Historical Fiction Competition
Take part in the HTAV 2021 Historical Fiction Competition!
The History Teachers’ Association of Victoria is running a Historical Fiction Competition. Any students who are interested in participating in this please send Ms Neri an expression of interest via a Xuno message with a brief description of your competition ideas.
Entries close 5pm, Monday 2 August 2021. Winning students will each receive a cash prize of $150.00 and a certificate.
Rosa Neri
Humanities Learning Specialist
Check this website out for further details about this history competition: https://www.htav.asn.au/students/htav-historical-fiction-competition
Here is an example of an entry from Theo Williams of 8F!
In 41 AD, Rome
Caligula died that day
So Claudius took his home
And he found a place to stay
That place was called Britannia,
It was not very far away
Cunobelin was in charge of it
Until he passed away
Once Vercia fled to Rome
Claudius could not ignore
The chance to fight in a war
He wanted that new home
Legio Augusta and Hispania
Gemina and Victrix too
Went over to Britannia
They really had no clue
The Iceni saw the fate
Of their favourite tribes
They agreed to pay the rate
As long as they kept their scribes
Once Prasutagus was found dead
In his will, it was said
That his daughters and his wife will rule
With Emperor Nero, he wasn’t very cool.
The Romans, not liking to share
Took Iceni without a care
Once the widow Boudica revolted
The Romans well, they bolted
Boudica gained support throughout
All the neighbouring tribes
Killing the Romans, she had no doubt
She got offered lots of bribes
The timing was great for the Iceni
That is what they tell in the history
Paulinus was campaigning far away
Where there was lots of hay
Boudica first went down
To poor old Camulodunum
It wasn’t a very small-town
And it didn’t have a forum
Once a messenger reached Paulinus
He said that it was outrageous
He marched his troops south to Londinium
The speed, it was maximum
He got Londinium first
And he was just about to burst
He thought about saving the town
But left it to become rundown
Verulamium was their next target
However, the people left with their bucket
Boudica was a bit upset
There needed to be a net
They let the Romans choose the battle
It was wattling street, about the middle
After a long time of waiting
It was time to start the painting
The Celts opened the battle
On the horse with the cart
They attacked on the double
They attempted to tear them apart
The Romans then took the floor
And slaughtered the Celts like a boar
The battle was turned very quickly
It made historians very sickly
This is the end of Boudica herself
As she took her own life on the twelfth
Another theory says that she drunk poison
And Britannia stayed as part of Rome’s region
In 41ad in Rome, Emperor Caligula was assassinated (People say he was a bit crazy) thus making his uncle Claudius, Emperor. Meanwhile, in 39ad in Britannia (Now Britain) Cunobelin, the king of Britons, died. His anti-roman sons began to raid in the roman allied tribes. The tribe Atrebates had a ruler named Verica who fled to Rome in exile. Claudius saw this as an excuse to invade Britain. The legions who invaded were called: Legio II Augusta, Legio IX Hispania, Legio XIV Gemina and Legio XX Valeria Victrix. They landed in modern day Kent. Two of Cunobelin sons met the romans at the river Midway. When the invasion first happened, the Iceni allied itself with the romans to get protection. Unlike most of Britannia, they were allowed to keep their kings. In 60ad The Iceni king Prasutagus died. In the will, it said the emperor Nero (Claudius died) would co-heir with his wife and 2 daughters. The romans did not like this and seized all of Iceni for Rome. When Boudica (Prasutagus’s wife) protested, she was flogged, and her daughters were raped. The now furious Boudica led her people to revolt against roman rule. The Iceni were very quickly joined by the trinovantes. The British disaster had begun.
This was great timing on the Iceni’s behalf because Gaius Suetonius Paulinus was campaigning near Modern Day Anglesea. Boudica marched south to Camulodunum (Colchester). Many men, women and children were completely wiped out. Survivors went to the temple of Claudius for sanctuary but after 2 days, they were wiped out too. A messenger reached Paulinus in the west and told him about the fate of Camulodunum. Both Boudica’s army and Paulinus’s army were headed for Londinium (London). Paulinus arrived first and contemplated saving the town, However, he thought that without his legions, it was a foolish fight to get into. He retreated Londinium and went northwest up the road known as wattling street. Londinium was burned to a crisp and had the same fate as Camulodunum. Boudica then went up towards Verulamium (St. Albans). She tried to do the same to Verulamium as Camulodunum and Londinium, however, the people of Verulamium realised what was coming and ran with Paulinus’s army up Wattling Street with their wealth. Boudica then left Verulamium a blackened wasteland. Paulinus then met with the forces he could muster, and picked a spot for the battle, halfway up Wattling Street. The area of Wattling Street is unknown but could’ve happened in modern-day Manchester.
They fought on what the romans called a bottleneck. It means that many people can get in, but few people can get out. The romans used this to their advantage. What they said beforehand is unknown, but Paulinus would’ve said something along the lines of “ignore the racket made by these savages! Do not fear these Britons. Their faces may be painted blue but their gut spill just as easily as any men”. Meanwhile Boudica would’ve said “I am Descended from mighty men! I am fighting for my freedom and outraged daughters. Consider how many people are fighting – and why! Then you will win this battle or perish. That is what I, A woman will do!” The British charioteers opened the battle. They threw insults and spears at the Romans. There were only a few losses. The Celts took the hoped to use the shock factor to break apart the roman line, however, the Romans clever use of terrain came into effect. The bottleneck made the Romans have to face few Celts at a time. Nevertheless, they persisted and got hit by javelins which would have caused crippling casualties to lightly armed troops. The romans came into a triangle which made the Celts split up. The Romans would have hit the Celts on the head then thrust with their gladius. Thanks to the terrain, Boudica’s battle turned. They were getting pushed closer and closer to the semicircle of wagons left behind them. Unfortunately, woman and children accompanied the men, and were all slaughtered. We do not know how many people died, but 80,000 is an estimate made by historians for the Celts, As for the romans, A mere 400 died. There have been several theories made by historians on how Boudica died, One of which is that she got so scared by the Romans once they were losing that she drunk poison, another theory is that she took her own life a few days later, Cassius Dio said that illness killed her. The rest of the Iceni and Trinovantes were seized by Rome.
Theo Williams 8F