross
Reply


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 Nathan Ross - 09-21-2016, 05:45 PM

Possibly Related Threads…
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  Armchair Wall walking mcbishop 3 3,478 01-11-2012, 03:22 AM
Last Post: Vindex

Forum Jump: