The Glaven Valley Benefice Blakeney Area Historical Society
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On, 27 April, John Davies of Norwich Museum came to talk about East Anglia's early history and the life and exploits of Queen Boudicca or Boadicea as we oldies knew her. I mentioned a couple of months ago that three other eminent historians on the radio had seemed unable to say whether she or the whole Iceni clan ever actually existed. I am glad to say that in spite of the facts that they left no writings and do not seem to have buried their dead in any way that gives us clues, Mr Davies had much evidence of the verifiable existance of the lceni but he did tell us that no-one name Boudicca or Boadicea ever lived. Boadicea is apparently a known mistransliteration. Boudica with one C is recognisably Celtic for a victorious woman but Tacitus mispelt it with two Cs. Thus it only took a scribe to mistake a U for an A and one of the Cs for an E to produce the name that was in our school history books. But Tacitus clearly wrote about this victorious woman and her husband, Prasutagus, so we can take it that she definitely did exist. Mr Davies told us a great deal more about the period but I have taken so much space answering my previous query that I suggest you wait for the next BAHS Newsletter where I hope someone will have done him more justice. The Historical Society meetings will recommence on the last Tuesday in September.

Frank Hawes

To view past [publications and future events of the Society, please visit their website at

http://www.history-blakeney-area.org.uk/