Celts: The Iceni

[Shogun 144]

In this article we will give a short history of the Iceni tribe of Prydain, that is Ancient Britain. Undoubtedly the most well known of the Brythonic tribes, the Iceni were among the strongest of the native Brythonic tribes.

Much of the history of the Iceni is unknown. Before the arrival of the Romans, and even after until the time of Boudica, we have little to no reliable sources on the Iceni. What we do know is pieced together through conjuncture, mostly based on what archeological remains have been found and primarily their coinage. From this modern historians have been able to gather some facts about the Iceni. Unlike many of their neighbors the Iceni were native Brythonic Celts, which probably means that the Iceni can be traced as far back as the 5th Century BC, when the Celts first arrived in the British Isles. We also know that the Iceni were not ruled by one king absolutely, but by a high king who was checked by a council of 11 other kings, which would explain some later events. The Iceni were also wealthy, one of the few non Belgic tribes to be so, and would later come to mint their own coins, under the influence of the Catuvellauni.

Our first solid evidence of the Iceni comes from Caesar. When the Romans arrived in Prydain for the second time in 54 BC the Iceni chose not to join the alliance formed against them by their southern neighbors, the Casse. Preferring to sit and watch the course of the war. When Caesar crossed the Thames the Iceni decided to submit to him with the other surrounding tribes. In his memoirs the victorious general records the Iceni under the name Cenimagni, though whether this is a result of Caesar misunderstanding the Iceni kings or purposefully miswriting their name to humiliate them is unknown, though both is equally possible. Unlike with the Casse and other tribes Caesar did not make the Iceni a client of Rome, and after recording their name down under his defeated foes he appears to have left them alone. Left to their own devices the Iceni were forgotten again, and not remembered until years later.

The Iceni appear again after the birth of Christ. Our next major mention of the Iceni comes after the beginning of the present era, when a king known as Addedomarus first began to mint coinage. Addedomarus drew his inspirations for these coins from the coinage of Tasciovanus, going as far as to use the same design (face/horse). However unlike the Catuvellauni, the Iceni minted the name of the tribe as a whole on their coins, only later adding the name of the king who minted them. At some point Addedomarus died and was succeeded by a king only known today as Can, which was the mark on his coins. Can died around 25 AD and was succeeded by the first reasonably well known Iceni high king, Antedios. This king would go on to rule for nearly 20 years, making him the longest reiging of any known king, before the arrival of the Romans, who would in time become the worst foe the Iceni would ever face.

Rome returned to Prydain in 43 AD. As a result of the need of Emperor Claudius to prove himself, and of the internal disputes of the Catuvellauni, the Romans invaded Prydain for the third time in 43 AD. Antedios, like his unknown predecessor in the second invasion, chose not to get involved and sat the war out. When the Catuvellauni were defeated Antedios submitted peacefully to the Romans, who made the Iceni an allied client state, and appointed him sole king of the tribe. This outraged the other kings of the Iceni, who deeply resented being ruled by one man. When Antedios began to mint coins with only his name, and no other mark on them, the other kings had had enough. Two of these kings, known only by their coin marks as Aesu and Saenu, minted their own coins in defiance of the high king. In an attempt to appease them Antedios took his mark off the coins, and went back to using the name of the tribe as the coin mark. But this olive branch gesture failed. In 47 AD the Roman governor, Publius Ostorius Scapula, arrived in Iceni territory to disarm them. This move by the Romans was sudden and unexpected. The various nobles, angered by what they perceived as a betrayal, united behind Antedios and rose in revolt.

The Iceni Revolt of 47 AD was easily put down by Roman arms, and a new man was chosen to replace Antedios as king. This man was named Esuprastus, but is better known as Prasutagus. Esuprastus, it appears from the records, was one of the 11 kings under Antedios. But unlike the others he did not revolt. Esuprastus knew that he could not revolt against Rome and succeed, and so decided to reign in peace. Esuprastus had the best recorded reign of any Iceni king, and in his reign the kingdom prospered and grew. The Romans themselves came to respect Esuprastus, and gave him permission to mint his own coinage separate of Roman control. Esuprastus also increased the wealth of the Iceni greatly, through increased trade and production of high quality ceramics, for which the Iceni were famous. In 49 AD he married the woman who has made the Iceni so remembered, Princess Boudica. That Boudica was of royal blood is undisputable, but which tribe she came from is under debate. In any case the two formed what appears to have been a formidable pair, and had two daughters. At one point Esuprastus began to take several large loans from Roman financiers, which would cause much trouble later on. In 60 AD he died and when his will was read the Romans were in for a surprise. Despite his servile attitude towards Rome Esuprastus had no intention of giving his kingdom to them after his death. In the will the kingdom was divided, with Nero receiving a greater portion and his daughters receiving a rump portion to rule over jointly. To Rome this was unacceptable, a client king was supposed to will his entire kingdom after his death to the empire. Besides that female inheritance was a foreign concept to the Roman mind. Nero decided to take the entire Iceni kingdom by force. Boudica was flogged and her daughters raped during the seizure. A year later a general revolt by the Brythonic and Belgic tribes occurred, Boudica at the head.

Boudica was the last Iceni ruler. Burning with rage at her and her family's mistreatment at Roman hands Boudica lead a mass revolt against Roman rule. Even the Belgic tribes, whom the Iceni usually looked down upon as barbaric, united with Boudica. The warrior queen went on a rampage across Roman Britain, burning and looting the Roman towns of Camulodunum Colonia, Londinium, and Verulanium. The Roman governor, Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, was unable to defeat Boudica and lost an entire legion in the opening stage of the rebellion. Paulinus was eventually able to defeat Boudica a year later at the Battle of Watling Street, near modern Athelstone. Following this Boudica and her daughters committed suicide to escape capture. As a result of this rebellion the Romans began an increased crackdown, though this lasted only a few years. After this we hear no more of the Iceni as a separate people.

In conclusion the Iceni were one of greatest tribes in Ancient Britain. Though much about them is shrouded in mystery we can say for certain that among the Brythonic Celts the Iceni were a major force. Remembered even to this day for their courageous last stand against Roman rule.

[charlystargirl]

This is very interesting. It's a great shame that the romans won.