Messalina, the first woman of Rome.
Messalina (Sheila White) is the wife of Claudius (Derek Jacobi). He was forced to marry her by the then ruling Roman Emperor Caligula (William Hurt) after Caligula announced that he had become a god. Caligula, who sometimes dressed as the different Roman gods, including the female ones, loved to torture is uncle Claudius, who suffered from a stammer and a limp and was by now getting old. So Caligula decided that his old uncle should marry the young Messalina.
Caligula was dressed as the goddess Venus at the time and laughed in his uncle Claudius’s face.
Messalina was Claudius's second cousin and was also the second cousin of Caligula. At the time they were married Messalina was aged around twenty and Claudius was nearly fifty.
Claudius made friends with his new bride who was living in fear, as were most Romans during the reign of Caligula, of being killed randomly at any moment.
It was Caligula who is killed by his own Praetorian guard, thus leading Claudius to become the next Emperor. Not because they guard expected him to become a good leader but because the Praetorian guard believe that he can easily be controlled by them and that they can rule Rome through him.
However, Claudius was a lot more intelligent than most people thought. He played the fool for many years as a way of surviving the reigns of terror, first of his grandmother Livia, and now of his nephew Caligula.
Emperor Caligula (in drag) gives Messalina to Claudius.
His wife Messalina is also very street smart and politically savvy. She knows most of the men and woman of Rome and agrees to help Claudius as his de facto Queen of Rome. In truth Messalina is very wanton and lusts for a Roman Senator named Silanus (Lyndon Brook) who is about to marry Messalina’s mother.
Messalina, now free from restraint and the first woman of Rome and married to a man she sees as a fool attempts to seduce Silanus. Silanus believing Claudius is another Caligula attempts to have him killed. Silanus is stopped and he is killed.
In an attempt to win the approval of the Roman people Claudius begins to plan the re-invation of Great Britain, that had been invaded in 55 BC by Julius Caesar and partly conquered. In 43 AD (almost 100 years later) planned to win himself military fame by reconquering the neglected (supposed) Roman territory.
While Claudius is invading Great Britain and winning victories with the advanced Roman military tactics, Messalina back in Rome challenges a famous prostitute Scylla Charlotte Howard to an endurance contest as to who can have sex with the most men.
Messalina and Claudius in happier times.
Claudius military campaign has been carefully planned out and he has brough massive war elephants to the British isles for the first time. Claudius know that the elephants will terrify the isolated Keltic Britons who had never seen such massive beasts before.
Back in Rome having defeated Scylla, Messalina began a new affair with a Young Roman Senator named Silius (Stuart Wilson). Tired of her older stammering husband Messalina and Silius plan on overthrowing Claudius upon his return from his victory in Great Britain.
However, Claudius is warned by his old lover that Messalina is plotting against him. He was able to foil the plot but is devastated by the loss of a wife whom he dearly loved and worshiped.
Claudius has his wife and her lover executed as traitors.
The betrayal of Messalina devastated Claudius and he became very angry and isolated in his old age.
TRIVIA:
- “I, Claudius” was a 1976 miniseries based on the books “I, Claudius” (1934) and “Claudius the God” (1935) by British author Robert Graves.
- Robert Graves was studied both Greek and Latin at Oxford and was able to read many of the original texts about the Roman histories that he was writing about.
- “I, Claudius” is a 1976 BBC Television was written by Jack Pulman. The series covers the history of the early Roman Empire, told from the perspective of the elderly Emperor Claudius who narrates the series.