batch.motif.celtic-irish-heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy-gutenberg-l11464-l11571
---
record_id: batch.motif.celtic-irish-heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy-gutenberg-l11464-l11571
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
passage_locator:
label: THE RAID FOR THE CATTLE OF REGAMON / LITERAL TRANSLATION / THE DRIVING OF
THE CATTLE OF FLIDAIS / INTRODUCTION; lines 11464-11571
start: '11464'
end: '11571'
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: The introduction describes manuscript witnesses and version differences
for The Driving of the Cattle of Flidais, contrasts the older version with the
Glenn Masain version, and summarizes the Glenn Masain episode in which Bricriu
reproaches Fergus, journeys to Ailill for bounty, learns of Flidais and her milk-giving
cow, praises Flidais, and agrees to carry Flidais's message of love to Fergus.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The tale is identified as The Driving of the Cattle or Cows of Flidais.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The passage says the tale appears in Leabhar na h-Uidhri, the Book of Leinster,
and the fifteenth-century Egerton manuscript.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The passage states that the older manuscripts contain nothing supernatural,
while a different Glenn Masain manuscript version gives the tale another complexion.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The passage says the Glenn Masain version makes Bricriu a principal actor
and gives an ending absolutely different from the older manuscripts.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The Glenn Masain version begins with a feast at Cruachan after Fergus and
his exiles have joined Connaught.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: At the feast, Bricriu reproaches Fergus for broken promises to Ulstermen and
for dalliance with Queen Maev.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: Bricriu is described in this version as a distinguished poet and chief ollave
whose satire is bitter but not scurrilous.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: The cited satire accuses Fergus of failing to provide promised chariots, shields,
weapons, and gold.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:9
text: Bricriu and his attending poets travel to Ailill the Fair to obtain bounty
that Fergus had promised but could not grant.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:10
text: Ailill receives Bricriu hospitably, gives what he asked, and honors his poetic
talents.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: Bricriu is told that Flidais has a marvellous cow able to supply milk to more
than three hundred men at one night's milking.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:12
text: Bricriu welcomes Flidais, makes a poem in honor of her and her cow, and is
recompensed.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:13
text: Flidais declares her love for Fergus to Bricriu.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:14
text: Bricriu first tries to dissuade Flidais, then agrees to carry a message that
Flidais and her cow will come to Fergus if he comes to her husband's castle to
seek her.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:15
text: Bricriu returns to Connaught laden with gifts.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Bricriu
description: In the Glenn Masain version, Bricriu is made one of the principal actors;
he is a distinguished poet and chief ollave, satirizes Fergus, travels with poets
to Ailill, praises Flidais and her cow, and carries Flidais's message.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Fergus
description: Fergus is at Cruachan with his exiles allied to Connaught; Bricriu
reproaches him for broken promises and dalliance with Queen Maev; Flidais loves
him because of deeds told about him.
role_refs:
- role:5
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:9
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Queen Maev
description: Queen Maev is mentioned as the Connaught queen with whom Fergus is
reproached for dalliance.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Ailill the Fair
description: Ailill the Fair receives Bricriu hospitably, grants his demand for
bounty, honors his poetic talents, and is identified as Flidais's husband.
role_refs:
- role:8
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Flidais
description: Flidais is Ailill's wife; she has a marvellous cow, receives Bricriu's
poem, declares love for Fergus, and sends a message that she and her cow will
come if Fergus seeks her at her husband's castle.
role_refs:
- role:10
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Flidais's marvellous cow
description: The cow is described as able to supply milk to more than three hundred
men at one night's milking, is praised in Bricriu's poem, and is included in Flidais's
message to Fergus.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Poets attending Bricriu
description: A group of poets attends Bricriu on his journey to Ailill the Fair.
role_refs:
- role:13
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Fergus's exiles
description: Fergus and his exiles have joined their forces with Connaught at the
beginning of the Glenn Masain version.
role_refs:
- role:14
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: distinguished poet and chief ollave
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage explicitly calls Bricriu a distinguished poet and a chief ollave
in this version.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:2
label: satirical reprover
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Bricriu reproaches Fergus and delivers bitter satire about failed promises.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:3
label: journeying requester of bounty
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Bricriu travels with poets to Ailill to obtain bounty Fergus had promised
but could not give.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:4
label: message-bearer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Bricriu agrees to bring Flidais's message to Fergus.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:5
label: reproached promise-breaker
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Bricriu reproaches Fergus for broken promises, and the satire details unfulfilled
gifts.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:6
label: desired hero praised for deeds
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Bricriu extols Fergus's deeds, and Flidais's love for Fergus is linked to
those reported deeds.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:7
label: queen associated with Connaught alliance
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The passage names Queen Maev in connection with Fergus's dalliance and Connaught.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:8
label: hospitable patron
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Ailill receives Bricriu hospitably and gives him all he had asked for.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:9
label: husband of Flidais
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The passage refers to Ailill's wife Flidais and later to Flidais's husband's
castle.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: role:10
label: wife with marvellous cow
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Flidais is identified as Ailill's wife and as the woman associated with the
marvellous cow.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:11
label: woman declaring love for Fergus
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Flidais declares her love for Fergus and sends him a message through Bricriu.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:12
label: abundance-giving cow
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The cow is able to supply milk to more than three hundred men in one night's
milking.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:13
label: poetic entourage
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The passage says poets attend Bricriu on his journey.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:14
label: exiled allied force
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Fergus and his exiles have joined their forces with Connaught.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: cattle or cows of Flidais
literal_form: The title names the driving of the cattle or cows of Flidais.
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: milk
literal_form: Milk supplied by Flidais's marvellous cow to more than three hundred
men at one night's milking.
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- milk
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:3
label: marvellous cow
literal_form: Flidais's cow, praised in a poem and described as unusually productive
of milk.
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: sym:4
label: poetic bounty and gifts
literal_form: Bounty, recompense, and gifts given to Bricriu for poetic speech and
demands.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: sym:5
label: promised warrior goods
literal_form: Three-score chariots, shields, weapons, and gold named in the satire
on Fergus's unfulfilled promises.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Manuscript and version framing
summary: The introduction identifies the manuscript witnesses, notes the older version's
lack of supernatural content, and contrasts it with the Glenn Masain version and
its different ending.
figure_refs: []
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: scene:2
label: Feast at Cruachan and satire of Fergus
summary: At a feast at Cruachan, Bricriu speaks with Fergus, reproaches him for
broken promises and dalliance with Maev, and is characterized as a dignified poet-satirist.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:3
label: Journey to Ailill for bounty
summary: Bricriu travels with attending poets to Ailill the Fair to obtain the bounty
Fergus had promised but could not grant; Ailill receives him hospitably and gives
what he asks.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: scene:4
label: Flidais, the cow, and poetic recompense
summary: Bricriu asks about Flidais, hears of her marvellous milk-giving cow, welcomes
her on return, praises her and the cow in verse, and receives recompense.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: scene:5
label: Flidais's message to Fergus
summary: Bricriu extols Fergus's deeds; Flidais declares love for Fergus; Bricriu
tries to dissuade her but agrees to bring a message that she and her cow will
come if Fergus seeks her at her husband's castle.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: cattle-driving narrative frame
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage identifies the tale as the Driving of the Cattle or Cows of Flidais,
but the selected introduction does not narrate the actual driving.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: Only the title and framing are present in this passage; the cattle-driving
action itself is not described here.
- id: motif:2
label: poet-satirist compels or redirects obligation
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Bricriu satirizes Fergus for failed promises, then goes to Ailill to obtain
the bounty Fergus could not provide.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: This is a passage-level social and narrative pattern; no broader taxonomy
reference is assigned.
- id: motif:3
label: poetic praise exchanged for gifts
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Bricriu receives bounty from Ailill, honors Flidais and her cow with a poem,
is recompensed, and returns laden with gifts.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents this as hospitality and poetic recompense, not explicitly
as a sacred exchange.
- id: motif:4
label: abundance-giving cow
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Flidais's cow is described as able to supply milk to more than three hundred
men at one night's milking.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The older manuscripts are said to contain nothing supernatural; this detail
belongs to the Glenn Masain version summarized in the introduction.
- id: motif:5
label: beloved invited to be sought from husband's castle
taxonomy_refs:
- stolen_beloved
basis: Flidais declares love for Fergus and sends word that she and her cow will
come to him if he comes to her husband's castle to seek her.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage stops at the message; it does not narrate an actual abduction,
elopement, or taking.
- id: motif:6
label: divergent manuscript endings
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage says the Glenn Masain manuscript has an ending absolutely different
from the older manuscripts and that the romance appears unique in Irish for having
two quite different endings.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: This is a textual-transmission pattern rather than a mythic action motif.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage compares the whole tale's tone to an old Border riding ballad.
claim_level: same_function
target: old Border riding ballad
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The comparison is made by the introducer and concerns tone or genre
feel, not historical contact or shared origin.
- id: claim:2
claim: The passage says the tale resembles Regamon in tone but differs by including
more slaughter and by not being tragic in the same way as Deirdre and Ferb.
claim_level: same_function
target: Regamon and other Preludes named by the introducer
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
counter_evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: medium
limitations: The comparison is qualitative and limited to the introducer's characterization
of tone and tragic quality.
- id: claim:3
claim: The passage compares the existence of two quite different endings in this
Irish romance to the two versions of Kipling's The Light that Failed.
claim_level: same_function
target: Kipling's The Light that Failed as an example of two-version ending structure
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: This is a modern literary analogy supplied by the introducer, not evidence
of mythic relationship.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 11464-11483
quote_or_summary: 'The introduction identifies Tain bo Flidais, the Driving of the
Cows of Flidais, and describes its manuscript witnesses: Leabhar na h-Uidhri,
Book of Leinster, and the Egerton manuscript, with Windisch''s text and translation
noted.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 11485-11491
quote_or_summary: The tale is described as more like an old Border riding ballad,
resembling Regamon in tone, containing slaughter but not tragic like Deirdre and
Ferb; the older manuscripts are said to have nothing supernatural, unlike a different
Glenn Masain version.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 11493-11500
quote_or_summary: The Glenn Masain version is said to be longer and fuller than
the Leabhar na h-Uidhri version and its related manuscripts; the introduction
gives an abstract of the story's end as then known.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 11502-11510
quote_or_summary: The Glenn Masain version makes Bricriu a principal actor, explains
difficult allusions, and has an ending absolutely different from older manuscripts;
the romance is said to have two quite different endings.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 11512-11521
quote_or_summary: The Glenn Masain version begins with a feast at Cruachan after
Fergus and his exiles join Connaught; Bricriu reproaches Fergus for broken promises
and dalliance with Queen Maev and is described as a distinguished poet and chief
ollave.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:6
type: quote
locator: lines 11523-11542
quote_or_summary: The cited satire says Fergus vowed comrades would be driving three-score
chariots with shields and weapons, and promised gold to ladies, but has nothing
to bestow.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summarized quotation content used.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 11544-11551
quote_or_summary: After speaking with Fergus, Bricriu and his attending poets journey
to Ailill the Fair to obtain the bounty Fergus had promised but could not grant;
Ailill receives him hospitably, grants his demand, and honors his poetic talent.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 11551-11557
quote_or_summary: Bricriu asks about Ailill's wife Flidais and is told of her marvellous
cow, able to supply milk to more than three hundred men at one night's milking;
Flidais returns, is welcomed by Bricriu, praised with her cow in a poem, and recompenses
him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 11559-11571
quote_or_summary: In conversation with Flidais, Bricriu extols Fergus's deeds; Flidais
declares love for Fergus; Bricriu tries to dissuade her but agrees to carry a
message that she and her cow will come if Fergus comes to her husband's castle
to seek her; Bricriu returns to Connaught laden with gifts.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The passage is an introduction and summary rather than the primary narrative
episode itself. Literal extraction is strong; motif assignment is cautious where
the introduction only foreshadows later narrative actions.
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: |-
No external sources or unprovided taxonomy IDs were used. The passage explicitly states that the older manuscripts lack supernatural content; the abundance-giving cow belongs to the Glenn Masain version summarized by the introducer.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:celtic-irish-heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy-gutenberg__l11464-l11571
passage_sha256=a07566b8ebada254ab077664c847945b30b0b106b06604991131dd82eaac4b6e