Rob just sent me this hilarious quote from wikipedia about Flavius Augustus Honorius, one of the later Roman emporers.

The most notable event of his reign was the assault and sack of Rome on August 24, 410 by the Visigoths under Alaric. The city had not been under the control of a foreign force since an invasion of Gallic Celts some seven centuries before. The shock of this event reverberated from Britain to Jerusalem, and inspired Augustine to write his magnum opus, The City of God.

There is a story (which Gibbon disbelieved) that when he heard the news that Rome had “perished”, Honorius was initially shocked; thinking the news was in reference to a favorite chicken he had named “Rome”, he recalled in disbelief that the bird was just recently feeding out of his hand. It was then explained to him that the Rome in question was the city.

I wonder if he was relieved when he found out it wasn’t his favorite chicken.