Woman Warriors

Queen Boudicca was a female warrior who led Britain against Roman conquerors and was posthumously named Britain's first queen. She was a peasant girl who married Prasutagus, the king of Iceni. They lived in the area which is now East Anglia.

When Prasutagus died, he left his territory to the Romans and his two daughters. He hoped this would keep all parties happy. However, when the Romans moved into the kingdom, they demanded to be paid back taxes and wanted Boudicca to give up the throne. They looted buildings and took people away to be slaves. Boudicca claimed that the Romans flogged her and raped her daughters. As a result, she decided to fight back – she incited and led a rebellion.

Several other warring tribes (numbering close to 30,000 men) joined the Iceni army and together they marched to Colchester, the capital of Roman Britain. Boudicca and her army then attacked the town, which surrendered quickly. Next, Boudicca led her army to London, where they burned down the city and killed thousands of people living there. Some accounts state that 70,000 were killed. It is said that when the Roman General heard about the rebellion, he was too frightened to move. The rest of the army was with the Roman Governor, who was trying to conquer North Wales. It took a long time for them to march back to the South of Britain to fight Boudicca’s troops. During that time, Boudicca’s army achieved great destruction and killed many Roman soldiers.

Joan of Arc, a patron saint of France and a national heroine, led the resistance to the English invasion of France in the Hundred Years War.

Born on January 6, 1412, Joan was the youngest of five children. When she was about 13, she began hearing the "voices" of St. Michael, St. Catherine and St. Margaret, believing them to have been sent by God. These voices told her that it was her divine mission to free her country from the English and help the dauphin gain the French throne. They told her to cut her hair, dress in man's uniform and to pick up the arms.

Joan convinced the dauphin and his captain of her calling. After passing an examination by a board of theologians, she became a captain and was given troops to command.

At the battle of Orleans in May 1429, Joan led the troops to a miraculous victory over the English. She fought the enemy in other locations along the Loire. Fear of troops under her leadership was so formidable that when she approached Lord Talbot's army at Patay, most of the English troops and Commander Sir John Fastolfe fled the battlefield. Although Lord Talbot stood his ground, he lost the battle, was captured and lost 1800 soldiers.

Charles VII was crowned king of France on July 17, 1429 in Reims Cathedral. At the coronation, Joan was given a place of honor next to the king. Later, she was ennobled for her services to the country.

In 1430, she was captured by the Burgundians and was sold to the English. As a prisoner of the Burgundians, she was treated fairly but that all changed when on November 21st, 1430, she was handed over the English. How she survived their harsh treatment is a miracle in itself. She was told that for a woman to wear men's clothing was a crime against God. Her determination to continue wearing it (her voices hadn't yet told her to change, and the clothing protected her from sexual abuse by her jailors) was seen as defiance and ultimately sealed her fate.

The English handed her over to the ecclesiastical court at Rouen led by Pierre Cauchon, to be tried for witchcraft and heresy. Joan was convicted after a 14-month interrogation and, on May 30, 1431, she was burned at the stake in the Rouen marketplace. She was 19 years old. Charles VII made no attempt to come to her rescue.

25 years later, Joan's first trial was overturned and she was pronounced innocent. She was beatified in 1909 and canonized in 1920 by Pope Benedict XV. Her feast day is celebrated on May 30th.

Tomoe Gozen is one of the few examples of a female samurai warrior in Japanese history. Described as a warrior of unrivalled skill who battled as valiantly as any male, she was a high level samurai of the Gempei War in 1000 AD. Tomoe served under Minamoto Yoshinaka, a lord of the Minamoto clan. As one of his top commanders, she led men into battle and was very well-respected.

During this period of time, many women learned to use a long spear, or naginata, to protect their home and children from thieves and raiders. Tomoe, however, was incredibly talented with both bow and sword, and was an astounding horsewoman. She was often chosen for dangerous scouting missions because of her incredible skill.

Tomoe was also said to have been quite beautiful, with long hair and fine features. Some accounts state that she became the lover or wife of Yoshinaka, but was also one of his senior captains. She wanted to put her soldier's skills to their best use and would never stay behind during battle.

When the war was won, Kyoto was placed in the hands of the Minamoto clan. Yoshinaka felt he should become the head of the new ruling class because of his instrumental role in the war. A major battle ensued and, despite putting up a tremendous fight, Yoshinaka's forces were overcome.

Varied accounts exist regarding Tomoe’s demise. Some say Yoshinaka and Tomoe stood their ground and died in the final onslaught. Others say Yoshinaka ordered his wife to flee rather than face capture and death. Many accounts state that she fled with Yoshinaka’s severed head and cast herself into the sea with it, while others assert that she became a nun.

Scáthach ("shadowy") was a warrior-queen who rose to divinity as the Gaelic goddess of the dead, those slain in battle and the passage of the dead to Tir Nan Og. In her ‘goddess’ duties, she searched the battlefields for the souls of the slain, and guided them along the Imrama na Anam, or Death Journey (lit. "Journey of the Soul"), to Tir Nan Og, the Land of Eternal Youth and Beauty. 

Scathach was also the mistress of a school for young warriors, located in Scotland on the island of Skye, where she trained many of the greatest of heroes. She taught the art of war in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. The island where the school was located was said to be nearly impossible to reach; those who did were considered worthy to be trained in martial arts. It was rumored not only did she initiate young men into the arts of war, she initiated them sexually as well.

Her vast expertise led Cu Chulainn, the greatest of Irish warriors, to come to her in his youth to learn his craft. It was from Scathach that Cu Chulainn received the 'Gae Bolg', his formidable barbed spear (or sword, in some versions) whose thrust was invariably fatal. 

Scathach was also skilled in the art of foretelling and believed to be a potent magician. She foretold Cu Chulainn's fate during the course of Queen Madb's onslaught against Ulster.


Umm ‘Umarah (her name means “May Allah be pleased with her”) was one of the most distinguished Islamic female warriors, if not the most distinguished. She fought alongside Mohammad in the battle of Uhud. At the beginning of the battle, she brought water and tended the wounded, as did the other women. When the battle started going in the favor of the Muslims, Umm ‘Umarah joined the small group of 73 soldiers who stood firm with Mohammed, acting as a human shield to protect him from the impending arrows. Every time danger approached him, she blocked him from harm with her own body and, as a result, receive significant wounds.

Umm 'Umarah's courage was not limited to the battle of Uhud. She was also present in a number of other battles, namely the treaty of 'Aqabah, Al-Hudaybiyah, Khaybar and Hunayn. Her heroic conduct at Hunayn was no less marvelous than her heroic conduct at Uhud. She was also present at the battle of Al-Yamamah where she fought brilliantly, but received 11 wounds and lost her hand.

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