Julia (Iceni) ferch Prasutagus (abt. 45 - aft. 61)

Born about 0045 in Icenia, Brittania

Ancestors

Died after 0061 after about age 16 in Brittania

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Biography

That Prasutagus and "Boudica" (of the Iceni or the Trinovantes) married about 0050 and had two daughters is a matter of record. ^[1]

Tacitus says there were 2 daughters. So I think we can assume both girls existed. Nothing is known of them except they were raped and rode in a chariot in front of their mother. Everything else does not seem to have any sources from the actual time period. There is no indication they lived after the revolt or that they died.

Beyond that, nothing is known. The daughters are not named in any of the Roman records. Names do not seem to appear for them until centuries later.

45 Birth Year Estimation

Tacitus reports that the daughters of Prasutagus and Boudicca were raped following the death of Prasutagus which occurred in about the year 61. The account suggests that they were still in their parents' home and not yet married. Assume that they were aged about 15 at the time, or born, say, in the year 45.

Research Notes

Was she named Julia?

It is well documented that Prasutagus and Baodicca had two daughters. Their names are less certain. and it is not certain that either of the daughters was named Julia.

Outrage upon her father's death

Suetonius while thus occupied received tidings of the sudden revolt of the province. Prasutagus, king of the Iceni, famed for his long prosperity, had made the emperor his heir along with his two daughters, under the impression that this token of submission would put his kingdom and his house out of the reach of wrong. But the reverse was the result, so much so that his kingdom was plundered by centurions, his house by slaves, as if they were the spoils of war. First, his wife Boudicea was scourged, and his daughters outraged. All the chief men of the Iceni, as if Rome had received the whole country as a gift, were stript of their ancestral possessions, and the king's relatives were made slaves. ^[2]

Did She Marry? Legendary Name and Marriage

A common source for additional detail about Julia's life is David Hughes. ^[3]Unfortunately, Hughes does not provide sources and his work is considered unreliable. Hughes may be the source of: one of Prasatugus' and Boudicca's daughters being named Julia I haven't found any data giving the name as "Julia" (amb 13:46, 25 April 2014 (EDT))

Popular genealogies such as Geni, without sources, also give additional details such as:

• Julia's full name was Penardun Julia Victoria
• Julia went by the names Julia verch Prasutagus or Penardun Julia Victoria verch Bran.
• Julia, Princess of Icenia or Princess of the Icenians possibly also known as Catismandua, Princess of Siluria. ^[4]

The birth place has been estimated as Venta Icenorum (now Casiter Saint Edmund, Norfolk, England).

Marriage to Cyllinus

Some popular genealogies show Saint Cyllinus, son of Caradog ap Bran, as the husband of Julia, reputed to be the name of one of the daughters of King Prasutugus and Queen Baodicca who was raped by the Romans following Prasutugus' death in the year 61. No verification has been found for this and she has been de-linked.

Marriage to Marius

David Hughes reports that Julia married Marius, son of Arviragus^[3]

While the marriage is undocumented, Arviragus and Marius were real people: After the death of the good King Arviragus, reigned his son Maurius (Marius), who had been brought up at Rome among the relatives of his mother Genois [Genvissa]. [Source: De Wavrin, p134]^[5]

Assuming that "Julia" married Marius and bore his children, popular genealogies give her a death year of, say, 85.

Coillus (Coel) the sonne of Marius was after his fathers deceasse made king of Britaine, in the yeare of our Lord 125... When Coill had reigned the space of 54 yeares, he departed this life at Yorke, leaving after him a sonne named Lucius. [Source: Holinshed, Vol I, p511] ^[5]

Since there is no confirmation that Julia married Marius, they have been disconnected as husband and wife.

Did Julia Die of Poison?

It is listed by Tacitus that their mother took poison. Given what they suffered at the hands of the Romans before it is not a big stretch to think they died with their mother rather than be left to the Romans to do with them as they pleased. They may have been killed in the battle or taken poison along with their mother. As a matter of fact ,several writers over the yeas allude to that. ^[6]

I had to go back and read Tacitus in the Latin to make sure he did not indicate their fate. He did not. He did however make the statement that the Romans spared no one, woman and even horses were killed. Tacitus and Dio disagree on how Boudica died. However, Tacitus is writing closer to the actual event than Dio and his source is thought to be his father who served under Paulinus or possibly Paulinus himself. ^[7]

Did she have children?

Some genealogies show Julia as the mother of the following children. Since there is no record that she married or had children, and most likely died with her mother, the following have been disconnected as her children:

1. Coel ap Meurig
2. Coellus (Britain) ap Meurig
3. Gladys (Britain) Maurius
4. Eurgen (Meric) Britain

Sources

1. ↑ Boudica on History's Heroes, retrieved 2014-04-30, amb
2. ↑ Complete Works of Tacitus. Tacitus. Alfred John Church. William Jackson Brodribb. Sara Bryant. edited for Perseus. New York. : Random House, Inc. Random House, Inc. reprinted 1942. amb
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} David Hughes The British Chronicles, Volume 2. p. 393. Westminster, Maryland: Heritage Books, Jan 1, 2007 - Great Britain - 662 pages. Warning: David Hughes books are not reliable sources of history. Retrieved 2014-04-30, amb
4. ↑ Geni. Julia of the Iceni
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Excerpt from The National CV of Britain 3.2 Rulers AD. accessed 2014-04-25, amb
6. ↑ https://yesterday.uktv.co.uk/history/historical-figures/article/boudicca/
7. ↑ The Sources of Tacitus and Dio for the Boudiccan Revolt: Nicholas Reed Latomus T. 33, Fasc. 4 (OCTOBRE-DÉCEMBRE, 1974), pp. 926-933 (8 pages) Published by: Société d'Études Latines de Bruxelles