batch.motif.celtic-irish-heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy-gutenberg-l11988-l12117
---
record_id: batch.motif.celtic-irish-heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy-gutenberg-l11988-l12117
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
passage_locator:
label: INTRODUCTION / THE DRIVING OF THE CATTLE OF FLIDAIS / THE DRIVING OF THE
CATTLE OF FLIDAIS / LITERAL TRANSLATION; lines 11988-12117
start: '11988'
end: '12117'
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: Flidais, wife of Ailill Finn, loves Fergus mac Rog and sends messengers
to him. Fergus, after counsel with Ailill of Connaught and Medb, goes with companions
to Ailill Finn and asks for cows. Ailill Finn refuses because of reports about
his wife’s love for Fergus, expels them, and meets their challenge at the ford.
Dubhtach wounds Ailill Finn and is himself wounded; Fergus and Fergus mac Oen-lama
shield one another and are also threatened. Flidais covers the three with her
cloak. Fergus’s people flee, many are killed, and survivors report to Ailill and
Medb. Connacht and Ulster forces march to the castle. Flidais tends the wounded.
Ailill Finn refuses a conference, the wounded are carried out, and Connacht forces
unsuccessfully storm the castle for a week with heavy losses.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Flidais is identified as the wife of Ailill Finn in the district of Kerry.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Flidais loves Fergus mac Rog because of glorious tales about him and sends
messengers to him weekly.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Fergus consults Ailill of Connaught about how to proceed without dishonour
to Ailill.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Medb advises that someone, preferably Fergus, should go to Ailill Finn to
obtain help or a gift.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: Fergus travels with thirty men, including two Ferguses and Dubhtach, to the
Ford of Fenna and then to Ailill Finn’s burg.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Ailill Finn refuses to host Fergus because he has been told that his wife
loves Fergus.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: Fergus asks for cows to sustain the troop accompanying him in exile.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: Ailill Finn refuses the requested cows but offers one ox, bacon, and beer;
Fergus refuses to eat because no present of honour is granted.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: Ailill Finn expels Fergus and his companions from the house.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:10
text: Fergus calls for a man to fight him beside a ford at the castle gate.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:11
text: Ailill Finn goes himself to the ford, saying he will not hand the strife to
another.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:12
text: Dubhtach fights Ailill Finn and thrusts a spear through his two thighs; Ailill
Finn hurls a javelin through Dubhtach.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:13
text: Fergus throws his shield over Dubhtach, and Ailill Finn drives a spear through
the shield.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:14
text: Fergus mac Oen-lama holds a shield before Fergus, and Ailill Finn’s spear
is forced through it.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:15
text: Flidais comes from the castle and throws her cloak over the three men.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:16
text: Fergus’s people flee; Ailill Finn pursues them, kills twenty, and seven escape
to Cruachan Ai to report the story to Ailill and Medb.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:17
text: Ailill, Medb, the nobles of Connacht, and the exiles from Ulster march with
troops to the Ford of Fenna.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:18
text: Flidais cares for the wounded men in the castle and undertakes their healing.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:19
text: Ailill Finn refuses to come outside the castle for a conference with Ailill
mac Mata.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:20
text: The passage states that Ailill mac Mata had come for a peaceful meeting to
save Fergus and make peace with Ailill Finn.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:21
text: The wounded men are brought out of the castle on hand-barrows so their own
people can care for them.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: obs:22
text: The men attack Ailill Finn and storm the castle for a full week without gaining
hold on him; seven score Connacht heroes fall.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Flidais
description: Wife of Ailill Finn; loves Fergus mac Rog, sends messengers to him,
covers three wounded men with her cloak, and cares for the wounded in the castle.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:5
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
- ev:9
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Ailill Finn / Ailill the Fair-haired
description: Husband of Flidais and holder of the castle; refuses Fergus hospitality
and cows, fights at the ford, pursues Fergus’s people, refuses conference, and
withstands the siege.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:10
- ev:12
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Fergus mac Rog
description: Man loved by Flidais; consults Ailill of Connaught, goes to Ailill
Finn with companions, asks for cows, challenges combat, and is protected by shields
and Flidais’s cloak.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Ailill mac Mata / Ailill of Connaught
description: Connacht ruler consulted by Fergus; later receives the report from
survivors, marches with Medb and forces, and seeks a conference with Ailill Finn.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:10
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Medb / Maev
description: Connacht ruler who counsels that Fergus should go to Ailill Finn; later
receives the report and marches with the troops.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Dubhtach
description: Companion of Fergus who volunteers to fight Ailill Finn and is wounded
by Ailill Finn after wounding him.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Fergus mac Oen-lama
description: Companion of Fergus who holds a shield in front of Fergus during the
combat at the ford.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Fergus’s people
description: The company accompanying Fergus; they flee from Ailill Finn, twenty
are killed, and seven escape to report the events.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Nobles of Connacht and exiles from Ulster
description: Forces who march with Ailill and Medb to Kerry Ai and storm Ailill
Finn’s castle, suffering heavy losses.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:12
roles:
- id: role:1
label: wife whose desire initiates contact
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Flidais is Ailill Finn’s wife and loves Fergus, sending messengers to him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: husband-host and opponent
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Ailill Finn refuses Fergus’s stay and gift request because of Flidais’s love,
then fights and resists the attackers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:12
- id: role:3
label: desired outsider and petitioner
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Fergus is loved by Flidais and comes to Ailill Finn asking for cows for his
exiled troop.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: combatant companion
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:6
- fig:7
basis: Fergus challenges combat; Dubhtach fights Ailill Finn; Fergus mac Oen-lama
protects Fergus with a shield.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:5
label: protector of wounded men
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Flidais throws her cloak over the three and later cares for wounded men in
the castle.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:9
- id: role:6
label: besieged defender
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Ailill Finn remains in the castle during a week-long storming attempt in
which attackers cannot gain hold on him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: role:7
label: healer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The wounded men are cared for by Flidais and their healing is undertaken
by her.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:8
label: counseling ruler and military responder
assigned_to:
- fig:4
- fig:5
basis: Ailill and Medb advise or receive reports and then march with troops toward
Ailill Finn’s castle.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:9
label: war band or allied force
assigned_to:
- fig:8
- fig:9
basis: Fergus’s people flee and suffer losses; Connacht nobles and Ulster exiles
march and storm the castle.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:12
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: cows and ox as requested sustenance and honour-gift
literal_form: cows; one ox, bacon, and beer offered instead
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:2
label: ford as combat place
literal_form: Ford of Fenna and a ford at the castle gate
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: sym:3
label: castle or burg
literal_form: Ailill Finn’s burg/castle
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:12
- id: sym:4
label: spear and javelin wounds
literal_form: spear through thighs; javelin through Dubhtach; spear through shields
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:6
- fig:3
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:5
label: shield protection
literal_form: shields placed over or before wounded combatants
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:6
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:6
label: protective cloak
literal_form: Flidais’s cloak thrown over the three men
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:6
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:7
label: hand-barrows for wounded men
literal_form: hand-barrows carrying wounded men out of the castle
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:6
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Flidais loves Fergus and sends messengers
summary: The passage opens by identifying Flidais as Ailill Finn’s wife and stating
that she loves Fergus and sends messengers to him each week.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Counsel in Connacht and mission to Ailill Finn
summary: Fergus consults Ailill of Connacht, Medb advises that Fergus should go
to Ailill Finn, and Fergus travels with thirty men to Ailill Finn’s burg.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Refusal of hospitality and honour-gift
summary: Ailill Finn refuses to host Fergus because of reports that Flidais loves
him; Fergus asks for cows, rejects the lesser offer, and is expelled.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Combat at the ford
summary: Fergus calls for combat at the ford; Ailill Finn comes himself, Dubhtach
wounds him and is wounded, and the Ferguses use shields against Ailill Finn’s
spear.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:5
label: Flidais covers the wounded and survivors flee
summary: Flidais comes from the castle and throws her cloak over the three; Fergus’s
people flee, twenty are killed, and seven escape to report to Ailill and Medb.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:6
label: Connacht march and care of wounded
summary: Ailill, Medb, Connacht nobles, and Ulster exiles march to the Ford of Fenna
while Flidais tends the wounded in the castle.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: scene:7
label: Refused conference and storming of the castle
summary: Ailill Finn refuses to meet Ailill mac Mata outside the castle; the wounded
are carried out on hand-barrows, and the attackers storm the castle for a week
with heavy losses.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
- ev:12
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Desire for a renowned outsider across a marriage boundary
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Flidais, though wife of Ailill Finn, loves Fergus because of tales about
him and maintains contact through messengers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: high
cautions: The passage states love and messaging but does not yet depict elopement
or abduction.
- id: motif:2
label: Refused guest-gift causes armed conflict
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Fergus requests cows as an honourable gift for his exiled troop; Ailill Finn
refuses, expels the visitors, and the encounter turns to combat.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The requested cattle are not actually taken in this excerpt.
- id: motif:3
label: Single combat at a ford
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Fergus calls for a man to fight beside the ford at the castle gate, and Ailill
Finn personally goes to the ford where Dubhtach fights him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: No broader ritual or supernatural meaning is stated in the passage.
- id: motif:4
label: Protective covering over wounded heroes
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Fergus and Fergus mac Oen-lama use shields in defense, and Flidais throws
her cloak over the three men after the combat.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not explicitly explain the legal, ritual, or magical
effect of the cloak.
- id: motif:5
label: Woman as healer of wounded warriors
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Flidais cares for the wounded men in the castle and undertakes their healing.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: The passage gives no details of healing methods.
- id: motif:6
label: Failed parley followed by siege of a fortified dwelling
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Ailill Finn refuses the conference with Ailill mac Mata; afterward the men
storm his castle for a full week without gaining hold on him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:12
confidence: high
cautions: The passage notes that the peaceful-intent explanation may be an interpolation
in the source note.
- id: motif:7
label: Cattle-demand as trigger in a cattle-driving narrative
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage is headed as the driving of Flidais’s cattle, and within it Fergus
asks Ailill Finn for cows to sustain an exiled troop.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:13
confidence: medium
cautions: This line range includes a demand for cows and conflict but not the actual
driving off of cattle.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage can be cautiously aligned with a cattle-driving or cattle-raid
narrative pattern because its title names a cattle driving and the action includes
a request for cows that triggers conflict.
claim_level: same_motif
target: cattle-driving / cattle-raid narrative pattern
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:13
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The excerpt does not narrate the actual seizure or driving of cattle;
the claim rests on the title and the refused cow-gift episode.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 11988-11996
quote_or_summary: Flidais is Ailill Finn’s wife; she loves Fergus mac Rog because
of glorious tales and sends messengers to him weekly.
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: 11999-12013
quote_or_summary: Fergus consults Ailill of Connacht; Medb advises that one of them,
preferably Fergus, should go to Ailill Finn for help or a gift.
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: 12018-12027
quote_or_summary: Fergus sets out with thirty men, including the two Ferguses and
Dubhtach, reaches the Ford of Fenna, and is welcomed at Ailill Finn’s burg.
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: 12030-12047
quote_or_summary: Ailill Finn refuses to host Fergus because Flidais loves him;
Fergus asks for cows, Ailill Finn refuses the cows but offers lesser food, and
Fergus rejects it as no honour-gift.
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: 12049-12066
quote_or_summary: Ailill Finn expels the visitors; Fergus calls for combat at the
ford; Ailill Finn goes himself; Dubhtach wounds Ailill Finn through both thighs
and is pierced by Ailill Finn’s javelin.
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: 12072-12080
quote_or_summary: Fergus shields Dubhtach; Ailill Finn’s spear pierces the shield;
Fergus mac Oen-lama shields Fergus; Flidais comes from the castle and throws her
cloak over the three.
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: 12082-12085
quote_or_summary: Fergus’s people flee; Ailill Finn pursues, kills twenty, and seven
escape to Cruachan Ai to report to Ailill and Medb.
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: 12087-12090
quote_or_summary: Ailill, Medb, Connacht nobles, and Ulster exiles march with troops
into Kerry Ai as far as the Ford of Fenna.
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: 12092-12094
quote_or_summary: The wounded men are cared for by Flidais in the castle, and she
undertakes their healing.
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: 12096-12108
quote_or_summary: Ailill Finn is summoned to a conference with Ailill mac Mata outside
the castle but refuses; the text says Ailill mac Mata had come for a peaceful
meeting to save Fergus and make peace.
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: 12110-12112
quote_or_summary: The wounded men are brought out of the castle on hand-barrows
to be cared for by their own people.
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: 12114-12117
quote_or_summary: The men attack Ailill Finn and storm the castle for a full week
without gaining hold on him; seven times twenty Connacht heroes fall.
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: citation
locator: 11988-11990
quote_or_summary: 'Passage heading: The Driving of the Cattle of Flidais, Literal
Translation.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; citation/short heading.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: Literal extraction is strong for named figures, actions, and sequence. Motif
labels are cautious because the excerpt is martial and relational but does not
complete the cattle-driving action named in the heading.
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 taxonomy motif family was assigned because the available motif list does not directly include cattle raid, ford combat, hospitality conflict, or healer-woman motifs. The ford was linked to the available water symbol only as a literal water-crossing place.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:celtic-irish-heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy-gutenberg__l11988-l12117
passage_sha256=a404e0532fc4ae6434e9d4f71329b1d22754d415258c992798bc4050d986dfda