Finding Boudicca: Documentaries of the Boudiccan Revolt From Best to Least

As a historian, often we consider topics such as popular history. Productions and products to be consumed by the part of the population not in academia. While working on my own form of popular history (more on that in the future), I often wonder what popular history gets right, and what do they get wrong. How can I avoid the pitfalls that plague things like documentaries? How can I produce a piece of popular history that appeals to both the masses and to those with background knowledge in the topics and subjects I am writing about? In this case, my current work of popular history centers on Britannia of the mid first century, more precisely, during the Boudiccan revolt. So as part of my own research, I had consumed various documentaries surround Boudicca and her revolt against the Romans in 60/61 C.E. I wanted to see what they did correctly? What did they get wrong? And what did they do differently? In the end this would constitute a study of can we produce appealing public history that caters to both the laymen, as well as the reenactor or the armchair historian? Here are a list of documentaries on the Boudiccan revolt rated best to worst. So please comment on what you think, or perhaps recommend one you like (or hated).

Battlefield Britain: "Boudica's Revolt" (2004)

Aired on BBC 2 in 2004, Battlefield Britain has the father and son team of Peter and Dan Snow visiting various historical battle sites in British History. Battlefield Britain uses narrations by both Snows and utilizes graphics, location shots, computer, and dramatizations. One element that makes Battlefield Britain unique compared to the other documentaries on this list is they utilize costumed actors to speak of events in past tense. This is reminiscent of many Living History museums which used their costumed interpreters to discuss essential topics of history in the first person.This documentary also features costumed re-enactors in the typical fashion of most documentaries. It is a breath of fresh air to see the high quality of kit being used. A lot of the armor and helmets are right at home in Britannia of the 1st century. Not a single leather wristband greets viewers in these scenes, as well as no leather segmata on officers. Sharp-eyed viewers will also be able to glimpse authentic marching kits and shield covers. For scenes that require more massive scale and for the battles, this show relies on computer animation to get the job done. For being nearly 15 years old, the quality of the animation is top notch and has aged pretty well. From the burning of Camulodunum and Londonium to the Battle of Watling Street we are greeted with crisp, clean animation, that has aged very well. So much so I feel it is far superior to the video game animation of Decisive Battles (which we discuss later). While there is not much detail on how the Legions moved from a standard formation to a flying V formation, the documentary illustrates its shape and effectiveness quite well and clearly. Unlike other documentaries, especially ones on this list, Battlefield Britain does not use the talking heads approach. Instead of subject matter, experts are replaced with those as mentioned earlier first-person costumed actors recounting of events. Instead, we are treated to narrations by the Snows, who were made famous by their commentary on English rowing teams. The elder Snow had studied the classics at Oxford under Russell Meigs. Peter Snow is a well known political correspondent and regularly appears on BBC documentaries. His son Dan who is also an Oxford graduate in Modern History, and has also appeared on numerous BBC productions. I find both Snows to be appealing as narrators, and their presentation to be clean and exciting. One thing I did note was this documentary was the only one to claim that the Romans had used ballista at the final battle of the Boudiccan revolt. It has been a long while since I have read the primary sources on events, and the other documentaries failed to mention this, so I am unsure if it is an obscure fact, or an excuse to play with a ballista on camera. I may return to this after more digging. Battlefield Britain is a solid documentary and has an interesting concept. It feels like it also has high production value, with only minor issues. I give Battlefield Britain "Boudicca's Revolt" eight out of ten sestertii.

Barbarians Rising: "Revenge" (2016) Produced for the History Channel, Barbarians Rising utilizes a

combination of historical dramatization and talking heads, a staple of documentaries in the recent decade, to present Boudicca's revolt. Shown from the perspective of Boudicca and the Iceni, this documentary discusses the typical narrative of the Boudicca revolt. The episode sets the stage by starting with the aftermath of the invasion of Britannia and the treaty between Claudius and the Iceni.

We meet Boudicca (Kirsty Mitchell)during the breaking of the agreement by the Romans after the death of King Prasutagus, leading into the opening stages of the rebellion, the burning, and massacres at Camulodunum and Londonium, ending with Boudicca's defeat at the hands of Gaius Suetonius Paulinus and his Legions. Unlike documentaries of the late 1990s and early 2000s (we find examples in this article), there is no reliance on using visual elements such as battlefield maps, charts or animations, save for the occasional map. Instead, the episode relies on the Holywood style dramatization to convey the narrative, and the talking head experts to support the episode's theses. Regarding production value, Barbarian Rising suffers from the same pitfalls as other Roman documentaries and Holywood productions. It utilizes the same visual tropes, leather bracers and segmata for officers, a combination of studs and black chainmail for milite, etc. Even Bouddica's costuming is a mish-mash of leather bracers, Gaelic, Celtic and Viking pieces. Concerning the drama, I have always found the acting in Barbarian Rising to be quite well for a Hollywood style documentary. Out of the two portrayals of Bouddica in this article, I saw Kirsty Mitchell's to be the better one of the two. Her acting was neither hammy nor over the top, and it felt like she took the role seriously. Since the documentary itself is more barbarian centric, we see the Romans as the antagonists, where other documentaries rely on a neutral stance. In this case, the role of antagonist falls to Catus Decianus (John Bowler) playing Catus as violent, exploitive and unfeeling of the Britons, referring to the Iceni as animals, and coldly looking on after ordering the whipping of Boudicca and the rape of Boudicca's daughters. The use of digital effects increases the size and scope of events portrayed in the documentary. The burning of Roman towns and the final battle of the revolt are able to have a more epic view, on a small documentary budget, and lack of tens of thousands of extras. I find that the maps and sparse battlefield illustrations used in the documentary are of very high quality and put together very well. Barbarian's Rising does lend itself to some issues. One of the most notable is towards the end during the Battle of Watling Road (a modern name for the final battle of Boudicca's revolt), shows a chariot mounted Boudicca being knocked off her chariot by pila, leaving her to engage Romans. Boudicca fights, only to be stabbed in the gut by a milite, and expires in front of her daughter, just before the battle's end. While her daughter is run down by the Roman cavalry, these scenes contradict the two theories that Boudicca has either poisoned herself after the fight or had died of illness. The documentary also neglects to mention the incident of Iceni baggage trains, filled with non-combatants, being arranged in the back of the army of Britons. A move by the Britons, of course, causing a chokepoint for the routed army, leading to the most massive casualties of warriors, men, woman, and children. I am unsure if this was a conscious choice, to make a more sympathetic Boudicca. In every version of this battle and the other documentaries, the baggage train appears so its absence here may be either a mistake or a production decision. Barbarian Rising is a well put together documentary. The execution, though flawed, was on point. The show suffers from the typical flaws of other depictions of Rome on film, mostly bad costuming choices. It also suffers from historical inaccuracies. In the end, I give this depiction of Boudicca seven out of ten sestertii.

Decisive Battles: "Boudicca: Warrior Queen, AD 61" (2004) One of the early documentary productions put out by the History Channels. Decisive Battles was noted for combining animations using the Rome Total War 1 Engine, along with the traditional animations and talking heads to produce a series centered on some of the most significant battles in antiquity. Like the other works on this list the Boudicca episode focuses on the Boudiccan revolt of 60/61 C.E. Where it differs compared to the others, is that it focuses more on the final battle (referred to by the anachronistic Watling street) between Boudicca's forces and the 14th and 20th Legions under Gaius Suetonius Paulinus. Like the other episodes of Decisive Battles "Boudicca: Warrior Queen, AD 61" begins with an open narration by Gossip Girl's Matthew Settle, usually on location for that episodes battle. The episode then switches between maps, scenes utilizing animation from the Rome Total War engine (replacing the views of reenactors as used in old documentaries or dramatizations as the newer ones). Decisive Battles gives the historical background of events leading up to the final decisive battle. The documentary briefly goes into the Roman reneging on their deal with the Iceni, the flogging of Boudicca, etc. So brief this is, the causations of the revolt, and Boudica's response including the defeat of the Ninth Legion was covered in just over 6 minutes. While the clash between Boudicca and Gaius Suetonius Paulinus was covered into 11 minutes. The documentary spends time discussing the terrain, formation of the two forces and the opening speeches of the commanders. Unlike Barbarian's Rising, the baggage trains and the massacre caused by them is demonstrated in this work. I have always been a fan of the History Channel's choices for talking heads. In the case of this episode, the subject matter experts are Mark Hassel and Ian Haynes, both university professors of archaeologists, with a focus on Roman Britain. Mark Hassel is a favorite academic of mine and frequently publishes on the period of 1st century Britannia. On small issue I have is often the show does not give the name or university of the subject matter expert, just in case someone wanted to look up their work for further reading. Another point of issue with the show is the animation. With

video game technology and more realism in video game animation, the 14-year-old technology utilized by Decisive Battles has not aged very well, and with the advent of new animation technology, even in rerun, the show may be rendered obsolete. Another point of contention is that the episode neglects to mention the flying V tactic used by Gaius Suetonius Paulinus' legions. This allowed the Romans to envelop the

Iceni on 3 sides and lent to the eventual routing of Boudicca's forces. It is unknown if this was accidentally left out or was due to the limitations of the Total War engine. Whichever the case may be this marks the only documentary that does not illustrate this tactic. While I consider this documentary to be a sort of classic in pre-Pawn Stars History Channel, it has not really aged well concerning the animated sequences, and will only get worse with age. It also marks itself as the shortest of the works at almost 22 minutes, meaning it is brief and does not go very much into too much depth. In the end, I give this depiction of Boudicca five out of ten sestertii.

While there are more potential documentaries about the Boudiccan revolt to choose from, they will possibly have to wait until a future time, as I have yet to set out to viewing them for even the first time. Perhaps for a later time. Also notably absent is the Warrior Queen the 2003 production starring Dr. Who's Alex Kingston as Boudicca, and also notable for being Emily Blunt's first film appearance. This film would require a new viewing and an article entirely to itself.

Until next time, and as always Vae Victus Marcus Cestius Pullus.