After the battle of Misilmeri

[ewx]

“…hardly a single Saracen remained alive to carry the dreadful news back to Palermo. As things turned out, however, this proved unnecessary. Among the prizes of battle, and just as intriguing to Roger [de Hauteville] as the camels seized at Cerami, the Normans had carried off several baskets of carrier pigeons. […] It is unlikely that Roger ever had any in his possession before, but the idea of using them at once for his own purposes was more than he could resist. He ordered that to the leg of each bird should be attached a scrap of material dipped in Saracen blood; the pigeons were then released, to fly back to Palermo with their macabre message.”

Comments

[geekette8.livejournal.com]

How would the recipients know it was Saracen blood?

[ewx.livejournal.com]

All your pigeons suddenly turn up at once, with blood instead of text, and you've got to know something's not right.

[geekette8.livejournal.com]

But it could be your own guys going "Woooohoo! Look how cool we are! Look at all the blood of our enemies!"

OK, on balance, I think you're probably right :-)