ABSTRACT
Chapter Two discusses the ways in which different identities could be deliberately foregrounded and the political significance of so-doing. The impact of family, particularly in relation to Robert Guiscard, in determining identity and Bohemond’s actions is explored. It then considers the role of Ralph of Caen’s Gesta Tancredi in further constructing the identity of his key protagonist. As a component of this discussion, the uncertainty surrounding Ralph’s intended audience and therefore the text’s purpose is addressed, together with the potential significance of the ongoing links between Antioch and southern Italy. It suggests that throughout his account Ralph deliberately reinforced this connection and discusses whether his text can be regarded as an attempt to generate interest in the Latin East, especially Antioch, within the former homelands of the principality’s initial rulers. The chapter concludes by questioning the assumption that following Bohemond’s defeat by the Byzantines in 1108, his reputation was indelibly tarnished in the eyes of his contemporaries. It argues that his tomb negates this idea, and in acknowledging the multiple facets of his identity in its execution, it also served as a reminder of the connection between southern Italy and the Latin Near East.
