"The Painted Savages of England" 

by Pastor Alban Heath

(1934)

FOREWORD

The substance of the following pages was given as a lecture at

The College, Harrow Weald Park. In issuing the lecture in printed

form as a Handbook I have thought it advisable to give in full

the speeches of Caradoc, Boadicea and Galgacus. This was not

possible in a single lecture; but it is only by reading these

noble utterances in full that we can visualize the circumstances

and appreciate the lofty sentiments expressed therein. Further,

as some readers may not have at hand the works of Tacitus (the

Roman historian of the first century A.D. - Keith Hunt) from

which the extracts are taken, it seemed best to give what I have

given here.

While this little book does nothing more than bring together in

compact form information with which most students of History are

familiar, it may be that to some the information will come as new

and useful.

If this book should prove to be of service to those who are

seeking to spread the truth, it will serve the purpose intended.

It is only as our message is based upon established facts that we

can hope to succeed in enlightening those "who sit in darkness."

I have not thought it necessary to labour the distinction between

British and English. It enough to show that this land was blessed

with culture long before the coming of the English and with

Christianity long before the arrival of Augustine.

ALBAN HEATH

THE "PAINTED SAVAGES" OF ENGLAND

PAGE 1

WHEN toward the end of August 55 B.C.(1) Caesar and his legions

landed on the shores of Kent, "they saw the beach crowded with

horses and chariots, and skin-clad, blue-dyed infantry armed with

pointless swords, and uttering shouts of defiance," says

Sanderson.(2) Thus does the painted savage theory perpetuate

itself.

It is based on the description of Julius Caesar. 

Caesar was in Gaul(France). Finding a little time hanging on his

hands, Caesar resolved to visit England, "Having spent

altogether eighteen days beyond the Rhine, and thinking he had

advanced far enough to serve both honour and interest, (Caesar)

returned into Gaul, and cut down the bridge." (3) "During the

short part of summer which remained Caesar . . . resolved to

proceed to Britain."(4) He came with about eighty ships and two

legions, but more ships and soldiers were in the offing. It was

intended as a flying visit only for they came without baggage.(5)

As the autumn equinox drew near, i.e. about september 23rd,

1. The date war probably several years earlier, but this is the

date given by Sanderson.

2. History of England and the British Empire, p.5. 

3. The Gallic War, iv, 19.

4  Ibid, 20.   

5. Ibid, 30.

PAGE 2

Caesar was anxious to get away again and returned to France under

cover of night.(1)

It was too brief a visit to learn much, and his critics of a

generation or so later seem to have made merry over his

adventure. They said the visit "tended to the advantage neither

of the general nor of Rome, beyond the mere extension of the

empire."(2) It was said he came to find pearls; instead of

pearls he found painted savages.

This was a short visit, and there was not time to learn much. But

Caesar learned one or two things that apparently affected his

plans for a second visit.

The following year Caesar came again. This time he brought with

him five legions, i.e. 30,000 soldiers (or if we accept Gibbon's

findings on the strength of the legion, 63,000 men (3) "a number

of horse equal in number to that which he had left on the

continent," namely 2,000, and 800 ships.(4)

Things did not go well after landing. A fierce storm played havoc

with his fleet. About 40 ships were lost, and most of the others

were damaged.(5) Under these circumstances, Caesar suspended

military operations, set his soldiers to mend the boats, while he

himself beguiled the weary hours of waiting by writing a

description of the country he had not seen and in delineating the

character of the men he had come to conquer. He  came, he saw, he

described. He wrote:

1. The Gallic War, 36.   

2. Ibid., 2 1, footnote.

3. Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol.1, p.20.

Bohn's Libraries.

4. Caesar, Gallic War, v.8.   

5. Ibid., v.11

PAGE 3

"Most of the inland inhabitants do not sow corn, but live on milk

and flesh and are clad with skins. All the Britains, indeed, dye

themselves with wood,(1) which occasions a bluish colour, and

have a more terrible appearance in fight."(2) 

Of course, we are greatly indebted to Caesar for placing on

record much that he wrote, but in utter disregard of an abundance

of evidence to the contrary writers of History have perpetuated

the painted savage fallacy on such slender evidence as the above,

the evidence of one who had advanced no further than Kent, and

had such little knowledge of the people whom he describes.

"A kind of conquest Caesar made here; but made not here his brag

of came and saw and overcame."(3)

It is my purpose to lay before you some of the evidence which    

shows that the painted savage idea is not only a fallacy; it is a

libel on a people boasting a high state of civilisation and a

proud degree of culture. Designedly, I give extracts from the

works of others so that my theme may not rest on personal

conjecture. I begin with one of England's great law-givers,

MOLMUTIUS, of the fifth century B.C. I shall quote from

PREHISTORIC LONDON by E.O.Gordon, and I shall give the page

references as I proceed.

"The earliest historical record of Winton  (Winchester) as a

'Gorsedd,' i.e., a great seat of a monarch and a seat of

government, is In 500 B.C.,

1. This is evidently a typographical error for "woad"

2. Caesar, Gallic War, v.14

3. Cymbeline, iii, 1

PAGE 4

when, according to local tradition, Dunwal Molmutius made Winton

his capital." (p.83) "Molmutius' name and fame is more especially

associated with the traditions of Winton (Winchester), the

southern capital where his merits have been publicly recognised.

As a roadmaker we have his work in the seven converging roads

like the spokes of a wheel in the old White City; three of these

roads centred in London. For that Londinium was only second in

importance is exemplified by Winton and London being the only

places shown on an Anglo-Saxon map of the world preserved among

the muniments of Hereford Cathedral."(p.142)

The following selection from the Triads of Molmutius will give

some idea of his laws:

"There are three tests of Civil Liberty: equality of rights -

equality of taxation - freedom to come and go."

"There are three civil birthrights of every Briton: the right to

go wherever he pleases - the right, wherever he is, to protection

from his land and sovereign - the right of equal privileges and

equal restrictions."

"There are three sacred things by which the conscience binds

itself to truth: the name of God - the rod of him who offers up

prayers to God - the joined right hand."

"There are three persons who have a right to public maintenance:

the old - the babe - the foreigner who cannot speak the British

tongue."(P.144)

"The Bryn Gwyn (i.e., White Hill or Mound, 

PAGE 5

where the Tower of London now stands) in Caesar's time, we should

remember, was still in its original condition, simply a green

conical mound, with no building whatever upon it, consecrated to

the service of the Most High, and venerated as the burial place

of two of the most illustrious of our pre-historic British kings,

Brutus, the reputed founder of London, and Molmutius, the 'Solon'

of Britain." (p.154)

"From Barddas ,being a collection of original documents

illustrative of the Theology, Wisdom and Usages of the

Bardo-Druidic system published by the Welsh MSS. Society in 1852)

we now learn that the Druidic Gorsedd Laws were incorporated by

the British King Dunwal Molmutius, who lived in the fifth century

B.C., in his famous code." (p.165)

After research in the British Museum, Mr. Harrison Hill writes:

"The Laws of Dunvallo Molmutius, sixteenth king of the Britons,

who reigned above 400 years before the birth of Christ. These

were the first published laws in Britain, and together with those

of Queen Mercia, were translated by Gildas into Latin (Usher's

'Primord.' 126, quoted in Wharton's 'Law Lexicon,' xiiith Edition

(1925), p.569). The same information plus an important statement

appears in 'The Law Dictionary': 'These laws were famous in this

land till the time of William the Conqueror. They were translated

out of the British into the Latin tongue'!"(1)

1 Appendix 'H', in The Post-Captivity Names of Israel, Dr. Goard,

p. 119.

PAGE 6

Spencer sang the praises of Molmutius, and SHAKESPEARE puts into

the mouth of Cymbeline these words:

"Say, then, to Caesar,

Our ancestor was that Mulmutius which 

Ordained our laws, whose use the sword of Caesar 

Hath too much mangled; whose repair and

franchise

Shall, by the power we hold, be our good deed, 

Though Rome be therefore angry: Mulmutius made our laws,

Who was the first of Britain which did put His brows within a

golden crown and call'd Himself a king."

Cymbeline,Act iii, scene i

A system of jurisprudence implies a standard of education. Before

a man can originate, or codify, a set of laws he requires a

degree of culture commensurate with the task he undertakes.

Further, a degree of culture is implied among the governed. One

of the problems which confronts us in the government of untutored

Natives is their lack of knowledge of the meaning of the law

which is designed for their good. Since Molmutius promulgated

laws which survived for at least fifteen hundred years we are

bound to infer a state of education far removed from the level of

painted savages.

Have we any evidence of such education? We 

PAGE 7

certainly have. For untold and unknown centuries the Druids had

operated in this land. and our INCREASING KNOWLEDGE of them bears

witness to their culture. 

(One book I have in my library on the Druids is by Peter

Berresford Ellis - one of the greatest experts on the Druids

alive today. The amount of research he has done on the Druids

makes him one of the foremost experts on the subject. Yes, the

Druids did believe in the "immortal soul" idea, but what they

taught and believed, their standard of education etc. is FAR

removed from the little bit of "slanted" writing sometimes put

forth by the Worldwide Church of God writers of the past - Keith

Hunt)

In describing the Druids of Gaul, a description which applies

equally to the Druids in England, in England, Caesar says: 

"The former (Druids) are engaged in things sacred, conduct the

public and private sacrifices, and interpret all matters of

religion. To these a large number of the young men resort for the

purpose of instruction, and they (the Druids) are in great honour

among them. For they determine respecting almost all

controversies, public and private; and if any crime has been

perpetrated, if murder has been committed, if there be any

dispute about an inheritance, if any about boundaries, these same

persons decide it. . . ." "The Druids do not go to war.... They

(scholars) are said there to learn by heart a great number of

verses; accordingly some remain in the course of training twenty

years. Nor do they regard it lawful to commit these to

writing.... "(1)

Turning from Caesar to a recent work on the subject we find

supporting evidence.(2) Mr. Dudley Wright has produced a large

and scholarly volume on Druidism from which I shall now quote,

giving the page references as I proceed:

"In Britain, the Druidical order is said to have numbered

thirty-one seats of education, each being a Cyfiath, or City, 

the capital of a tribe." (p.5)

1. Gallic War, vi, 13,14.

2. Druidism, The Ancient Faith of Britain, Dudley Wright,1924.

PAGE 8

"Repentance and purification were regarded by the Druids as

necessary duties. They observed one day in seven as peculiarly

sanctified and made holy by the Great Creator, and they were wont

to dedicate one-tenth of all their substance to religious

purposes." (p.55)

"They were monogamists and of the highest morality." (p.56)

"The period of novitiate and the character of the training of an

aspirant to the Druidical priesthood ... lasted for twenty

years." (p.60)

"Four degrees were conferred during the long novitiate; the first

being given after three years study in the arts of poetry and

music, if the candidate, by his capacity and diligence, merited

the honour. The second was conferred after six years further

study, if merited; the third after a further nine years study;

and the final degree, equal to a doctorate, was bestowed two

years later on the completion of the twenty years course." 

(p.66)

"Before an aspirant to the priesthood could attain to that

exalted rank, he had to pass through the two preliminary and

definite degrees of Bard and Vate, or Ovate." (p.75)

"The first requisite for admission as a disciple was

unimpeachable moral character, for it was indispensably necessary

that the candidate, above all things, should be above any

criticism as to character and conduct." (p.76)

"Afterwards their calling came to be held in such high esteem

that they were maintained at the expense of the state." (p.76)

PAGE 9

"Nine years was generally sufficient for graduation as a Bard,

but his education was not considered complete, for the purposes

of this graduation, until he had committed to memory 20,000

verses containing, in allegorical language, the tenets of the

Druidical faith." (p.79)

"From the Triads of Dynwal Moelmud, who is said to have written -

about four hundred years before the Christian era, we learn that:

'There are three distinguished characters of the art of Bardism.

First, the chief Bard or the free privileged Bard, who obtains

his dignity and privilege through discipline under a master duly

authorised, being a conventional bard. He must preserve every

record of the arts and sciences whilst he should continue in his

office of Bard regularly inducted in dignity and privilege. He

must also keep every record and memorial of the country and tribe

respecting marriage, pedigrees, arms, inheritances, and

privileges of the country and tribe of the Cambrians.' " (p.85)

Thus, that we have abundant evidence to show that a high state of

culture existed in this land centuries before Caesar dubbed the

people as painted savages. Unfortunately, the Druids did not

favour writing , and consequently their works have not come, down

to us.

(This is now dismissed as in-correct, for when Christianity

became the state religion of Britain in the 2nd century A.D. some

of Druid teachings and beliefs etc. were written down - Keith

Hunt).  But we see in the amazing feats of memory a strong

argument in favour of the truth of those traditions which have

come down to us through the ages. As stated above Mr.Ellis is

today regarded as the foremost authority on the Druids and what

he has written about them would shock most people who have not

studied the subject of the Druids or have only read or heard

"slanted" and/or "twisted" ideas from ones who also have never

studied the subject in any depth - Keith Hunt)

If the Druids left no tomes of learning to show  to posterity the

nature and extent of their learning, they left a noble race of

people whose courage in

PAGE 10

face of difficulty, whose conduct in the presence of the foe,

whose dignified bearing in the day of adversity is to their

eternal honour, and bears witness to the quality of that

instruction and training they had received at the hands of the

Druids.

Fortunately, most of the work of the Roman historian, TACITUS    

has come down to us and bears witness to his own industry and to

the immortal fame of those noble Britons who withstood the 

onslaughts of the Roman legions.

TACITUS flourished C.A.D. 55-120, so that he was not far removed

in time from the events he so GRAPHICALLY describes in his pages.

First, let us take his account of the epic struggle Caradoc, or

Caractacus to give him his Roman name, and the Roman legions

between A.D.49 and A.D.54.

TACITUS (the Roman Historian of first century A.D.)

PAGE 10 continued

These arrangements settled, Ostorius marched against the Silures.

To their natural ferocity that people added the courage which

they now derived from the presence of Caractacus. Renowned for

his valour, and for various turns of good and evil fortune, that

heroic chief had spread his fame through the island. His

knowledge of the country, and his skill in all the wiles and

stratagems of savage warfare, gave him many advantages; but he

could not hope with inferior numbers to make a stand against a

disciplined army. He therefore marched into the territory

of the Orovicians,(1) Having there drawn to his standard all who

considered peace with Rome as

1. The people of North Wales.

PAGE 11

another name for slavery, he determined to try the issue of a

battle. For this purpose he chose a spot where the approach and

the retreat were difficult to the enemy, and to himself every way

advantageous. He took post in a situation defended by steep and

craggy hills. In some places where the mountains opened, and the

acclivity afforded an easy ascent, he fortified the spot with

massy stones, heaped together in the form of a rampart. A river,

with fords and shallows of uncertain depth, washed the extremity

of the plain. On the outside of his fortifications, a vast body

of troops showed themselves in force, and in order of battle.

The chieftains of various nations were busy in every quarter.

They rushed along the ranks, they exhorted their men; they roused

the timid; confirmed the brave; and, by hopes, by promises, by

every generous motive, inflamed the ardour of their troops.

Caractacus, was seen in every part of the field; he darted along 

the lines; he exclaimed aloud, 'This day, my fellow-warriors,

this very day, decides the fate of Britain. The era of liberty,

or eternal bondage, begins from this hour. Remember your brave

and warlike ancestors, who met Julius Caesar in open combat,

and chased him from the coast of Britain. They were the men who

freed their country from a foreign yoke; who delivered, the land

from taxations, imposed at the will of a master; who banished

from your sight the fasces and  the Roman axes; and, above all, 

who rescued your wives and daughters from violation. The soldiers

PAGE 12

received his speech with shouts of applause. With a spirit of

enthusiastic valour, each individual bound himself by the form of

oath peculiar to his nation, (Tacitus here uses "nation" for what

we would say "clan" - Keith Hunt) to brave every danger, and

prefer death to slavery.

The intrepid countenance of the Britons, and the spirit that

animated their whole army, struck Ostorius with astonishment. He

saw a river to be passed; a palisade to be forced; a steep hill

to be surmounted; and the several posts defended by a prodigious

multitude. The soldiers, not-with-standing, burned with

impatience for the onset. All things give way to valour, was the

general cry. The tribunes and other officers seconded the ardour

of the men. Ostorius reconnoitred the ground, and having marked

where the defiles were impenetrable, or easy of approach, gave

the signal for the attack. The river was passed with little 

difficulty. The Romans advanced to the parapet. The struggle

there was obstinate, and as long as it was fought with missive

weapons, the Britons had the advantage. Ostorius ordered his men

to advance under a military shell, and level the pile of stones

that served as a fence to the enemy. A close engagement followed.

The Britons abandoned their ranks, and fled with precipitation to

the ridge of the hills. The Romans pursued with eagerness. Not

only the light troops, but even the legionary soldiers forced

their way to the summit of the hills, under a shower of darts.

The Britons, having neither breast-plates nor helmets, were not

able to maintain the conflict. The legions, sword in hand, or

PAGE 13

with their javelins, bore down all before them. The auxiliaries,

with their spears and sabres, made prodigious havoc. The victory

was decisive. The wife and daughter of Caractacus were taken

prisoner. His brother surrendered at discretion. Caractacus fled

for protection to Cartismandua, queen of the Brigantes. But

adversity has no friends. By that princess he was loaded with

irons and delivered up to the conqueror. He had WAGED WAR with

the ROMANS during the last NINE years. His FAME was not confined

to his native island; it passed into the provinces, and spread

all over Italy. Curiosity was eager to behold the heroic

chieftain who, for such a length of time, made HEADWAY against a

great and powerful empire. Even at ROME the name of CARACTACUS

was in HIGH celebrity. The Emperor, willing to magnify the glory

of the conquest, bestowed the praise on the valour of the

vanquished king. He assembled the people to behold a spectacle

worthy of their view. In the field before the camp the praetorian

bands were drawn up under arms. The followers of the British

Chief walked in procession. The military accoutrements, the

harness and rich collars, which he had gained in various

battles, were displayed with pomp. The wife of Caractacus, his   

and his, brother, followed next. He himself closed the melancholy

train. The rest of the prisoners, struck with terror, descended

to mean and abject supplications. Caractacus alone was superior

to misfortune. With a countenances still unaltered, not a symptom

of fear appearing, no sorrow, no

PAGE 14

condescension, he behaved with dignity even in ruin. Being placed

before the Tribunal he delivered himself in the following manner:

"If to the nobility of my birth, and the splendour of exalted

station, I had united the virtues of moderation, Rome had beheld

me not in captivity, but a royal visitor and a friend. The

alliance of a prince, descended from an illustrious line of

ancestors; a prince, whose sway extended over many nations, would

not have been unworthy of your choice. A reverse of fortune is

now the lot of Caractacus. The event to you is glorious, and to

me humiliating. I had arms, men and horses; I had wealth in

abundance; can you wonder that I was unwilling to lose them? The

ambition of Rome aspires to universal dominion; and must mankind,

by consequence, stretch their necks to the yoke? I stood at bay

for years; had I acted otherwise where, on your part, had been

the glory of conquest, and where, on mine, the honour of a brave

resistance? I am now in your power; if you are bent on vengeance,

execute your purpose; the bloody scene will soon be over, and the

name of Caractacus will sink into oblivion. Preserve my life, and

I shall be, to late posterity,a monument of Roman clemency."

Claudius GRANTED HIM A FREE PARDON, and the same to his wife, his

daughter and his brother. Released from their fetters, they

advanced to another tribunal near at hand, where Agrippina showed

herself in state. They returned thanks to her, and paid their

veneration in the same style as they had before addressed to the

Emperor.

PAGE 15

The sight was altogether new. A woman, stationed amidst the

ensigns and the armies of Rome, presented a spectacle unknown to

the old republic; but in an Empire acquired by the valour of her

ancestors Agrippina claimed an equal share.

At the next meeting of the senate, the victory over Caractacus

was mentioned with the highest applause, as an event no way

inferior to what had been seen in ancient times, when Publius

Scipio brought Syphax in chains to Rome; when Lucius Paulus led

Perses in captivity; and when other commanders exhibited to the

Roman people kings and princes at their chariot-wheels." (Annals,

xii, 33-38).

Caradoc proved himself a foe worthy of the highly disciplined

Romans. For nine years he had defied them. 

His speech before the Roman Tribunal was a noble deliverance

which would do credit to the noblest in the land today.

We have seen the spirit of the people of the West: we have seen

the nobility of the man, Caradoc; now let us look at the quality

and spirit of a noble woman, BOADICEA. The following incident

took place, according to TACITUS, during the period A.D. 59-62.

".... While the Britons were preparing to throw off the yoke, the

statue of victory, 

PAGE 16

erected at Camalodunum, fell from its base without any apparent

cause, and lay extended on the ground with its face averted, as

if the goddess yielded to the enemies of Rome. Women in restless

ecstacy rushed among the people, and with frantic screams

denounced impending ruin. In the council chamber of the Romans,

hideous clamours were heard in a foreign accent; savage howlings

filled the theatre, and near the mouth of the Thames the image of

a colony in ruins was seen in the transparent water; the sea was

purpled with blood, and at the tide of ebb, the figures of human

bodies were traced in the sand. By these appearances the Romans

were sunk in despair while the Britons anticipated a glorious

victory. Suetonius, in the meantime, was detained in the Isle of

Mona. In this alarming crisis, the veterans sent to Catus

Decianus, the procurator of the province, for a reinforcement.

Two hundred men, and those not completely armed, were all that

officer could spare. The colony had but a handful of soldiers.

Their temple was strongly fortified, and there they hoped to make

a stand. But even for the defence of that place, no measures were

concerted. Secret enemies mixed in all their deliberations. No

fosse was made, no palisade thrown up; nor were the women and

such as were disabled by age or infirmity, sent out of the

garrison. Unguarded and unprepared, they were taken by surprise

and, in the moment of profound peace, overpowered by the

Barbarians in one general assault. The colony was laid waste with

fire and sword.

PAGE 17

The temple held out, but, after a siege of two days, was taken by

storm. Petilius Cerealis, who commanded the ninth legion, marched

to the relief of the place. The Britons, flushed with success,

advanced to give him battle. The legion was put to the rout, and

the infantry cut to pieces. Cerealis escaped with the cavalry to

his entrenchments. Catus Decianus, the procurator of the

province, alarmed at the scene of carnage which he beheld on

every side, and further dreading the indignation of a people,

whom by rapine and oppression he had driven to despair, betook

himself to flight and crossed over into Gaul.

Suetonius, undismayed by this disaster, marched through the heart

of the country as far as London, a place not dignified with the

name of a colony, but the chief residence of merchants, and the

great mart of trade and commerce. At that place he meant to fix

the seat of war; but, reflecting on the scanty numbers of his

little army and the fatal rashness of Cerealis, he resolved to

quit that station and, by giving up one post, secure the rest of

the province. Neither supplications nor the tears of the

inhabitants could induce him to change his plan. The signal for

the march was given. All who chose to follow his banners were

taken under his protection. Of all who, on account of their

advanced age, the weakness of their sex, or the attractions of

the situation, thought proper to remain behind not one escaped

the rage of the Barbarians. The inhabitants of Verulamium,(Now

St.Albans)) a municipal town, were in like manner put to the

PAGE 18

sword. The genius of a savage people leads them always in quest

of plunder; and, accordingly, the Britons left behind them all

places of strength. Wherever they expected feeble resistance and

considerable booty, there they were sure to attack with the

fiercest rage.

Military skill was not the talent of Barbarians. The number

massacred in the places which have been mentioned, amounted to no

less than SEVENTY thousand, all citizens or allies of Rome. To

make prisoners and reserve them for slavery or to exchange them

was not in the idea of a people who despised all the laws of war.

The halter and the gibbet, slaughter and desolation, fire and

sword were the marks of savage valour. Aware that vengeance would

overtake them, they were resolved to make sure of their revenge

and glut themselves with the blood of their enemies.

The fourteenth legion, with the veterans of the twentieth and the

auxiliaries from the adjacent stations, having joined Suetonius,

his army amounted to little less than 10,000 men. Thus

reinforced, he resolved without loss of time to bring on a

decisive action. For this purpose he chose a spot encircled with

woods, narrow at the entrance and sheltered in the rear by a

thick forest. In that situation he had no fear of an ambuscade.

The enemy, he knew, had no approach but in front. An open plain

lay before him. He drew up his men in the following order: the

legions in close array formed the centre; the light-armed troops

were stationed at hand to serve as occasion might require; the

cavalry took

PAGE 19

post in the wings. The Britons brought into the field an

incredible multitude. They formed no regular line of battle.

Detached parties and loose battalions displayed their numbers in

frantic transport bounding with exultation, and so sure of

victory, that they placed their wives in waggons at the

extremities of the plain where they might survey the scene of

action and behold the wonders of British valour.

Boadicea in a warlike car, with her two daughters before her,

drove through the ranks. She harangued the different

nations(clans) in their turn 'This,' she said, 'is not the first

time that the Britons have been led to battle by a woman.' But

now she did not come to boast the pride of a long line of

ancestry, not even to recover her kingdom and the plundered

wealth of her family. She took the field, like the meanest among

them, to assert the cause of public liberty, and to seek revenge

for her body seamed with ignominious stripes and her two

daughters infamously ravished. 'From the pride and arrogance of

the Romans nothing is sacred; all are subject to violation; the

old endure the scourge and the virgins are deflowered. But the

vindictive gods are now at hand.' A Roman legion dared to face

the warlike Britons; with their lives they paid for their

rashness; those who survived the carnage of that day lie poorly

hid behind their entrenchments, meditating nothing but how to

save themselves by ignominious flight. From the din of

preparation and the shouts of the British army the Romans even

now shrink back with terror. 'What

PAGE 20

will be their case when the assault begins? Look round and view

your numbers. Behold the proud display of warlike spirits and

consider the motives for which we draw the avenging sword. On

this spot we must either conquer, or die with glory. There is no

alternative. Though a woman, my resolution is fixed; the men, if

they please may survive with infamy, and live in bondage.'"

(Annals, xiv, 32-35).

In the final onslaught the Romans overwhelmed Boadicea, but not

until they had lost 400 men. Rather than fall into the hands of

her enemies Boadicea committed suicide.(Annals, xiv,37).

A noble Roman matron who committed suicide rather than surrender

her virtue to the call of lust earned the praise of posterity.

Shall we blame Boadicea for doing likewise? To us, at this remote

day, it may seem that her wild words and her ferocious deeds are

far removed from those standards we seek to inculcate; but we

must not overlook the insults to her womanhood and the outrage to

her maternal instincts that had driven her to frenzy.

     "Princess! if our aged eyes

     Weep upon thy matchless wrongs, 

     'Tis because resentment ties

     All the terrors of our tongues." 

     (Boadicea, by William Cowper).

On the theory of the painted savage less might have been expected

of her than of the Romans. When we have said the most and the

worst we can 

PAGE 21

against her we are left with the solid fact that she was brave

enough to pit the strength of a British Queen against the might

of the Roman legions.

The lines of William Cowper were prophetic:

     "Regions Caesar never knew, 

     Thy posterity shall sway, 

     Where his eagles never flew, 

     None invincible as they." 

We have taken a sample of the manhood of the West and a sample of

the womanhood of the East. We conclude this section with a sample

of the manhood of the North.

From "Life of Agricola," chapters xxix-xxxii

"Among the Chieftains a distinguished by their birth and

valour the most renowned was, Galgacus. The multitude gathered

round him eager for action and burning with uncommon ardour. He

harangued them to the following effect: 

'When I consider the motives that have roused us to this war;

when I reflect on the necessity that now demands our finest

vigour, I expect everything great and noble from that union of

sentiment that pervades us all. From this day I date the freedom

of Britain. We are the men who never crouched in bondage. Beyond

this spot there is no land where liberty can find a refuge. Even

the sea is shut against us, while the Roman fleet is hovering on

the coast. To draw the sword in the cause of freedom is the true

glory of the brave, and, in our condition, cowardice itself would

throw away the scabbard. In the battles, which have been hitherto

fought with alternate

PAGE 22

vicissitudes of fortune, our countrymen might well repose some

hopes in us; they might consider us as their last resource; they

knew us to be the noblest sons of Britain, placed in the last

recesses of the land, in the very sanctuary of liberty (the land

area we call Northern England and Scotland today - Keith Hunt).

We have not so much as seen the melancholy regions where slavery

has debased mankind. We have lived in freedom, and our eyes have

been un-polluted by the sight of ignoble bondage.

The extremity of the earth is ours: defended by our situation, we

have to this day preserved our honour and the rights of men. But

we are no longer safe in our obscurity; our retreat is laid open;

the enemy rushes on, and, as things unknown are ever magnified,

he thinks a mighty conquest lies before him. But this is the end

of the habitable world, and rocks and brawling waves fill all the

space behind. The ROMANS are in the HEART of our country; no

submission can satisfy their pride; no concessions can appease

their fury. While the land has anything left, it is the theatre

of war; when it can yield no more, they explore the sea for

hidden treasure. Are the nations rich, Roman avarice is their

enemy. Are they poor, Roman ambition lords it over them. The east

and the west have been rifled, and the spoiler is still

insatiate. The Romans, by a strange singularity of nature, are

the only people who invade, with equal ardour, the wealth and the

poverty of nations. To rob, to ravish, and to murder, in their

imposing language, are the arts of civil policy. When they have

made the world a solitude they call it peace.

PAGE 23

Our children and relatives are dear to us all. It is an affection

planted in our breast by the hand of nature. And yet those tender

pledges are ravished from us to serve in distant lands. Are our

wives, our sisters and our daughters safe from brutal lust and

open violation? The insidious conqueror, under the mask of

hospitality and friendship, brands them with dishonour. Our money

is conveyed into their treasury, and our corn into their

granaries. Our limbs and bodies are worn out in clearing woods

and draining marshes; and what have been our wages? Stripes and

insult. The lot of the meanest slave, born in servitude, is

preferable to ours. He is sold but once, and his master maintains

him; but Britain every day invites new tyrants, and every day

pampers their pride. In a private family a slave who is last

bought in provokes the mirth and ridicule of the whole domestic

crew; and in this general servitude, to which Rome has reduced

the world, the case is the same: we are treated at first as

objects of derision and then marked out for destruction.

What better lot can we expect? We have no arable lands to

cultivate for a master; no mines to dig for his avarice; no

harbours to improve for his commerce. To what end should the

conqueror spare us? Our virtue and undaunted spirit are crimes in

the eyes of the conqueror, and will render us more obnoxious. Our

remote situation, higherto the retreat of freedom, and do that

account the more suspected, will only serve do inflame the

jealousy of our enemies. we must

PAGE 24

expect no mercy. Let us therefore dare like men. We all are

summoned by the great call of nature; not only those who know the

value of liberty, but even such as think life on any terms the

dearest blessing. The Trinobantes,(The people of Essex under

Boadicea) who had only a woman to lead them on, were able to

carry fire and sword through a whole colony. They stormed, the

camps of the enemy and, if success had not intoxicated them, they

had been, beyond all doubt, the deliverers of their country. And

shall not we, unconquered and undebased by slavery, a nation ever

free, and struggling now, not to recover but to ensure our

liberties, SHALL WE NOT GO FORTH THE CHAMPIONS OF OUR COUNTRY?

Shall we not, by one generous effort, show the Romans, that we

are the men whom Caledonia has reserved to be assertors of the

public weal?

We know the manners of the Romans: and are we to imagine that

their valour in the field is equal to their arrogance in time of

peace? By our dissensions their glory rises; the vices of their

enemies are the negative virtues of the Roman army; if that may

be called an army which is no better than a MOTLEY CREW OF

VARIOUS NATIONS HELD TOGETHER BY SUCCESS (yes, as I've mentioned

the Roman army was not so much "Italians" - who are in the main a

small in stature people, but an army of hired tribes of europe,

especially the Germanic clans - Keith Hunt), and ready to crumble

away in the first reverse of fortune. That this will be their

fate, no one can doubt, unless we suppose that the Gaul, the

German and (with shame I add) the Britons, a mercenary band, who

hire their blood in a foreign service (yes, this Northern British

leader knew the Roman army was a bunch of "hired" guns - Keith

Hunt) will adhere from principle to a new master whom they have

lately served and long detested. They are now enlisted 

PAGE 25

by awe and terror; break their fetters, and the man who forgets

to fear will seek revenge.

All that can inspire the human heart, every motive that can

excite us to deeds of valour, is on our side. The field to

animate their drooping spirit; no parents to reproach their want

of courage. They are not listed in the cause of their country;

their country, if any they have, lies at a distance. They are a

band of mercenaries, a wretched handful of devoted men, who

tremble and look aghast, as they roll their eyes around and see

on every side objects unknown before. The sky over their heads,

the sea, the woods, all things conspire to fill them with doubt

and terror. They come like victims delivered into our hands by

the gods, to fall this day a sacrifice to freedom. 

In the ensuing battle(about A.D.83) be not deceived by false

appearances; the glitter of gold and silver may dazzle the eye;

but to us it is harmless, to the Romans no protection. In their

own ranks we shall find a number of generous warriors ready to

assist our cause.

The Britons know that for common liberties we draw the avenging

sword. The Gauls will remember that they once were a free people,

and the Germans, as the Usipians lately did, will desert their

colours. The Romans have left nothing in their rear to oppose us

in the pursuit; their forts are ungarrisoned; the veterans in

their colonies droop with age; in their municipal towns nothing

but anarchy, despotic government, and disaffected subjects. In me

behold your 

PAGE 26

general. Behold an army of free-born men. Your enemy is before

you, and, in his train, heavy tributes, drudgery in the mines,

and all the horrors of slavery. Are those calamities to be

entailed upon us? Or shall this day relieve us by a brave

revenge? There is the field of battle, and let that determine.

Let us seek the enemy and, as we rush upon him, remember the

glory delivered down to us by our ancestors; and let each man

think that upon his sword depends the fate of all posterity

(Wowww...what a speech from the northern leader of the British

against the army of Rome - Keith Hunt).

The Caledonians were driven back, BUT the Romans never penetrated

far into Scotland (What the writer failed to mention is that this

was so much true, that Rome could NOT TAME THE MIGHTY SCOTTISH

PEOPLE, and in the second century A.D. the Roman general Adrian

had to build a WALL across Northern England, which became known

in history as "Adrian's Wall" - to keep at bay the Scottish

armies - Keith Hunt).

I have given these extracts at length, because isolated sentences

fail to convey the real significance of the incidents. We see

from the above that in Wales, England and Scotland the leaders

were animated by the same noble sentiments.

"After a war of about forty years, undertaken by the most stupid,

maintained by the most dissolute, and terminated by the most

timid of all the emperors, the far greater part of the island

submitted to the Roman yoke," says Gibbon (Decline and fall of

the Roman Empire, vol.1, p.4. Bohn's Libraries).

But the judgment is NOT ENDORSED by TACITUS:

"Even Julius Caesar, the first of the Romans who set his foot in

Britain at the head of an army, can only be said by a prosperous

battle to have struck the natives with terror and to have made

himself MASTER of the SEASHORE. The discoverer, NOT the CONQUEROR

of the island, he did no more than show it to austerity. Rome could NOT boast of a

CONQUEST." (Life of Agricola, xiii).

"When Britain with the rest of the Roman world, fell to the lot

of Vespasian, the ablest officers were sent to reduce the island;

powerful armies were set in motion, and the spirit of the natives

began to droop. In order to spread a general terror, Petilius

Cerealis fell with sudden fury on the Brigantes. . . ." (Ibid,

xvii).

These extracts make it abundantly clear that the Romans did

NOT make the mistake of UNDERRATING the prowess of the Britons.

They recognized that the Britons were foes WORTHY of the BEST

ROMAN STEEL. In NO SENSE was Britain CONQUERED either by Caesar

or his successors. at best the Romans only OCCUPIED this land.

     "This England never did, nor never shall,

     Lie at the proud foot of a conqueror,

     But when it first did help to wound itself.

     Come the three corners of the world in arms, 

     And we shall shock them: nought shall make us rue,

     If England to itself do rest but true. "

     (Shakespeare, King John, v.7)