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Historical person

Veleda

Veleda was a Germanic seeress associated with the Batavian revolt against Rome in the first century AD. Roman sources present her as a prophetic and political figure whose authority helped inspire resistance on the Rhine frontier.

During the Batavian Revolt of AD 69–70, Veleda’s prestige extended beyond strictly religious functions: rebel leaders sent captives and trophies to her, and Roman negotiators treated her as a figure capable of influencing allied tribes. She later appears to have been captured or brought under Roman control. Her career is one of the clearest examples in Roman sources of a Germanic woman exercising recognised political authority through prophetic status.

In Lindsey Davis’ The Iron Hand of Mars, His mission becomes tied to Veleda, the historical Bructerian seer whose influence had supported the revolt. In Lindsey Davis’ Saturnalia, During Saturnalia, the captured Germanic seer Veleda escapes from guarded accommodation in Rome, leaving a dead man behind.

Periods

Periods linked to Veleda

Batavian Revolt69–70 CE

Series

Historical novels and book series featuring Veleda (1 series)

Marcus Didius Falco in Order

by Lindsey Davis 20 books 4.0(86,968)

The twenty Marcus Didius Falco novels follow a Roman informer from AD 70 to 77 during the reign of Vespasian. Falco begins as a poor veteran taking private commissions but becomes an occasional imperial agent, travelling from Rome to Britain, Germania, Syria, Hispania, North Africa, Greece and Egypt.…

All books in this series