WIP Wednesday – Where it all began?

As this is the first real post regarding my WIP I guess it makes sense to discuss where it all began.  Three years ago I found a facebook game I loved and in some ways it would be easy to claim that as the starting point.  But that wouldn’t be quite true.

You see the reason I enjoyed this game so much initially was I already loved the Medieval.  I was a tomboy growing up more at home climbing trees than playing for hours doing dolls hair.  Most times people play knights, and castles the only role for girls is to be the princess waiting to be rescued but then I found her…..

Boudicca!  Now to be fair she lived earlier than the medieval period generally tends to include as she died around 60 AD .

Now history in acedemic terms is not my strong point and I will not insult you my lovely readers by trying to explain in great detail her life story or the politics of the Roman Invasion at the time   For those history buffs out there or those who want to learn a great deal more from better qualified people than I  here is the first part of Battlefield Britain’s take on Boudicca’s Rebellion. http://youtu.be/8hpC44KD3O4  

If you have the time to watch it it really is a fascinating programme sadly embed was disabled so I could only provide the link.  So in simple terms Boudicca was the Queen of the Iceni tribe who led a rebellion against Roman soldiers who wished to enslave her people. The problem here is that many of the stories are as much myth as anything else as history tends to be written by the victors.  No one is actually even sure what she looks like take this composite image I found online

She was a figure that disappeared from history for many years being made popular again during the reign of Queen Victoria.  Infact it would appear that down the years it is only when a female monarch is in charge that this strong woman is remembered.

She was the isnspiration for my main chararcter Jacantha.  Women were seem as the equal of men at the very least.  They fought alongside them many being considered far more dangerous than the men.  But as in my novel being a female warrio could lead to their sex being used against them if captured,  It is reported that when Boudicca’s daughters were captured they were raped an outrage that only fuelled her hatred for the Roman invaders.

The Roman’s accused the Briton’s of barbarous horrors to justify their slaughter and anyone who questions some of the graphic sexual violence this is a quote from Wikipedia ‘Tacitus says that the Britons had no interest in taking or selling prisoners, only in slaughter by gibbet, fire, or cross. Dio’s account gives more detail; that the noblest women were impaled on spikes and had their breasts cut off and sewn to their mouths, “to the accompaniment of sacrifices, banquets, and wanton behaviour” in sacred places, particularly the groves of Andraste.’

This is a clip from the film Warrior Queen for those of a squeamish disposition I should warn it shows sexual violence as well as normal violence and it is a little longer than I would have liked but it also demonstrates as well the belief in magic held at the time.

Next week I shall discuss how the cast of other characters formed around my Queen.