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<blockquote data-quote="Sepulchrave II" data-source="post: 9190459" data-attributes="member: 4303">Tacitus was regarded as generally reliable - at least in the broad strokes - for a long time, although a lot of criticism has been directed toward him in recent years (his anti-Tiberian rhetoric, confusion of some historical figures etc.). I'm not suggesting we throw him out - he's still the best of a sketchy bunch - but the storytelling flourishes (&quot;Calusidius offered him a drawn sword saying that it was sharper than his own&quot;), and his very purposeful use of language to direct the reader to certain conclusions are problematic.With regard to Boudica, we might imagine that Agricola, his father-in-law, regaled Tacitus with stories of his youthful campaigning, and, while plausible, we're really just adding to the fiction by evoking that scene. What we do know is that leaning into the literary trope of a doomed barbarian warrior-queen leading a popular uprising makes a damned good read. We know that Colchester, London and St Albans were all burned (the &quot;Boudican Destruction Horizon&quot;), but we can't really know the precise circumstances. We don't really even know Boudica's name (&quot;Victorious&quot; might be a title, or an aspirational idea).I don't necessarily think that Boudica is insufficiently attested - I'm just suspicious that her character might be a literary distillation of the complex events surrounding a violent uprising.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Sepulchrave II, post: 9190459, member: 4303"] Tacitus was regarded as generally reliable - at least in the broad strokes - for a long time, although a lot of criticism has been directed toward him in recent years (his anti-Tiberian rhetoric, confusion of some historical figures etc.). I'm not suggesting we throw him out - he's still the best of a sketchy bunch - but the storytelling flourishes ("Calusidius offered him a drawn sword saying that it was sharper than his own"), and his very purposeful use of language to direct the reader to certain conclusions are problematic. With regard to Boudica, we might imagine that Agricola, his father-in-law, regaled Tacitus with stories of his youthful campaigning, and, while plausible, we're really just adding to the fiction by evoking that scene. What we [I]do[/I] know is that leaning into the literary trope of a doomed barbarian warrior-queen leading a popular uprising makes a damned good read. We know that Colchester, London and St Albans were all burned (the "Boudican Destruction Horizon"), but we can't really know the precise circumstances. We don't [I]really[/I] even know Boudica's name ("Victorious" might be a title, or an aspirational idea). I don't necessarily think that Boudica is insufficiently attested - I'm just suspicious that her character might be a literary distillation of the complex events surrounding a violent uprising. [/QUOTE]

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