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Boudica's speech before battle, in Tacitus

set in c. 60/61 CE, Britain. As Tacitus tells it.

Where and when

set in c. 60/61 CEBritain

about 1,965.5 years ago

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Boudica

, BritainAs Tacitus tells it

In plain words, ours

The gods are with a just revenge. One legion that dared fight us is dead. The rest are hiding in camp or thinking about running.

But heaven is on the side of a righteous vengeance; a legion which dared to fight has perished; the rest are hiding themselves in their camp, or are thinking anxiously of flight.

Tacitus, Annals 14.35Translated by A. J. Church and W. J. Brodribb (1876)Read the full passage (Tacitus, Annals 14.35, opens scaife.perseus.org)

What was going on, our summary

Britain, 60 or 61 CE, before a battle with the Romans. As Tacitus tells it, Boudica rides in a chariot with her daughters from tribe to tribe, speaking of her flogging and the abuse of her daughters. The huge British army has brought wives to watch from wagons.

Checked claim by claim against: Boudica leads a British revolt against Rome, the passage around the quote.

Why it matters

About the event it belongs to: Boudica leads a British revolt against Rome

Rome's final victory over the revolt ended resistance to Roman rule in most of southern Britain, a period that lasted until AD 410.

Based on Wikipedia: Boudican revolt

It marked the end of resistance to Roman rule in most of the southern half of Great Britain, a period that lasted until AD 410.

Wikipedia, Boudican revolt (opens en.wikipedia.org), as of 2026-10-01. Text CC BY-SA 4.0. Our line is checked against these sentences only.

Related moments

In time order, with this one in its place. Each says why it is here.

  1. 43 CEabout 17.5 years earlier Claudius invades Britain Also in Britain
  2. c. 60–61 CEDuring it Boudica leads a British revolt against Rome The event behind itAlso in BritainAlso about war and empire
  3. set in c. 60/61 CEThis momentBoudica's speech before battle, in Tacitus
  4. set in c. 60/61 CEDuring it Boudica on avenging lost freedom, per Tacitus Same passageMore from Boudica
  5. set in c. 60/61 CEDuring it Boudica's call to conquer or die, per Tacitus More from Boudica
  6. set in c. 60/61 CEDuring it Boudica rallies the tribes, as Tacitus tells it Same passageMore from Boudica
  7. 62 CEabout 1.5 years later Nero answers Seneca, as Tacitus tells it Same years
  8. 62 CEabout 1.5 years later Seneca offers Nero his wealth, per Tacitus Same years
  9. 64 CEabout 3.5 years later The Great Fire burns much of Rome Same years
  10. 65 CEabout 4.5 years later Nero orders his old tutor Seneca to die Same years
  11. 66 CEabout 5.5 years later Judaea rises against Rome Also about war and empire
  12. 122 CEabout 61.5 years later Hadrian's Wall is begun across northern Britain Also in Britain

Just before and after

The text around the quote, word for word from the same translation.

Show the passageHide the passage

On the other side, the army of the Britons, with its masses of infantry and cavalry, was confidently exulting, a vaster host than ever had assembled, and so fierce in spirit that they actually brought with them, to witness the victory, their wives riding in waggons, which they had placed on the extreme border of the plain. Boudicea, with her daughters before her in a chariot, went up to tribe after tribe, protesting that it was indeed usual for Britons to fight under the leadership of women. "But now," she said, "it is not as a woman descended from noble ancestry, but as one of the people that I am avenging lost freedom, my scourged body, the outraged chastity of my daughters. Roman lust has gone so far that not our very persons, nor even age or virginity, are left unpolluted.

The quote: But heaven is on the side of a righteous vengeance; a legion which dared to fight has perished; the rest are hiding themselves in their camp, or are thinking anxiously of flight.

They will not sustain even the din and the shout of so many thousands, much less our charge and our blows. If you weigh well the strength of the armies, and the causes of the war, you will see that in this battle you must conquer or die. This is a woman's resolve; as for men, they may live and be slaves." Nor was Suetonius silent at such a crisis. Though he confided in the valour of his men, he yet mingled encouragements and entreaties to disdain the clamours and empty threats of the barbarians. "There," he said, "you see more women than warriors.

Tacitus, Annals 14.34–36Translated by A. J. Church and W. J. Brodribb (1876)Read the full passage (opens scaife.perseus.org)

When, and whose words

Date
set in c. 60/61 CE. Set before the battle that ended the British revolt, which ancient sources date to 60 or 61 CE.
Whose words
As Tacitus tells it.
How this post was checked
  • The plain-words line was read against the quote alone by a second, independent pass, which found it adds no claim the quote does not make (2026-10-03).
  • Each claim in the summary was checked by an independent pass against only the material it cites.
  • The quote itself is checked by the build: word for word, once, at the cited section of the stored translation.

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