Introduction
THE Roman Governor of Britain in AD 60 was Gaius Suetonius Paulinus. He relished the task of subduing the natives, as he hoped to surpass the reputation of Corbulo, the man who had just restored order in Armenia.
IN Suetonius’s opinion, the chief threat to Roman rule in Britain came from the Welsh tribes and the Druids. He would discover that this was a mistake, but in the meantime, he bent his attention on the Island of Mona,* just off the Welsh coast, which had become their stronghold.
For a moment after the Governor’s men had crossed the shallow Menai strait, even the mighty Roman army was paralysed by the sight that met its eyes: rank on rank of painted warriors, whose wild-haired and black-robed women ran like Furies among them, brandishing blazing torches, while Druids with upraised hands rained down curses that froze the blood.
The general, however, reminded his soldiers that they were Romans, and they overpowered the enemy without much difficulty. The island was soon organised the Roman way, and the sacred groves of the Druids, still stained with the blood of their captives and human sacrifices, were completely destroyed.
Then Suetonius heard about Boudica.
These events continue with Boudica.
In Welsh, Ynys Môn. The English name is Anglesey. See it on a map.
Archive
Word Games
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Curse. Have. Human.
2 Among. Druid. He.
3 Like. Then. Without.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Verb and Noun Find in Think and Speak
Many words can serve as noun or verb depending on context: see if you can prove this with the examples below. Nouns go well with words such as the/a, or his/her; verbs go well after I/you/he etc..
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Rain. 2 Paint. 3 Hand. 4 Run. 5 Still. 6 Meet. 7 Rule. 8 Bend. 9 Man.
Variations: 1.if possible, use your noun in the plural, e.g. cat → cats. 2.use your verb in a past form, e.g. go → went. 3.use your noun in a sentence with one of these words: any, enough, fewer, less, no, some.
Subject and Object Find in Think and Speak
Use each word below in two sentences, first as the subject of a verb, and then as the object of a verb. It doesn’t have to be the same verb: some verbs can’t be paired with an object (e.g. arrive, happen), so watch out for these.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1. Woman. 2. Rule. 3. Opinion. 4. Still. 5. Blood. 6. Difficulty. 7. Eye. 8. Black. 9. Attention.
Variations: 1.use your noun in the plural (e.g. cat → cats), if possible. 2.give one of your sentences a future aspect (e.g. will, going to). 3.write sentences using negatives such as not, neither, nobody and never.
Add Vowels Find in Think and Speak
Make words by adding vowels to each group of consonants below. You may add as many vowels as you like before, between or after the consonants, but you may not add any consonants or change the order of those you have been given. See if you can beat our target of common words.
lrd (6+1)
lard. leered. lord. loured. lured. lurid.
laird.
