The Celtic Goddess of Sovereignty as Warrior - Boudicca and the Death of a Druid Prince by Bennett Blumenberg (2004).pdf - Bennett Blumenberg - morefaya2006

The Celtic Goddess of Sovereignty as Warrior:

Boudicca and the Death of a Druid Prince

ANCIENT HISTORY and RELIGION TIMELINE PROJECT

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"When man created language with wisdom,

As if winnowing cornflower through a sieve,

Friends acknowledged the signs of friendship,

And their speech retained its touch." Rg Veda 10.71

"Whatever is happening is happening for good...."

Krsna to Arjuna in the Bhagvad Gita

August 1, 2004

Introduction

The Goddess of Sovereignty must, unavoidably, be a warrior. Where was there ever a

kingdom that was never threatened from without or within, by those wishing to acquire power

and wealth? A God or Goddess of Sovereignty who could not also be a God or Goddess of

War would be powerless and impotent in the face of such crises and the integrity of the realm

would be easily compromised. The revival of Goddess religions in our times is frequently

ignorant of, and impatient with, historical traditions. We live in times where supreme importance

is attached to the “reinvention” of history and traditions so as to make it ‘relevant’ to times, as if

former ages had nothing to contribute except for the broad outlines of old fashioned symbolism

that we now market with trendy chic. If the Goddess is real, and I am proceeding on that belief,

then reinventing her is a preposterous idea, to say the least. She was, and always will be, here

as well as there . Our task is to discover the timeless and to learn from it. This means a deep

and serious exploration of history, not solely to collect ‘facts’ and document dates, but to

discern the metaphysical truths ancient times contained. After truly contemplating that vast

accumulation of knowledge and insight, then and only then, may we cautiously experiment with

the modification of tradition. Impulsive and unthinking “reinvention” is a game for children and

the results will be cartoons of the real. They will only have meaning to the immature who are

forever infatuated with their own egos and the obsessive need to personalize anything and

everything in order to acquire an imagined psychotherapeutic benefit. Our cultural

obsessiveness, with ritual “reinvention”, only reflects our ignorance and immaturity. It is as if

forcing a simplistic, contemporary image on archetypal styles and forms will somehow reveal the

most profound of meanings. Furthermore, the fringes of contemporary feminist rhetoric is

myopic. It easily mixes social theory with a “politically correct” theology and thereby subverts

an accurate perception of what actually existed in the past.

The Historical Record

“The classical description of the Celtic woman warrior comes from the Roman History

of the fourth century Byzantine writer, Ammianus Marcellinus, which makes it somewhat

suspect. He derives much of his material from Timagenes, a contemporary of Emperor

Augustus. In an oft-quoted passage he states:

‘Nearly all the Gauls are of lofty stature, fair and of ruddy complexion; terrible from the

sternness of their eyes, very quarrelsome, and of great pride and insolence. A whole troop of

foreigners would not be able to withstand a single Gaul if he called his wife to his assistance,

who is usually very strong, with blue eyes; especially when, swelling her neck, gnashing her

enormous teeth, and brandishing her sallow arms of enormous size, she begins to strike blows

mingled with kicks, as of they were so many missiles sent from the strong of a

catapault.’( Roman History XV, 12).

“There (Britain) the existence of powerful queens of the Iceni and Brigantes, namely

Boudicca and Cartimandua, testifies to a tradition of British women rulers which may have

differed from the situation prevailing in Gaul. Cartimandua, wife of the Brigantian chieftain

Venutius, appears to have held power in her own right. Tacitus (c. 55-117 A.D.), in The

Histories (III, 45), refers to her as pollens nobilitate (‘powerful by reason of noble birth’),

implying that she had inherited the right to rule her tribe, perhaps confirmed through her marriage

to Venutius, undoubtedly the ruler of another Brigantian tribal group (Charles-Edwards

1974:45). Her power is further demonstrated by her action of turning the rebel leader

Caratacus over to the Romans in chains in 51 A.D., which probably created a rift in the

Brigantian federtions.

“Six years later, Cartimandua separated from Venutius for unknown reasons and

attempted to entice his male relatives over to her side. But, as Tacitus states in The Annals of

Imperial Rome , with considerable Roman anti-feminism, ‘her enemies, infuriated and goaded

by fears of humiliating feminine rule ( stimulante ignominia, ne feminae imperio

subderenteur ), invaded her kingdom with a powerful force of picked warriors’ (Roman History

XII, 40). This led the Romans to send their first auxiliaries and finally a legion to reinstate her.

As a result, Cartimandua's authority was confirmed and there appears to have been a

reconciliation between her and Venutius. The Romans were rewarded for their support four or

five years later, during Boudicca's revolt, when the situation was not complicated by a

Brigantian attack on the rear of Paulinus's hard pressed armies. Undoubtedly, Cartimandua was

as happy with her Roman client-state position as her fellow client ruler, Cogidummus, in Sussex

(Richmond 1954:50).

“In 59 A.D. Prasutagus, king of the Iceni, (modern day East Anglia), died but left a will

naming the Emperor Nero co-heir with his two daughters, thereby hoping to preserve his

kingdom and household from attack. Prasutagus’ widow, Boudicca, apparently resisted, and

was flogged by the Romans while her two daughters were raped. According to Dio Cassius (c.

150-235 A.D.) who, aside from Tacitus, provides the only full account of the rebellion,

Boudicca was ‘a British woman of the royal family possessed of greater intelligence than often

belongs to women’ ( Roman History , LXII, 2). In 60 A.D., while the Roman governor, Gaius

Suetonius Paulinus, was intent on the destruction of the druidic stronghold on Anglesey,

Boudicca launched her revolt. Dio Cassius describes her as she appeared before her troops:

She was huge of frame, terrifying of aspect, and with a

harsh voice. A great mass of bright red hair fell to

her knees; she wore a great twisted golden torc, and a

tunic of many colors, over which was a thick mantle,

fastened by a brooch. Now she grasped a spear, to

strike fear into all her watched her ( ibid ; Chadwick 1972: 50).

“In Boudicca’s speech, which Dio Cassius probably invented as a standard rhetorical

piece, although it undoubtedly reflects the contemporary Roman view of her, she berates the

Iceni for having allowed themselves to be enslaved by the Romans. After she finishes speaking,

she releases a hare as a form of divination which runs to the auspicious side. She then invokes

the war goddess Andrasta (whose name probably means the “The Invincible One” -- ironically

Boudicca's name also seems to mean ‘Victory’), and clearly identifies herself with the goddess,

saying:

‘I thank thee Andraste, and call upon thee as woman speaking to woman ...

those over whom I rule are Britons,

men that know not how to till the soil or ply a trade,

but are thoroughly versed in the art of war and hold all things in common,

even children and wives, so that the latter possess the same valour as men’

( Roman History LXII, 6). 1

“Dio Cassius has Boudicca condemn the Romans for their effeminacy, although this

may reflect Dio Cassius’ own view of Nero's court. She beseeches Andrasta for ‘victory,

preservation of life and liberty’ from men who bathe in warm water, eat artificial dainties, drink

in mixed wine, anoint themselves with myrrh, sleep on soft couches with boys for bedfellows --

boys past their prime at that, -- and are slaves to a lyre player and a poor one too. ( ibid ) Her

attack on Nero continues:

‘herefore may this Mistress Domitia-Nero reign no longer over me or over you men;

let the wench sing and lord it over Romans, for they surely deserve to be the

slaves of such a woman after having submitted to her so long.

But for us, Mistress (Andrasta), be thou alone ever our leader.’ ( ibid )

“The Iceni were then joined by the Trinovantes of Esses who particularly hated the

Roman ex-soldiers who had formed a settlement ( colonia ) at Camulodunum (Colchester), the

former Trinovantian capital. ...After two days of of siege, the town fell and the inhabitants were

butchered. Suetonius Paulinus hastened from Wales but, when neither his own legions nor the

Second Legion summoned from the southwest arrived, he had to abandon both Londinium

(London) and Verulamium (St. Albans) to Boudicca's fury.

“ ...(A)rcheological excavations have corroborated the wholesale destruction of the

settlements. ...He (Dio Cassius) focuses on Boudicca’s gruesome propriation of the war

goddess she had invoked in the groves sacred to her. ... ( Roman History , LXII 7). This

implies that the war goddess would be particularly satisfied by the sacrifice of female victims, in

1 Boudiccas was likely a druidess as well as political and military leader of the Iceni, as the realeasing of the

hare for divination and invocation of the war goddess Andraste indicate. This combination of roles in a

woman of extraordinary physical presence and intelligence served to make her one of the foremost British

Celtic leaders in history. (cf Ross and Robins. 1989: 101-103.)

the same way we know from other accounts that male deities were propriated by the sacrifice

of male captives.” (Doan 1987: 29).

Boudicca ordered an unspeakable mutilation of the women who had become Roman

sympathizers and collaborators; I refer you to Doan (1987) for an exact description which I

have chosen not to reproduce. The extraordinary circumstance which demands thoughtful

comment is that this is the only instance in ancient history that I am aware of where a female

leader, who is also acting as her own general, and is also an epiphany of the Goddess of War,

deliberately chose to torture and execute female prisoners of war. Obviously, this historical

record needs to be reconciled with my remarks above concerning a nurturing war goddess;

there is certainly not a trace of that aspect in this situation. Nurturing behavior can be destroyed

by vicious abuse and, in certain situations, may be inappropriate if the opponent is unusually

savage and cruel. Furthermore, unspeakable cruelty to civilian enemies has throughout history

been adopted as a deliberate, military strategy to terrify the enemy and bring a war to an

immediate close. As an epiphany of the Goddess of War, Boudicca adopted an extreme

strategem. It was a tragic choice in that it resulted in the deaths of many innocent civilians and

failed the cause of war started by the Iceni.

“The ferocity of Boudicca's revolt suggests considerable hostility to the Roman

occupation of Britain. Prior to this, the Iceni, Trinovantes and most of the other tribes had

seemed to accept Roman rule. Undoubtedly, the barbarous treatment they received following

the death of Prasutagus had done much to aggravate the situation. Following the sack of the

three towns, Suetonius Paulinus quickly gathered together nearly 10,000 armed men and, as in

[many of] the battles fought in Gaul during the previous century, the Romans utterly routed the

less disciplined Celtic tribesmen. The British were so confident of victory that they brought their

wives with them, stationing them in carts on the edge of the battlefield. According to both

Tacitus and Dio Cassius, Boudicca rode in a chariot before her army ... ‘The Romans attacked

in ordered fashion. The British fled with difficulty since the ring of wagons blocked the outlets. ...

Tacitus claims that Boudicca poisoned herself, whereas Dio Cassius claims that she fell sick and

died ...’ ”(Doan 1987: 27-30).

The spectacular events of 60 A.D. in Britain did not end with the obliteration of the

Celtic armies. Boudicca’s rebellion may have had an even wider context than has been

previously recognized, a context that interfaced with the heart of druidic power and myth.

The Roman Confrontation with Druidic Power

The Claudian invasion of Britain began in 43 A.D. The legions led by Aulus Plautius

landed in Kent unopposed. At the river Medway, a united Celtic army under Caratacus met the

legions in battle and was defeated. Caratacus survived to organize a guerrilla war with the

Silures and Ordovices, whose kingdoms were in the hills of south and central Wales. Roman

The Celtic Goddess of Sovereignty as Warrior - Boudicca and the Death of a Druid Prince by Bennett Blumenberg (2004).pdf

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