19 1 While these events were happening in the city, Aulus Plautius, a

senator of great renown, made a campaign against Britain; for a certain

Bericus, who had been driven out of the island as a result of an uprising,
had persuaded Claudius to send a force thither. 2 Thus it came about that
Plautius undertook this campaign; but he had difficulty in inducing his
army to advance beyond Gaul. For the soldiers were indignant at the
thought of carrying on a campaign outside the limits of the known world,
and would not yield him obedience until Narcissus, who had been sent out
by Claudius, mounted the tribunal of Plautius and attempted to address
them. 3 Then they became much angrier at this and would not allow
Narcissus to say a word, but suddenly shouted with one accord the wellknown cry, "Io Saturnalia" (for at the festival of Saturn the slaves don their
masters' dress and old festival), and at once right willingly followed
Plautius. Their delay, however, had p417made their departure late in the
season. 4 They were sent over in three divisions, in order that they should
not be hindered in landing, as might happen to a single force, and in
their voyage across they first became discouraged because they were
driven back in their course, and then plucked up courage because a flash
of light rising in the east shot across to the west, the direction in which
they were sailing. So they put in to the island and found none to oppose
them. 5 For the Britons as a result of their inquiries had not expected that
they would come, and had therefore not assembled beforehand. And even
when they did assemble, they would not come to close quarters with the
Romans, but took refuge in the swamps and the forests, hoping to wear
out the invaders in fruitless effort, so that, just as in the days of Julius
Caesar, they should sail back with nothing accomplished.

20 1 Plautius, accordingly, had a deal of trouble in searching them out;

but when at last he did find them, he first defeated Caratacus and then
Togodumnus, the sons of Cynobellinus, who was dead. 2 (The Britons were
not free and independent, but were divided into groups under various
kings.) After the flight of these kings he gained by capitulation a part of
the Bodunni, who were ruled by a tribe of the Catuellani; and leaving a
garrison there, he advanced farther and came to a river. The barbarians
thought that Romans would not be able to cross it without a bridge, and
consequently bivouacked in rather careless fashion on the opposite bank;
but he sent across a detachment of Germans, who were p419accustomed
to swim easily in full armour across the most turbulent streams. 3 These
fell unexpectedly upon the enemy, but instead of shooting at any of the
men they confined themselves to wounding the horses that drew their
chariots; and in the confusion that followed not even the enemy's
mounted warriors could save themselves. Plautius thereupon sent across
Flavius Vespasian also (the man who afterwards became emperor) and his

brother Sabinus, who was acting as his lieutenant. 4 So they, too, got
across the river in some way and killed many of the foe, taking them by
surprise. The survivors, however, did not take to flight, but on the next
day joined issue with them again. The struggle was indecisive until
Gnaeus Hosidius Geta, after narrowly missing being captured, finally
managed to defeat the barbarians so soundly that he received the
ornamenta triumphalia, though he had not been consul. 5 Thence the
Britons retired to the river Thames at a point near where it empties into
the ocean and at flood-tide forms a lake. This they easily crossed because
they knew where the firm ground and the easy passages in this region
were to be found; 6 but the Romans in attempting to follow them were not
so successful. However, the Germans swam across again and some others
got over by a bridge a little way up-stream, after which they assailed the
barbarians from several sides at once and cut down many of them. In
pursuing the remainder incautiously, they got into swamps from which it
was difficult to make their way out, and so lost a number of men.

21 1 Shortly afterwards Togodumnus perished, but the p421Britons, so far

from yielding, united all the more firmly to avenge his death. Because of
this fact and because of the difficulties he had encountered at the
Thames, Plautius became afraid, and instead of advancing any farther,
proceeded to guard what he had already won, and sent for Claudius. 2 For
he had been instructed to do this in case he met with any particularly
stubborn resistance, and, in fact, extensive equipment, including
elephants, had already been got together for the expedition.
When the message reached him, Claudius entrusted affairs at home,
including the command of the troops, to his colleague Lucius Vitellius,
whom he had caused to remain in office like himself for a whole half-year;
and he himself then set out for the front. 3 He sailed down the river to
Ostia, and from there followed the coast to Massilia; thence, advancing
partly by land and partly along the rivers, he came to the ocean and
crossed over to Britain, where he joined the legions that were waiting for
him near the Thames. 4 Taking over the command of these, he crossed
the stream, and engaging the barbarians, who had gathered at his
approach, he defeated them and captured Camulodunum,13 the capital of
Cynobellinus. Thereupon he won over numerous tribes, in some cases by
capitulation, in others by force, and was saluted as imperator several
times, contrary to precedent; 5 for no man may receive this title more
than once for one and the same war. He deprived the conquered of their
arms and handed them over to Plautius, bidding him also subjugate
p423the remaining districts. Claudius himself now hastened back to Rome,
sending ahead the news of his victory by his sons-in-law Magnus and

Silanus. 22 1 The Senate on learning of his achievement gave him the title
of Britannicus and granted him permission to celebrate a triumph. They
voted also that there should be an annual festival to commemorate the
event and that two triumphal arches should be erected, one in the city
and the other in Gaul, because it was from that country that he had set
sail when he crossed over to Britain. 2 They bestowed upon his son the
same title as upon him, and, in fact, Britannicus came to be in a way the
boy's regular name. Messalina was granted the same privilege of
occupying front seats that Livia had enjoyed and also that of using the
carpentum.14
3 These were the honours the senate bestowed upon the reigning family;
but they hated the memory of Gaius so much that they decreed that all
the bronze coinage which had his likeness stamped upon it should be
melted down. And yet, though this was done, the bronze was converted to
no better user, for Messalina made statues of Mnester, the actor, out of it.
4 For inasmuch as he had once been on intimate terms with Gaius, she
made this offering as a mark of gratitude for his consenting to lie with her.
For she was desperately enamoured of him, and when she found herself
unable in any way either by making him promises or by frightening him to
persuade him to have intercourse with her, she had a talk with her
husband and asked him that the man should be p425compelled to obey
her, pretending that she wanted his help for some different purpose.
5 Claudius accordingly told Mnester to do whatever he should be ordered
to do by Messalina; and thus it came about that he lay with her, in the
belief that this was the thing he had been commanded to do by her
husband. Messalina also adopted this same method with various other
men and committed adultery, feigning that Claudius knew what was going
on and countenanced her unchastity.

23 1 Portions of Britain, then, were captured at this time in the manner

described. Later, when Gaius Crispus and Titus Statilius were consuls (the
former for the second time), Claudius came to Rome after an absence of
six months, of which he had spent only sixteen days in Britain, and
celebrated his triumph. In this he followed precedent, even ascending the
steps of the Capitol on his knees, with his sons-in-law supporting him on
either side. 2 To the senators who had taken part in the campaign with
him he granted the ornamenta triumphalia, and this not alone to the exconsuls but to the rest as well, a thing he was accustomed to do most
lavishly on other occasions on the slightest excuse. To Rufrius Pollio, the
prefect, 15 he granted an image and a seat in the senate as often as he
should go in to that body with the emperor; 3 and lest he should appear to
be making an innovation in this respect, he declared that Augustus had

done the same thing in the case of a certain Valerius, a Ligurian. He also
distinguished Laco, the former prefect of the night-watch and now
procurator of the Gauls, in the same manner and also by giving him the
rank of an ex-consul. 4 Having p427attended to these matters, he held
the triumphal festival, assuming a kind of consular power for the occasion.
The festival was celebrated in both theatres at the same time; and in the
course of the spectacles he often absented himself while others took
charge in his place. 5 He had announced as many horse-races as could
take place in a day, yet there were not more than ten of them. For
between the different races bears were slain, athletes contested, and boys
summoned from Asia performed the Pyrrhic dance. 6 Another festival,
likewise in honour of his victory, was given by the artists of the stage with
the consent of the senate. All this was done on account of the successes
in Britain; and in order that other peoples should more readily come to
terms, it was voted that all the agreements that Claudius or his
lieutenants should make with any peoples should be binding, the same as
if made by the senate and people.