Verbena
March 5th, 2001, 08:44 AM
Well as I have been absent I'll begin where others left off.........
Boudicca, known in Roman annals as Boadicea, was born into aristocracy around 30 A.D. Little or nothing is known of where she came from; many believe that her name, Boudicca, was not her name at all, but that she may have been called Boudiga -- the Celtic goddess of Victory -- by her followers, which would lead to the Latinized name given as 'Boadicea Victoria' given by Roman historians. Boudicca married into the Iceni royalty in southeastern Britain, believed about 48 A.D., and bore two daughters who had reached adolescence before her husband died of illness in 60 or 61 A.D. After his death came a series of surprising and ruthless attacks on her and her daughters by the Romans, and for this the Iceni tribe became outraged and Boudicca ultimately led a force believed to number over one hundred thousand or more, in a massive rebellion that left a permanent thorn in the side of the Roman Empire.
The Iberians were said to wear short tunics bordered with a purple stripe and dazzlingly white. The tunics were often dyed and embroidered and worn with a gold-plated or silver-plated belt. The cloaks were made of wool; they were heavy or light according to the season and were fastened at the shoulder by a brooch. A defeated Celtic warrior is shown on a fragment of a monumental bronze statue from Volubilis in Roman Mauretania in north Africa; his Bracae have what Piggott has described as 'loud and disparate check patterns' and his cloak hangs loosely from his shoulders. Such an impression of woven designs is also given in a description of Queen Boudicca, who wore a tunis of many colours over which a thick cloak was fastened by a brooch.
An outstanding characteristic of the Celtic people was their love of decoration and ornament. 'They collect a great quantity of gold and use it for decoration, not only the women but also the men. For they wear bracelets on the wrists and arms, necklaces of solid gold, rings of great worth and even gold corslets' (body armour for the upper part of the torso). The torc was one of the most important ornaments worn by the Celts. It was a neck ring made of a rod of metal (sometimes twisted), of bronze or gold according to the wealth and status of the wearer. The two ends of the torc almost met, but the metal was pliant, for it had to open sufficiently to let it on or off. As with clothes, so with adornments, each man wore what he could afford and what status demanded. It is obvious, however, that the Celts liked to attract attention with flambuyant clothes and rich, decorative accessories. These ornaments were more truly booty than arms, shining brightly before the battle but ugly in the midst of blood and wounds.
Boudicca, known in Roman annals as Boadicea, was born into aristocracy around 30 A.D. Little or nothing is known of where she came from; many believe that her name, Boudicca, was not her name at all, but that she may have been called Boudiga -- the Celtic goddess of Victory -- by her followers, which would lead to the Latinized name given as 'Boadicea Victoria' given by Roman historians. Boudicca married into the Iceni royalty in southeastern Britain, believed about 48 A.D., and bore two daughters who had reached adolescence before her husband died of illness in 60 or 61 A.D. After his death came a series of surprising and ruthless attacks on her and her daughters by the Romans, and for this the Iceni tribe became outraged and Boudicca ultimately led a force believed to number over one hundred thousand or more, in a massive rebellion that left a permanent thorn in the side of the Roman Empire.
The Iberians were said to wear short tunics bordered with a purple stripe and dazzlingly white. The tunics were often dyed and embroidered and worn with a gold-plated or silver-plated belt. The cloaks were made of wool; they were heavy or light according to the season and were fastened at the shoulder by a brooch. A defeated Celtic warrior is shown on a fragment of a monumental bronze statue from Volubilis in Roman Mauretania in north Africa; his Bracae have what Piggott has described as 'loud and disparate check patterns' and his cloak hangs loosely from his shoulders. Such an impression of woven designs is also given in a description of Queen Boudicca, who wore a tunis of many colours over which a thick cloak was fastened by a brooch.
An outstanding characteristic of the Celtic people was their love of decoration and ornament. 'They collect a great quantity of gold and use it for decoration, not only the women but also the men. For they wear bracelets on the wrists and arms, necklaces of solid gold, rings of great worth and even gold corslets' (body armour for the upper part of the torso). The torc was one of the most important ornaments worn by the Celts. It was a neck ring made of a rod of metal (sometimes twisted), of bronze or gold according to the wealth and status of the wearer. The two ends of the torc almost met, but the metal was pliant, for it had to open sufficiently to let it on or off. As with clothes, so with adornments, each man wore what he could afford and what status demanded. It is obvious, however, that the Celts liked to attract attention with flambuyant clothes and rich, decorative accessories. These ornaments were more truly booty than arms, shining brightly before the battle but ugly in the midst of blood and wounds.