Martia the wyfe of kynge Guythelyne, a lady excedyngly fayre, wyse, & lerned in all the lyberall scyences, inuented thynges wonderfull by the hygh practyse of her wytt. After the death of her husbāde she reigned .vij. yeares as kynge, tyll Sicilius her sonne came to age. She redressed the commen welthe, refourmed the grosse maners of the people, and made most honest lawes, called of her name, Leges Martiane. So delyghted the Frenche kynge Nicanor in the wysdome, lernynge, and comely maners of hys wyfe Constantia, the doughter of kynge Eliodorus, that he not only holpe her brother Geruntius in see battayle agaynst the kynge of Orchades, but also sent hys most dere sonne Priamus into Brytayne to haue the same selfe bryngynge vp. The Scottysh kynge Finnanus, thought hys pryncely honour most gloryously increased, as he had obtayned Agasia the doughter of kynge Blegabridus, to be coupled in maryage with Dorstus hys sonne, for the manyfolde graces that he behelde in her. What though the seyd vngracyouse Dorstus, in spyght of the Brytaynes, ded afterwarde vse her most wyckedly. Bundwyca a womā both hygh of stature, and stomacke, also of myst noble lynage amonge the Brytaynes, perceyuynge the hauoke whych the Romanes dayly made in the lande, with great pusaunce of worthy warryours she inuaded them, slewe them, hynge vp their captaynes, and folowed the remnaunt of them to the very Alpes of Italy. Where at the lattre by reason of dayly labours, she syckened and so dyed, euen the uery glory of women, sayth Ponticus Virunnius. [Sidenote: Voada.] [Sidenote: Voadicia.] [Sidenote: Athildis.] [Sidenote: Claudia Rufina.] Voada the first wyfe of kynge Aruiragus, a woman of wonderfull force & hart strongly armed her selfe, her .ij. doughters, and .v. thousande women more of the Britannysh bloude in battayle agaynst the furyouse fearce Romanes, to suppresse their tyranny and execrable fylthynesse in abusynge maydes, wyues, and wydowes. But as she behelde the vyctory vpon their sydes bycause she wolde not come vndre their captyuyte, she poysened her selfe, & so dyed. Voadicia her yonger doughter, afterwarde escapynge the handes of the seyd Romanes, with a myghty power of the Brytanes entered into the yle of Māne, and in a nyght battayle, there slewe thē in a wonderfull nombre, destroyenge their fortalyces, and holdes. Notwithstandynge at the lattre beynge taken, she was byheaded, her eldar syster beynge maryed to kynge Marius. Athildis the doughter of the seyd kynge Marius, was also a most noble woman, whom the Frenche kynge Marcomerus marryed for the only naturall gyftes and scyences whych she had aboue other women, and had .vij. sonnes by her. Claudia Rufina, a noble Brytayne, wyttye and lerned both in Greke and Latyne, hauynge to husbande one Aulus Rufus a lerned knyght, a poete of Bonony & a phylosopher of the Stoycall sort, is moch cōmēded of Martialis the poete, for the Epygrammes and poemes whych she than compyled in both those tunges.