Year 11 GCSE Set Texts BOUDICA’S REBELLION

1. LATIN IUGLANTES VITAI FERIMUS Year 11 GCSE Set Texts BOUDICA’S REBELLION Before you look at the questions and answers, it might be useful to at least scan the resources listed below. The answers given here are not “model” answers; they are designed merely to show you some of the things you need to think about as you prepare the text. Start by reviewing the course of the rebellion with this map. There are lots of superb resources on the CSCP web site which are well worth exploring. In particular there is a video clip which helps you to understand how the battle progressed. Look at this recent newspaper article as an illustration of how wealthy at least some sections of Iceni society were. Use mouse click to get next question and next answer

2. LATIN IUGLANTES VITAI FERIMUS BOUDICA’S REBELLION #1 rex Icenorum Prasutagus, divitiis diu clarus, Caesarem heredem duasque filias scripserat, tali obsequio ratus et regnum et domum suam procul iniuria futuram esse. How had Prasutagus become rex Icenorum? The previous king had been killed and Prasutagus had been made a ‘client king’ by the Romans. ‘Client king’ means that he is treated very well by the Romans and allowed a great deal of independence, provided he behaves! Why had he made the emperor his heir? He hoped that by this submissiveness (obsequio) he would be able to keep his daughters (who got half the inheritance) and his household (domus) safe from interference and also ensure that his kingdom (regnum) would not be interfered with or broken up.

3. LATIN IUGLANTES VITAI FERIMUS BOUDICA’S REBELLION #1a rex Icenorum Prasutagus, divitiis diu clarus, Caesarem heredem duasque filias scripserat, tali obsequio ratus et regnum et domum suam procul iniuria futuram esse. What does Tacitus mean by tali obsequio? He is referring to the fact that Prasutagus gave the emperor half his inheritance; Prasutagus is demonstrating his submissiveness (obsequium) to the Roman system. Tacitus uses the phrase procul iniuria; how does the phrase foreshadow what is going to happen? procul iniuria – ‘far from injury’. The injury did happen: his daughters were raped, and both his kingdom and his house were laid waste by the Romans.

4. LATIN IUGLANTES VITAI FERIMUS BOUDICA’S REBELLION #2 quod contra vertit, adeo ut regnum a centurionibus, domus a servis velut capta vastarentur. Pick out and translate the words Tacitus uses to express how awful the behaviour of the Romans was. capta – ‘captured’; vastarentur – ‘devastated’. Comment on Tacitus’ choice of centurionibus and servis. He is talking about what happened to Prasutagus’ kingdom and household. It was bad enough that they were devastated; what made it even worse was that the devastation of the kingdom was not done by high ranking officers or the governor of the province but by middle ranking, “non commissioned officers” and the devastation of the royal household was done not by soldiers, as you might expect in a war, but by the “lowest of the low” – slaves. It was almost an insult to the memory of Prasutagus. Face on the end of a torc ( a neck bracelet) found at Snettisham.

5. LATIN IUGLANTES VITAI FERIMUS BOUDICA’S REBELLION #3 iam primum uxor eius Boudica verberata et filiae stupro violatae sunt: principes omnes Icenorum, quasi Romani totam regionem muneri accepissent, avitis bonis exuuntur, et propinqui regis inter servos habebantur. Summarise the four ways in which the Romans mistreated the Iceni. • They beat Prasutagus’ wife. • They raped his daughters. • They deprived the Icenian chiefs of their ancestral lands. • They treated the relatives of the king as if they were slaves. Comment on Tacitus’ use of the phrase inter servos. the juxtaposition of regis and servos emphasises how degrading was the treatment; from being the highest they become the lowest.

6. LATIN IUGLANTES VITAI FERIMUS BOUDICA’S REBELLION #3a iam primum uxor eius Boudica verberata et filiae stupro violatae sunt: principes omnes Icenorum, quasi Romani totam regionem muneri accepissent, avitis bonis exuuntur, et propinqui regis inter servos habebantur. Why might the Romans have believed they had received the whole area as a gift (muneri accepissent)? Because they, or their emperor, had been left half of it in Prasutagus’ will; also they were the victors and perhaps arrogant. What were the consequences of the Roman behaviour? The Iceni took up arms; other tribes also tried by rebellion to recover their freedom. They attacked and burned Colchester, then moved on to London and St Albans and did the same.

7. LATIN IUGLANTES VITAI FERIMUS BOUDICA’S REBELLION #4 qua contumelia et metu graviorum permoti, quod in formam provinciae cesserant, rapiunt arma; commoti sunt ad rebellionem Trinobantes et qui alii, nondum servitio fracti, recipere libertatem occultis coniurationibus pepigerant. Explain the phrase in formam provinciae. The Iceni were no longer a free and independent people; they were fully under Roman control and had to pay taxes and tolerate Roman customs and institutions. Comment on the tense of rapiunt. Present Tense used for the past – called a Historic Present and used to make the action more vivid and more immediate.

8. LATIN IUGLANTES VITAI FERIMUS BOUDICA’S REBELLION #4a qua contumelia et metu graviorum permoti, quod in formam provinciae cesserant, rapiunt arma; commoti sunt ad rebellionem Trinobantes et qui alii, nondum servitio fracti, recipere libertatem occultis coniurationibus pepigerant. Who were the Trinobantes? They were a tribe (also known as the Trinovantes) who lived to the south of the Iceni around the Colchester and Chelmsford area. Their capital was at Widford, near Chelmsford. Explain what Tacitus means by nondum servitio fracti. “not yet broken by servitude”. A free Roman could think of nothing worse than being a slave. To be or become a slave was to be less than a human being. The point he is making is that the tribes still had the spirit to rebel since they had not been completely ‘demoralised’ (fracti) by being made into slaves. Slave shackles

9. LATIN IUGLANTES VITAI FERIMUS BOUDICA’S REBELLION #5 acerrimum in veteranos odium; qui in coloniam Camulodunum nuper deducti pellebant domibus Trinobantes, exturbabant agris, captivos vel servos appellabant; Who are the veterani? Ex soldiers: part of the deal was that at the end of 25 years of service they would get settled on land so they could become farmers. What word tells us that they were particularly hated? acerrimum – ‘most strong, most bitter’. Why were they particularly hated? they were starting to drive the Trinobantes from their homes and off their lands and beginning to call them prisoners or slaves. Explain Tacitus’ choice of tense in pellebant, exturbant, appellabant. All three are in the Imperfect Tense; being used in the sense of ‘beginning to’ or ‘kept on..’.

10. LATIN IUGLANTES VITAI FERIMUS BOUDICA’S REBELLION #5a acerrimum in veteranos odium; qui in coloniam Camulodunum nuper deducti pellebant domibus Trinobantes, exturbabant agris, captivos vel servos appellabant; What is a colonia? A town and surrounding land established for ex soldiers so that they had the amenities of a town and also a plot of land at the end of their service. Comment on Tacitus’ choice of words in captivos and servos. To call proud Celtic warriors prisoners or slaves was very insulting, particularly since they were neither prisoners of war nor taken into slavery. Tacitus is underlining just how “out of order” the Roman behaviour was. Comment on the use of language here. To emphasise what the veterans did, Tacitus used a tricolon, a set of three examples – a very common rhetorical device.

11. LATIN IUGLANTES VITAI FERIMUS BOUDICA’S REBELLION #6 militesque superbiam saevitiamque veteranorum incitabant similitudine vitae et spe eiusdem licentiae. What are the words which show Tacitus’ negative views of the Romans’ behaviour? superbia: ‘arrogance’, saevitia: ‘savagery’, licentia: ‘lack of restraint’. Explain the phrase similitudine …… licentiae. The soldiers stationed in Colchester supported the ex-soldiers’ actions because they felt they were of the same profession (similitudine vitae) and also they hoped that they too could get away with similar behaviour (spe eiusdem licentiae). Comment on the sounds of the words in this sentence. There are a number of ‘s’ sounds which give a “hissy”, “spitty” feel to the sentence where Tacitus is clearly being very critical of the behaviour of both the serving soldiers and the ex-soldiers.

12. LATIN IUGLANTES VITAI FERIMUS BOUDICA’S REBELLION #7 ad hoc, templum divo Claudio exstructum quasi arx aeternae dominationis aspiciebatur, electique sacerdotes specie religionis omnes fortunas suas effundebant. Explain why the temple of Claudius in Colchester was viewed as an arx aeternae dominationis. Worshipping the deified emperor was one way in which provincials were required to show their loyalty to Rome. Therefore the temple ‘guarding’ the statue of Claudius was like a citadel/fortress (arx) and the temple and statue were a constant reminder to the locals that they were now being controlled by the power of Rome, represented by the emperor. Why were the Celtic noblemen chosen as priests for the temple so upset. There would have been a series of festivals to worship the emperor and the people chosen as priests were forced to pay for them; “they were forced to pay for the supposed privilege of worshipping the symbol of their own oppression”. Reconstruction of the temple of Claudius on the site of Colchester Castle.

13. LATIN IUGLANTES VITAI FERIMUS BOUDICA’S REBELLION #8 nec difficile videbatur delere coloniam nullis munimentis saeptam; quod ducibus nostris parum provisum erat, cum amoenitati prius quam usui consuluissent. Why was it not difficult for the Iceni to destroy Colchester? As archaeology has shown, the ex-legionary fortress given over to the veterans had had its fortifications levelled; therefore there was nothing to stop the Iceni getting into the town. What does Tacitus mean by cum amoenitati prius quam usui consuluissent? The authorities, in planning the colony for the veterans, had been more concerned about appearances, about it looking good (amoenitati), rather than what would be useful/practical (usui) , like walls, if there were some emergency such as an uprising by the ‘natives’. Remains of the walls at Verulamium (St Albans)

14. LATIN IUGLANTES VITAI FERIMUS BOUDICA’S REBELLION #9 iam Suetonio erant quarta decima legio cum vexillariis vicensimae et e proximis auxiliares, decem ferme milia armatorum: contendere et acie congredi parat. Who is Suetonius? Gaius Suetonius Paulinus had been appointed as governor of the province of Britain in 59 CE. What had he been doing immediately prior to these events? He had been in North Wales, attacking the island of Anglesey, to try to root out British resistance to Roman rule, in particular by the Druids for whom Anglesey was an important centre. Suggest why Tacitus so exactly enumerates the Roman troops. Later he will emphasise how few Romans were killed or injured. Here he is building up a sense of how amazing the Roman victory was: they had about ten thousand troops facing ten times as many British, but still won!

15. LATIN IUGLANTES VITAI FERIMUS BOUDICA’S REBELLION #10 eligitque locum angustis faucibus et a tergo silvis clausum; sciebat enim nihil hostium esse nisi in fronte, et apertam esse planitiem sine metu insidiarum. Why did Suetonius choose this location? It was a narrowing valley (angustis faucibus): this would force the enemy to bunch up as they approached the Roman lines. The valley was closed off by woods behind (a tergo silvis clausum): the enemy would not be able to creep round and attack the Romans from the rear. He would be certain the enemy were in front of him (nihil hostium esse nisi in fronte). He had a view down the slope onto the flat ground: he would be able to see what the enemy were doing since they had no place to hide and ambush him (apertam planitiem sine metu insidiarum). Possible arrangement of forces on the battlefield.

16. LATIN IUGLANTES VITAI FERIMUS BOUDICA’S REBELLION #11 igitur legionarii instructi sunt frequentes ordinibus, levi armatura circumstante; equites conglobati pro cornibus adstiterunt. What three types of troops are mentioned here. Legionary troops (legionarii), lightly armed troops/ auxiliary troops (levi armatura), cavalry (equites). What were the tasks of each type? Legionaries are the heavily armed, well trained shock troops who go “head to head” with the enemy. The job of the cavalry is generally to come at the enemy from the sides and harry them; if the enemy turn tail, they will pursue them and pick them off. The auxiliaries are various specialist groups such as archers and slingers whose task is to try to break up the organisation of the enemy forces.

17. LATIN IUGLANTES VITAI FERIMUS BOUDICA’S REBELLION #12 at Britannorum copiae passim per catervas et turmas exultabant, tanta multitudo quanta non alias, et animo adeo feroci ut coniuges quoque testes victoriae secum traherent, plaustrisque imponerent quae ad extremam planitiem posuerant. What is the contrast Tacitus makes between the Britons and the Romans? The Romans have chosen a good place for the battle; they have different types of soldiers for different jobs; the different troops have clear positions. The Britons are in total disorder (exultabant) all over the place (passim), milling about with no sense of order or tactics. Explain the phrase tanta multitudo quanta non alias. There was a larger crowd of Britons assembled than there had ever been before. Why was what the Britons did (plaustris .. posuerant) a big mistake? We learn later that when the Romans turned the Britons to flight their escape routes were blocked by these waggons which they had put in a semicircle behind their troops to give their families a vantage point for what they were confident would be a great victory.

18. LATIN IUGLANTES VITAI FERIMUS BOUDICA’S REBELLION #13 ac primum legio gradu immota et angustiis loci defensa, postquam in appropinquantes hostes certo iactu tela exhauserat, tamquam cuneo erupit. What three things did the legionary soldiers do? • They stayed firm in their position. • They threw their javelins with deadly effect. • They advanced against the enemy. Explain tamquam cuneo. Instead of the conventional advance in line abreast, the units formed wedge shapes which forced their way into the mass of the enemy and meant that the British were forced into narrowing gaps between the wedges and could then be attacked from the sides, where they were more vulnerable.

19. LATIN IUGLANTES VITAI FERIMUS BOUDICA’S REBELLION #14 auxiliares quoque impetum faciunt; et equites protentis hastis perfringunt quod obvium et validum erat. Comment on the tenses used in this sentence. faciunt and perfringunt are both in the present tense: “historic presents”. Using the present makes the action more immediate and underlines the speed with which the auxiliaries and the cavalry played their part in the battle.

20. LATIN IUGLANTES VITAI FERIMUS BOUDICA’S REBELLION #15 ceteri terga praebuerunt, difficili effugio, quia circumiecta plaustra saepserant abitus. Why were the plaustra circumiecta? A still from the Battlefield Britain video. For the link look at the first slide of this presentation. The waggons had been put around in a semi-circle behind the battle lines of the British so that the wives and children could spectate the battle which the British warriors fully expected, following their earlier successes, would be a victory.

21. LATIN IUGLANTES VITAI FERIMUS Newcastle Museums website ~ a view of a slave trader. BOUDICA’S REBELLION #16 et milites ne feminis quidem parcebant, confixaque telis etiam iumenta corporum cumulum auxerant. What words does Tacitus use to show how he seems to have felt about how extreme the Roman behaviour was? He stresses items very clearly: ne feminis quidem – not even women; etiam iumenta – even the pack animals. Why does he stress ne feminis quidem? The usual practice in war for Romans was that able bodied men would be killed but women and children would be taken off and sold in slavery; it was therefore unusual for women too to be slaughtered out of hand.

22. LATIN IUGLANTES VITAI FERIMUS BOUDICA’S REBELLION #17 eo die milites laudem claram et parem antiquis victoriis pepererunt: quippe sunt qui paulo minus quam octoginta milia Britannorum cecidisse tradant, militum quadringentis ferme interfectis nec multo amplius vulneratis. Translate eo die to pepererunt. On that day the soldiers earned praise that was unambiguous and equal to the victories of old. What do you think the point is that Tacitus is making in the sentence you have just translated? Tacitus has a generally dismal view of the morality of his own time and he is possibly suggesting that most victories over the last century have not been untainted with corruption or fixing of some sort. Certainly in talking about the “victories of ancient times” he is following what is a regular theme in Roman thought, that in the earlier, simpler, republican times behaviour was better, there was less corruption, there was more respect for the laws and customs. At last, he says, a Roman army has lived up to those early ideals.

23. LATIN IUGLANTES VITAI FERIMUS BOUDICA’S REBELLION #17a eo die milites laudem claram et parem antiquis victoriis pepererunt: quippe sunt qui paulo minus quam octoginta milia Britannorum cecidisse tradant, militum quadringentis ferme interfectis nec multo amplius vulneratis. Suggest a reason why Tacitus enumerates so closely the number of casualties on both sides. It is an emphatic way of underlining the difference in result between the organisation, training, tactics and discipline of the Roman army, on the one hand, and the shambolic, individualistic, indisciplined and “warrior culture” of the British forces, on the other hand. Alex Kington as Boudica

24. LATIN IUGLANTES VITAI FERIMUS BOUDICA’S REBELLION #18 Boudica vitam veneno finivit. Compare this sentence with the previous one. Discuss the effect of this final sentence. The previous sentence is long and full of details. This one is short, to the point of brutality, with no frills. Its simplicity highlights the finality of the Roman victory and the finality of Celtic protests at Roman rule. A question to think about: • is it possible to see where Tacitus’ sympathies lie? • Does he seem to have a viewpoint on Roman ‘imperialism’, on Rome’s treatment of other people? • Does he have a clear viewpoint on the behaviour of the Romans in Britain?