4.13. P. Suetonius the Romane with a fresh power assalteth the Britains, whose armie consisted as well of women as men: queene Voadicia incourageth hir souldiers, so dooth Sue|tonius his warriors, both armies haue a sharpe con|flict, the Britains are discomfited and miserablie slaine, the queene dieth, Penius Posthumus killeth himselfe, the Britains are persecuted with fire, swoord, and famine, the grudge betweene Cassi|cianus and Suetonius, whome Poly|cletus is sent to reconcile, of his traine, and how the Bri|tains repined at him. The xiij. Chapter.

P. Suetonius the Romane with a fresh power assalteth the Britains, whose armie consisted as well of women as men: queene Voadicia incourageth hir souldiers, so dooth Sue|tonius his warriors, both armies haue a sharpe con|flict, the Britains are discomfited and miserablie slaine, the queene dieth, Penius Posthumus killeth himselfe, the Britains are persecuted with fire, swoord, and famine, the grudge betweene Cassi|cianus and Suetonius, whome Poly|cletus is sent to reconcile, of his traine, and how the Bri|tains repined at him. The xiij. Chapter.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 _IN this meane time there came ouer to the aid of Sue|tonius, the legion surnamed the 14, and other bands of souldiers and men of warre, to the number of ten thou|sand in the whole, wherevpon (chieflie bicause vittels began to faile him) he prepared to giue battell to his eni|mies, and chose out a plot of ground verie strong within straits, and backed with a wood, so that the e|nimies could not assault his campe but on the front: yet by reason of their great multitude and hope of victorie conceiued by their late prosperous successe, the Britains vnder the conduct of quéene Uoadicia aduentured to giue battell,The Bri|tains were at that time 230000. men, (as Dion wri|teth.) hauing their women there to be witnesses of the victorie, whome they pla|ced in charrets at the vttermost side of their field.

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Uoadicia, or Boudicia (for so we find hir written by some copies,Corn. Tacit. li. 15. and Bonuica also by Dion) hauing hir daughters afore hir,Dion Cassius. being mounted into a char|ret, as she passed by the souldiers of ech sundrie coun|trie, told them it was a thing accustomed among the Britains to go to the warres vnder the leading of women; but she was not now come foorth as one borne of such noble ancestors as she was descended from, to fight for hir kingdome and riches; but as one of the meaner sort, rather to defend hir lost liber|tie, and to reuenge hir selfe of the enimie, for their crueltie shewed in scourging hir like a vagabond, and shamefull deflouring of hir daughters: for the li|centious lust of the Romans was so farre spred and increased, that they spared neither the bodies of old nor yoong, but were readie most shame fullie to abuse them, hauing whipped hir naked being an aged wo|man, and forced hir daughters to satisfie their filthie concupiscence: but (saith she) the gods are at hand readie to take iust reuenge.

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The legion that presumed to incounter with vs is slaine and beaten downe. The residue kéepe them close within their holds, or else séeke waies how to flée out of the countrie: they shall not be once able so much as to abide the noise and clamor of so manie thousands as we are héere assembled, much lesse the force of our great puissance and dreadfull hands. If ye therefore (said she) would wey and consider with your selues your huge numbers of men of warre, and the causes why ye haue mooued this warre, ye would surelie determine either in this battell to die with honour, or else to vanquish the enimie by plaine force, for so (quoth she) I being a woman am fullie re|solued, as for you men ye maie (if ye list) liue and be brought into bondage.

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Neither did Suetonius ceasse to exhort his people: for though he trusted in their manhood, yet as he had diuided his armie into three battels, so did he make vnto ech of them a seuerall oration, willing them not to feare the shrill and vaine menacing threats of the Britains, sith there was among them more wo|men that men, they hauing no skill in warrelike dis|cipline, and heereto being naked without furniture of armour, would foorthwith giue place when they should féele the sharpe points of the Romans wea|pons, and the force of them by whom they had so of|ten béene put to flight. In manie legions (saith he) the number is small of them that win the battell. Their glorie therefore should be the more, for that they being a small number should win the fame due to the whole armie, if they would (thronging to|gither) bestow their weapons fréelie, and with their swoords and targets preasse forward vpon their eni|mies, continuing the slaughter without regard to the spoile, they might assure themselues when the victo|rie was once atchiued to haue all at their pleasures.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 2 3 Such forwardnesse in the souldiers followed vpon this exhortation of the couragious generall, that e|uerie one prepared himselfe so readilie to doo his du|tie, and that with such a shew of skill and experience, that Suetonius hauing conceiued an assured hope of good lucke to follow, caused the trumpets to sound to the battell. The onset was giuen in the straits, greatlie to the aduantage of the Romans, being but a handfull in comparison to their enimies. The fight in the beginning was verie sharpe and cruell, but in the end the Britains being a let one to another (by reason of the narrownesse of the place) were not a|ble to susteine the violent force of the Romans their enimies, so that they were constreind to giue backe, and so being disordered were put to flight, and vtter|lie discomfited.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 2 3 There were slaine of the Britains that day few lesse than 80000 thousand,80000. Bri|tains slaine. as Tacitus writeth. For the straits being stopped with the charrets, staied the flight of the Britains, so as they could not easi|lie escape: and the Romans were so set on reuenge, that they spared neither man nor woman, so that manie were slaine in the battell, manie amongst the charrets, and a great number at the woods side, which way they made their flight, and manie were taken prisoners. Those that escaped, would haue fought a new battell, but in the meane time Uo|adicia, or Bonuica deceassed of a naturall infirmi|tie, as Dion Cassius writeth, but other say that she poisoned hir selfe, and so died, because she would EEBO page image 46 not come into the hands of hir bloodthirstie enimies. There died of the Romans part in this most nota|ble battell 400, and about the like number were grieuouslie hurt and most pitifullie wounded.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 Penius Posthumus maister of the campe of the second legion,Penius Posthumus sleteth him|selfe. vnderstanding the prosperous suc|cesse of the other Romane capteins, because he had defrauded his legion of the like glorie, and had refu|sed to obeie the commandements of the generall, contrarie to the vse of warre, slue himselfe.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 After this all the Romane armie was brought into the field to make an end of the residue of the warre. And the emperour caused a supplie to be sent out of Germanie being 2000 legionarie souldi ers, and 8 bands of aids, with 1000 horssemen, by whose comming the bands of the ninth legion were supplied with legionarie souldiers, and those bands and wings of horssemen were appointed to places where they might winter, and such people of the Britains as were either enimies, or else stood in doubt whether to be friends or enimies in déed, were persecuted with fire and sword.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 But nothing more afflicted them than famine, for whilest euerie man gaue himselfe to the warre, and purposed to haue liued vpon the prouision of the Romans and other their enimies, they applied not themselues to tillage, nor to anie husbanding of the ground,Iulius Cas|sictanus pro|curator. and long it was yer they (being a fierce kind of people) fell to embrace peace, by reason that Iulius Cassicianus, who was sent into Britaine as successor to Catus, fell at square with Sueto|nius, and by his priuat grudge hindered the prospe|rous successe of publike affaires. He sticked not to write to Rome, that except an other were sent to succéed in the roome that Suetonius did beare, there would be no end of the warres. Herevpon one Po|lycletus, which sometime had béene a bondman, was sent into Britaine, as a commissioner, to surueie the state of the countrie, to reconcile the legat and pro|curator, & also to pacifie all troubles within the Ile.

Compare 1577 edition: 1 The port which Polycletus bare was great, for he was furnished with no small traine that attended vpon him, so that his presence seemed verie dread|full to the Romans. But the Britains that were not yet pacified, thought great scorne to see such ho|norable capteins and men of warre as the Romans were to, submit themselues to the order of such a one as had béene a bondslaue.