Boudica

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Boudica : biography

– AD 60 or 61

Fiction/Music/Film

Henry Purcell’s last major work, composed in 1695, was music for play entitled Bonduca, or the British Heroine (Z. 574). Selections include "To Arms," "Britons, Strike Home," and "O lead me to some peaceful gloom." Boudica has also been the primary subject of songs by Irish singer/songwriter Enya, Dutch soprano Petra Berger, Scottish singer/songwriter Steve McDonald, English metal band Bal-Sagoth, Faith and the Muse and Dreams in the Witching House.

Boudica has been the subject of two feature films, the 1928 film Boadicea, where she was portrayed by Phyllis Neilson-Terry, and 2003’s Boudica (Warrior Queen in the US), a UK TV film written by Andrew Davies and starring Alex Kingston as Boudica. She has also been the subject of a 1978 British TV series, Warrior Queen, starring Siân Phillips as Boudica. Jennifer Ward-Lealand portrayed Boudica in an episode of Xena: Warrior Princess titled "The Deliverer" in 1997.

The Viking Queen is a 1967 Hammer Films adventure film set in ancient Britain, in which the role of Queen Salina is based upon the historical figure of Boudica.

In the fictional world of Ghosts of Albion, Queen Bodicea is one of three Ghosts who once were mystical protectors of Albion and assists the current protectors with advice and knowledge.

In The Mauritius Command by Patrick O’Brian, the 4th novel of the Aubrey-Maturin series, Jack Aubrey is given command of the HMS Boadicea.

Boudica’s story is the subject of several novels, including books by Rosemary Sutcliff, Roxanne Gregory, Pauline Gedge, Manda Scott, Alan Gold, Diana L. Paxson, David Wishart, George Shipway, Simon Scarrow and J. F. Broxholme (a pseudonym of Duncan Kyle). She plays a central role in the first part of G. A. Henty’s novel Beric the Briton, and The Queen’s Brooch, a children’s novel by Henry Treece, is set during her rebellion. One of the viewpoint characters of Ian Watson’s novel Oracle is an eyewitness to her defeat. She has also appeared in several comic book series, including the Sláine, which featured two runs, titled "Demon Killer" and "Queen of Witches" giving a free interpretation of Boudica’s story. Other comic appearances include Witchblade and From Hell. The DC Comics character Boodikka, a member of the Green Lantern Corps, was named after Boudica. Additionally, in the alternate history novel Ruled Britannia by Harry Turtledove, Boudicca is the subject of a play written by William Shakespeare to incite the people of Britain to revolt against Spanish conquerors.

Boudicca is a character in the animated series Gargoyles. at The Gargoyles Encyclopedia.

The 2012 Big Finish Productions Doctor Who audio play The Wrath of the Iceni starring Tom Baker takes place during Boudica’s uprising against the Romans. Boudica is portrayed by British actress Ella Kenion. at bigfinish.com.

In Civilization V: Gods & Kings, Boudicca is the leader of the Celtic tribe.

Enya recorded a song entitled "Boadicea" for her 1987 LP Enya.

The lyrics of the song "The Good Old Days", written by Pete Doherty and Carl Barat for British rock band The Libertines, refer to her under the alternate spelling ("If Queen Boadicea is long dead and gone, Still then the spirit in her children’s children’s children, it lives on").

Other cultural references

In 2003, an LTR retrotransposon from the genome of the human blood fluke "Schistosoma mansoni" was named "Boudicca."Copeland CS, Brindley PJ, Heyers O, Michael SF, Johnston DA, Williams DL, Ivens AC, Kalinna BH, "Boudica, a retrovirus-like long terminal repeat retrotransposon from the genome of the human blood fluke Schistosoma mansoni". Journal of Virology 2003 Jun;77(11):6153-66; Copeland CS, Heyers O, Kalinna BH, Bachmair A, Stadler PF, Hofacker IL, Brindley PJ, "Structural and evolutionary analysis of the transcribed sequence of Boudicca, a Schistosoma mansoni retrotransposon". Gene 2004;329:103-114. The Boudicca retrotransposon, a high-copy retroviral-like element, was the first mobile genetic element of this type to be discovered in S. mansoni.

In July 2008, the UK Television series Bonekickers, dedicated an hour to Boudica in the episode named "The Eternal Fire."]] Various female politicians, including former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark, have been called Boadicea.