batch.motif.celtic-irish-heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy-gutenberg-l11573-l11656
---
record_id: batch.motif.celtic-irish-heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy-gutenberg-l11573-l11656
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 11573-11656
start: '11573'
end: '11656'
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 passage summarizes and compares versions of the Flidais narrative.
It recounts Bricriu persuading Fergus to approach Ailill the Fair with a hidden
plan involving Flidais, the ensuing hospitality, disclosure, duel, and attack.
It then compares endings in which Flidais either feeds Ailill's army with her
cows and later dies as Fergus' wife, or is rescued with her cow by the Gamanrad.
The passage further argues that a supernatural element involving Flidais, her
cattle, and the milking of deer is clearer in the Glenn Masain and Coir Annam
material than in the L.U. version.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Bricriu approaches Fergus on his return and persuades him to go as an ambassador
to Ailill the Fair while secretly intending to carry off Flidais.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Fergus receives approval from Maev and her husband for the errand and departs
with all the Ulster exiles.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Dubhtach kills a servant of Maev, causing conflict between Fergus and the
queen of Connaught.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: At Ailill the Fair's castle, Bricriu asks for hospitality, is received, and
reveals the plot to Ailill while affected by wine.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:5
text: Ailill seats Fergus beside him at a feast, reproaches him, and challenges
him to a duel the next morning.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:6
text: One version has Flidais assist in the War of Cualgne by feeding Ailill's army
every seventh day with the produce of her cows, and later die as Fergus' wife.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:7
text: Another version has the Gamanrad pursue Maev and Fergus, rescue Flidais and
her cow, and have Flidais return west with Muiretach Menn.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:8
text: The passage states that the later manuscript gives special emphasis to a supernatural
cow, while the eleventh-century version has only a herd feeding the army.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:9
text: The Coir Annam material identifies Flidais as a queen of the Tuatha de Danaan
and connects her with the name Buar Flidaise, the Cattle of Flidais.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:10
text: The Coir Annam material says that in Nia Segamain's time cows and does were
milked daily, and that Flidais gave him this fairy power.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:11
text: The passage proposes that Flidais was originally a supernatural being who
milked wild deer like cows and was later incorporated into the Ulster Cycle tale
of Fergus.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Bricriu
description: A figure who persuades Fergus to go as ambassador and later reveals
the plot to Ailill after receiving hospitality and wine.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Fergus
description: A figure sent as ambassador to Ailill the Fair, accompanied by the
Ulster exiles, and challenged to a duel.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Ailill the Fair
description: The host at the castle who receives Bricriu and Fergus, learns of the
plot, reproaches Fergus, and challenges him to a duel.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Flidais
description: A woman connected with cattle, a cow, fairy power, and the milking
of deer; described in cited Coir Annam material as a queen of the Tuatha de Danaan.
role_refs:
- role:6
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Maev
description: Queen of Connaught who sanctions Fergus' errand and is later pursued
with Fergus in the Glenn Masain version.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Dubhtach
description: A figure who kills a servant of Maev, causing trouble between Fergus
and Maev.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Gamanrad clan
description: The hero-clan of the West of Ireland, said to pursue Maev and Fergus
and rescue Flidais and her cow.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Muiretach Menn
description: Son of Ailill the Fair; Flidais returns west with him in the Glenn
Masain version.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Nia Segamain
description: Son of Adammair and Flidais; in his time cows and does were milked
daily through a power given by his mother.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Adammair
description: Husband of Flidais and father of Nia Segamain in the Coir Annam material.
role_refs:
- role:13
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Tuatha de Danaan
description: The god-folk whose tribe includes Flidais in the cited Coir Annam entry.
role_refs:
- role:14
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
roles:
- id: role:1
label: instigator of embassy
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Bricriu induces Fergus to go in the guise of an ambassador.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: plot revealer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Bricriu reveals the plot to Ailill after receiving hospitality and wine.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: ambassador and challenger’s opponent
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Fergus goes as ambassador and is challenged to a duel by Ailill.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: host
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Ailill receives Bricriu and seats Fergus beside himself at a feast.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:5
label: duel challenger
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Ailill challenges Fergus to a duel in the morning.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:6
label: woman targeted in plot and rescued in one version
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The plot concerns carrying off Flidais, and one version has the Gamanrad
rescue her.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:7
label: supernatural cattle and milk figure
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The passage links Flidais with a supernatural cow, cattle, fairy power, and
milking wild deer like cows.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:8
label: queen and sanctioning authority
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Maev and her husband sanction Fergus' errand; she is called queen of Connaught.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:9
label: killer causing conflict
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Dubhtach kills a servant of Maev and embroils Fergus with the queen.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:10
label: rescuing pursuers
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The Gamanrad pursue Maev and Fergus and rescue Flidais and her cow.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:11
label: return companion
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Flidais returns west with Muiretach Menn.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:12
label: recipient of fairy power
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: Flidais gives Nia Segamain the power by which cows and does are milked daily.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:13
label: husband and father
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: Adammair is named as Flidais' husband and father of Nia Segamain.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:14
label: god-folk tribe
assigned_to:
- fig:11
basis: The Coir Annam entry says Flidais was one of the tribe of the god-folk, the
Tuatha de Danaan.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: supernatural cow
literal_form: a single cow credited in the later manuscript with special supernatural
importance
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: cattle of Flidais
literal_form: Buar Flidaise, the Cattle of Flidais
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:3
label: milk and milking
literal_form: cows and does milked daily; wild deer milked like cows
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs:
- milk
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:4
label: wild deer or does
literal_form: does and wild deer milked in the same way as cows
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:5
label: fairy power
literal_form: the power given by Flidais to Nia Segamain enabling the milking of
cows and does
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Bricriu sends Fergus toward Ailill with hidden purpose
summary: Bricriu persuades Fergus to travel as an ambassador to Ailill the Fair
while secretly intending to carry off Flidais; Fergus departs with the Ulster
exiles after sanction from Maev and her husband.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Hospitality, disclosure, and duel challenge
summary: At Ailill's castle, Bricriu requests hospitality and is received; after
wine he reveals the plot, and Ailill reproaches Fergus and challenges him to a
duel.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:3
label: Divergent endings involving Flidais and her cattle
summary: One version has Flidais feeding Ailill's army with the produce of her cows
and later dying as Fergus' wife, while the Glenn Masain version has the Gamanrad
rescue Flidais and her cow and send her west with Muiretach Menn.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:4
label: Coir Annam genealogy and supernatural milk power
summary: The Coir Annam entries identify Flidais as a Tuatha de Danaan queen, wife
of Adammair, mother of Nia Segamain, and source of a fairy power by which cows
and does were milked daily.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:9
- fig:10
- fig:11
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: Interpretive reconstruction of Flidais tradition
summary: The passage suggests that an earlier legend concerned Flidais as a supernatural
being who milked wild deer like cows, later incorporated into the Ulster Cycle
and the tale of Fergus.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: supernatural woman associated with animal milk abundance
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Flidais is described as a supernatural being or Tuatha de Danaan queen connected
with cattle, fairy power, and milking wild deer or does like cows.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents this as a proposed reconstruction drawing on Coir
Annam and comparative manuscript discussion.
- id: motif:2
label: abduction or attempted carrying off of a woman
taxonomy_refs:
- stolen_beloved
basis: Bricriu persuades Fergus to go to Ailill with the secret intention of carrying
off Flidais, and a later version has Flidais rescued from Maev and Fergus.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage summarizes the plot rather than narrating the abduction in
detail; the taxonomy label is approximate.
- id: motif:3
label: raid or contested possession of supernatural cattle
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_theft
basis: The passage centers on Flidais, her cow or cattle, and versions involving
pursuit, rescue, and the supernatural value of the cow or herd.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage names cattle and a cow but emphasizes Flidais herself as much
as the animal; 'sacred theft' is a cautious fit rather than an explicit category
in the text.
- id: motif:4
label: demythologized heroic-cycle adaptation of a supernatural tale
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage argues that an author of the eleventh-century version worked
from a supernatural tale but removed nearly all supernatural elements, while another
version preserved more of them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: This is an explicit literary-historical interpretation in the passage,
not an event within the story world.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The L.U. and Glenn Masain versions are presented as likely deriving from
a common original in which Flidais' supernatural character was retained.
claim_level: common_inheritance
target: L.U. version and Glenn Masain version of the Flidais narrative
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:7
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage uses cautious language and notes that the Glenn Masain
version itself is not ancient as it stands.
- id: claim:2
claim: 'The Coir Annam material is proposed as possibly preserving the common origin
or older idea behind the two romance versions: Flidais as a supernatural being
who milks wild deer like cows.'
claim_level: common_inheritance
target: Coir Annam entries and the Flidais romance tradition
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage says this is possible and not impossible, so the claim
should remain tentative.
- id: claim:3
claim: The later Glenn Masain manuscript is said to preserve a more mythically interpretable
emphasis on the supernatural cow than the eleventh-century version, where the
analogous feature is only a herd feeding the army.
claim_level: same_motif
target: supernatural cow in Glenn Masain and army-feeding herd in the eleventh-century
version
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage treats the eleventh-century version as only indirectly
preserving the supernatural element; the animal differs from single cow to herd.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 11573-11587
quote_or_summary: Bricriu persuades Fergus to go as ambassador to Ailill the Fair
with a hidden plan involving Flidais; Fergus departs with Ulster exiles, Dubhtach
kills Maev's servant, Bricriu receives hospitality and reveals the plot, and Ailill
challenges Fergus to a duel.
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: 11588-11597
quote_or_summary: The L.U. version has Flidais feed Ailill's army every seventh
day with produce from her cows and later die as Fergus' wife; the Glenn Masain
version has the Gamanrad pursue Maev and Fergus, rescue Flidais and her cow, and
Flidais return west with Muiretach Menn.
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: 11599-11616
quote_or_summary: The passage says the later manuscript uniquely stresses a supernatural
cow, while the eleventh-century version only has a herd feeding Ireland's army
and otherwise removes nearly all supernatural material.
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: quote
locator: 11622-11627
quote_or_summary: Flidais is identified as 'Flidais the Queen' and as 'one of the
tribe of the god-folk (the Tuatha de Danaan),' with the name Buar Flidaise, the
Cattle of Flidais, derived from her.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpted phrases.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 11628-11635
quote_or_summary: The Coir Annam entry for Nia Segamain says cows and does were
milked daily in his time and that Flidais, his mother, gave him the fairy power
connected with this wealth.
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: 11637-11642
quote_or_summary: The passage suggests that the original legend may have presented
Flidais as a supernatural being who milked wild deer like cows before she was
incorporated into the Ulster Cycle and the tale of Fergus.
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: 11644-11656
quote_or_summary: The passage proposes a common original of the two versions in
which Flidais' supernatural character remained; it says the L.U. author cut out
supernatural material, while the Glenn Masain author stayed closer to the old
story while adding later touches.
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: medium
notes: The passage is expository and explicitly comparative, supporting manuscript-comparison
claims. Some motif labels are approximate because the passage discusses literary
versions rather than narrating all events directly.
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: |-
Used only supplied passage text and metadata; taxonomy references limited to supplied lists.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:celtic-irish-heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy-gutenberg__l11573-l11656
passage_sha256=fd9930f68277794f37ed6781e55af0598aafdc8971f2d10eb1e64763dd06fba4