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Calling all armchair generals! Boudica's Last Stand.
Haverfield gave the Ford Lectures at Oxford in 1907 on the subject of 'The Roman Occupation of Britain'. These were published in revised and expanded form, as Haverfield intended, in 1924 under the editorship of George Macdonald. The expansions were generally taken from Haverfield's other writings. The second lecture, entitled 'The Geography of Britain and the Roman Conquest', included an account of the Boudican revolt.

In this account, Haverfield deals with Paulinus' journey to London but does not mention cavalry. He simply says, 'Hurrying on ahead of the main body, he reached London.' He goes on, 'Finding that he could not hope to hold the town with practically no troops, he abandoned it to its fate.' After mentioning the fall of the municipium at St. Albans, he adds, 'Meanwhile the Roman commander had fallen back on his main body.' It is presumably from this that it is inferred that Paulinus did not travel alone but was accompanied by his cavalry. Haverfield places the final battle, ' . . . perhaps in the southern midlands, certainly on or near the line of Watling Street'. A footnote indicates that this comes from a letter that Haverfield wrote to The Antiquary in 1914.

Worryingly, Haverfield states that, when the emergency arose, Paulinus 'had at his disposal the Fourteenth Legion, a portion of the Twentieth, and some auxiliaries'. This conforms to Tacitus' account of the Roman troops at the final battle but Haverfield goes on, ' - probably the better part of twenty thousand men', twice the number given by Tacitus. When a scholar, even one as distinguished as Haverfield, shows such disregard for his source material as this, one has to wonder to what extent he can safely be relied upon.
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 - 06-05-2020, 04:29 PM

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