ABSTRACT
The emperor, Alexios Komnenos, went on the offensive against Norman insolence. He dispatched troops to harry Norman-held territories, and in 1104 his forces sent Prince Bohemond scurrying back to Antioch, where he hoped to wait out the Byzantine threat. This chapter explains the story of Bohemond and the Rooster, as told by Anna Komnene. Bohemond lay with a dead rooster, slaughtered for the occasion. Day after day the prince apparently ignored the odor that sickened bystanders. Anna's admiration for the ploy notwithstanding, it proved ineffectual. Anna confesses that the Norman must have come to recognize the emperor as the author of this trick. In their fierce rivalry, Alexios and Bohemond had long since acknowledged one another as fellow aficionados of the artful ruse. Despite the propensity of Norman histories to seek out tales of their heroes' tricks and guile, particularly when these involve the popular theme of feigned death, no western source tells the story of Bohemond and the Rooster.
