batch.motif.celtic-irish-heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy-gutenberg-l10930-l11027
---
record_id: batch.motif.celtic-irish-heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy-gutenberg-l10930-l11027
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
passage_locator:
label: INTRODUCTION / THE RAID FOR DARTAID'S CATTLE / THE RAID FOR DARTAID'S CATTLE
/ LITERAL TRANSLATION; lines 10930-11027
start: '10930'
end: '11027'
translation: Heroic Romances of Ireland
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: Ailill receives a night vision from a young man and woman named Victory
and Defeat, who promise him victory and direct Orlam to raid Dartaid's cattle
with Connaught youths. The same visitors appear to Corp Liath under names meaning
Gathering of Hosts and Destruction, warning him that Connaught youths will come
for cattle and instructing him to meet them with warriors. In the morning, promised
equipment appears at Croghan. Orlam goes to Dartaid, who agrees to accompany him
with her cattle. Corp Liath meets the party; battle follows, many Connaught nobles
fall, Orlam and eight others escape with cattle, and Dartaid dies. The place-name
Imlech Dartaid and the tale-name Tain bo Dartae are explained.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Ailill, while asleep on his bed at night, sees a young man and a woman who
identify themselves as Victory and Defeat.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The woman tells Ailill that men should leave his palace in the morning so
that he may win the cattle of Dartaid, daughter of Eocho.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The woman says Dartaid has forty milch-cows and loves Orlam mac Ailill.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The woman says Orlam should travel with a troop including forty sons of kings
from Connaught and promises equipment like that worn by youths who fell in a previous
fight.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The same pair appears to Corp Liath, who has a castle by the river Nemain
and is described as a renowned champion guarding the men of Munster.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: Before Corp Liath, the pair give their names as Tecmall and Coscrad, glossed
as Gathering of Hosts and Destruction.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: The pair warn Corp Liath that sons and heirs of kings from Connaught are coming
to carry off cows from his country, and that they will arrive the next morning
at the ninth hour.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: Corp Liath is told to take seven times twenty heroes, with an additional bracketed
variant mentioning seven times twenty warriors besides.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:9
text: In the morning, the men of Connaught see the promised horses and raiment at
the gate of the fort of Croghan.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:10
text: Ailill says it is shameful to refuse a good thing, and Orlam departs toward
Dartaid's house.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:11
text: Dartaid rejoices at the party's coming, reports that three cows are missing,
and in the bracketed text agrees to depart with Orlam.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:12
text: The young men leave with the cows in their midst and Dartaid with them.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: obs:13
text: Corp Liath meets them with seven times twenty warriors, a battle is fought,
and the sons of the kings of Connaught and their warriors fall except for Orlam
and eight others.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: obs:14
text: Orlam and eight others carry away forty milch-cows and fifty heifers into
Connaught.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: obs:15
text: Dartaid falls at the beginning of the fight.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
- id: obs:16
text: The passage explains the place-name Imlech Dartaid and identifies the story
as Tain bo Dartae, one of the preludes to Tain bo Cualnge.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Ailill
description: A man lying asleep in his bed who receives the first night vision and
later sends Orlam onward after the promised equipment appears.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Visionary young man and woman / Victory and Defeat / Tecmall and
Coscrad
description: A fair young man and woman who appear to Ailill and Corp Liath under
paired names and give instructions to both sides.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Orlam mac Ailill
description: Ailill's son, loved by Dartaid, who leads the Connaught party and survives
the battle with eight others.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:9
- ev:12
- ev:13
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Dartaid, daughter of Eocho
description: Owner of the cattle, said to love Orlam; she accompanies the raiding
party and dies at the beginning of the fight.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:10
- ev:11
- ev:14
- ev:15
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Corp Liath, son of Tassach
description: A renowned champion guarding the men of Munster, whose castle is on
the bank of the river Nemain; he opposes the Connaught party.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:12
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Sons of kings of Connaught
description: Noble youths from Connaught who accompany Orlam and fall in the battle,
except for Orlam and eight others.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:12
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Munster warriors
description: Warriors summoned by Corp Liath to oppose the cattle-raiding party.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:12
roles:
- id: role:1
label: dream recipient and decision-maker
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Ailill receives the first nocturnal apparition and then chooses not to refuse
the promised advantage.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:9
- id: role:2
label: supernatural or visionary instructors
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The paired figures appear at night, use abstract paired names, foretell outcomes,
and give operational instructions to Ailill and Corp Liath.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:3
label: cattle-raiding leader and survivor
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Orlam is appointed to lead the journey, goes to Dartaid, survives the battle,
and carries off cattle.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:9
- ev:13
- id: role:4
label: beloved cattle-owner and casualty
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Dartaid owns the cattle, is said to love Orlam, accompanies him, and falls
at the beginning of the fight.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:10
- ev:11
- ev:14
- id: role:5
label: regional defender and ambusher
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Corp Liath is described as guarding Munster and meets the raiders with warriors
to oppose their march.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:12
- id: role:6
label: noble raiding companions
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The sons of Connaught kings accompany Orlam and are killed in the battle.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:12
- id: role:7
label: opposing warriors
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Corp Liath is told to bring warriors, and he meets the raiders with seven
times twenty warriors.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:12
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: cattle of Dartaid
literal_form: Forty milch-cows, later joined by fifty heifers taken into Connaught.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:13
- id: sym:2
label: paired abstract names
literal_form: Victory and Defeat; Tecmall and Coscrad, glossed as Gathering of Hosts
and Destruction.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: sym:3
label: promised horses and raiment
literal_form: Horses, garments, bridles, and brooches promised by the woman and
found at Croghan in the morning.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:8
- id: sym:4
label: river and lake-shore setting
literal_form: The river Nemain, the Shannon, and the place called Imlech Dartaid,
the Lake Shore of Darta.
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:10
- ev:15
- id: sym:5
label: ninth hour appointment
literal_form: The next morning at the ninth hour, when the Connaught party is foretold
to arrive and the woman says the pair will meet Corp Liath.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Ailill's night vision
summary: Ailill sees a young man and woman while asleep; they name themselves Victory
and Defeat, promise victory, and direct the cattle raid for Dartaid's cattle.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:2
label: Warning to Corp Liath
summary: The same pair go to Corp Liath at his castle by the river Nemain, identify
themselves by another pair of abstract names, and warn him of the coming Connaught
cattle raid.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:3
label: Equipment appears and Orlam departs
summary: The men of Connaught find the promised horses and raiment at Croghan; after
hesitation, Ailill urges acceptance and Orlam departs for Dartaid's house.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: scene:4
label: Dartaid joins the cattle raid
summary: At Dartaid's house, she rejoices, notes that three cows are missing, and
in the bracketed text agrees to leave with Orlam and the cattle.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
- id: scene:5
label: Battle and survival of Orlam
summary: Corp Liath meets the departing party with warriors; in battle the Connaught
nobles and their warriors fall, Dartaid dies, and Orlam with eight others escapes
with cattle.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- ev:13
- ev:14
- id: scene:6
label: Place-name and tale-name explanation
summary: The narrator explains the name Imlech Dartaid and states that the story
is called Tain bo Dartae, a prelude to Tain bo Cualnge.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: prophetic night apparition directs conflict
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: A paired visionary couple appears at night to Ailill and then Corp Liath,
providing foreknowledge, promises, and instructions that set opposing forces in
motion.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The passage does not explicitly call the figures divine or fairy except
in an editorial bracket, so the role is described as visionary rather than definitively
divine.
- id: motif:2
label: cattle raid organized around a beloved cattle-owner
taxonomy_refs:
- stolen_beloved
basis: Orlam is told to seize Dartaid's cattle; Dartaid is said to love him and
later agrees to go with him along with the cows.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:10
- ev:11
confidence: medium
cautions: The beloved is not forcibly abducted in the translated passage; she agrees
to depart in the bracketed text, so the taxonomy link is only partial.
- id: motif:3
label: fatal cattle raid and ambush
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Connaught party carries off cattle but is intercepted by Corp Liath and
his warriors; most of the noble raiders die while a small remnant escapes with
the cattle.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- ev:12
- ev:13
- ev:14
confidence: high
cautions: No broader historical or ritual interpretation is implied.
- id: motif:4
label: material proof of supernatural promise
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The woman promises equipment for Orlam's troop, and in the morning the horses
and raiment are seen at Croghan just as foretold.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The source of the equipment is not explained beyond the fulfilled promise.
- id: motif:5
label: etiological place-name from death in battle
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: After Dartaid falls, the narrator states that the place is called Imlech
Dartaid because of her death there.
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
- ev:15
confidence: high
cautions: The explanation is limited to the passage's stated etiology.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage explicitly places this episode within the Irish cattle-raid narrative
complex by naming it Tain bo Dartae and calling it one of the preludes to Tain
bo Cualnge.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Táin bó cattle-raid pattern / Tain bo Cualnge nearby corpus tradition
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The passage supports a literary-corpus comparison, not a claim of historical
contact beyond the named relationship within the tradition.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 10930-10935
quote_or_summary: Ailill sleeps on his bed and sees a fair young man and woman;
they identify themselves as Victory and Defeat.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 10935-10940
quote_or_summary: The woman promises Ailill victory and instructs that men leave
his palace in the morning to win the cattle of Dartaid, daughter of Eocho; Dartaid
has forty milch-cows and loves Orlam mac Ailill.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 10940-10947
quote_or_summary: Orlam is to prepare with valiant men and forty sons of Connaught
kings; the woman promises bridles, garments, and brooches like those of youths
who fell earlier.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 10948-10954
quote_or_summary: The pair go to Corp Liath, son of Tassach, whose castle is on
the bank of the river Nemain; he is a renowned champion guarding Munster.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 10954-10958
quote_or_summary: Before Corp Liath, the pair identify themselves as Tecmall and
Coscrad, glossed as Gathering of Hosts and Destruction.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 10964-10971
quote_or_summary: They tell Corp Liath that sons and heirs of Connaught kings are
coming to carry off cows from his country and will arrive the next morning at
the ninth hour.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 10984-10988
quote_or_summary: Corp Liath asks what number he should take; the woman replies
seven times twenty heroes, with bracketed text adding seven times twenty warriors,
and says they will meet him at the ninth hour.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 10989-10995
quote_or_summary: In the morning, the men of Connaught see the promised horses and
raiment at the gate of Croghan, as foretold.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 10995-11000
quote_or_summary: The people doubt whether to go; Ailill says it is shameful to
refuse a good thing, and Orlam departs toward Dartaid's house.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 11000-11008
quote_or_summary: Orlam comes to Dartaid's house in Cliu Classach on the Shannon;
Dartaid rejoices at their coming and says three cows are missing.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: lines 11008-11013
quote_or_summary: The bracketed text has Orlam ask Dartaid to depart with him; she
agrees, and the young men go away with the cows in their midst and Dartaid with
them.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:12
type: summary
locator: lines 11013-11018
quote_or_summary: Corp Liath meets them with seven times twenty warriors; battle
is fought, and the sons of the kings of Connaught and their warriors fall except
for Orlam and eight others.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:13
type: summary
locator: lines 11018-11020
quote_or_summary: 'Orlam and eight others carry away the cattle: forty milch-cows
and fifty heifers, reaching Connaught.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:14
type: summary
locator: lines 11020-11023
quote_or_summary: Dartaid falls at the beginning of the fight; a note says the Yellow
Book version also states Dartaid fell with the sons of Connaught.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:15
type: summary
locator: lines 11024-11027
quote_or_summary: The place is called Imlech Dartaid, where Dartaid fell; the story
is called Tain bo Dartae and is one of the preludes to Tain bo Cualnge.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: The passage is explicit about sequence, figures, cattle raid, battle, place-name
etiology, and relation to Tain bo Cualnge. Motif labels are descriptive and should
be reviewed for taxonomy alignment.
reviewer_status:
status: needs_review
reviewer: ''
reviewed_at: ''
notes: Machine-generated draft from OpenAI Batch; not human-reviewed.
extracted_by: openai_batch:gpt-5.5
extracted_at: '2026-04-28'
notes: |-
Bracketed translation and footnote variants were treated as part of the supplied passage but flagged where relevant. Taxonomy references were used only where the supplied controlled list plausibly matched explicit passage content.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:celtic-irish-heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy-gutenberg__l10930-l11027
passage_sha256=dda4d7060da674e41af7237459e573dc03517cff0600c65f3a6ef5374b1c6738