batch.motif.celtic-irish-heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy-gutenberg-l2033-l2183
---
record_id: batch.motif.celtic-irish-heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy-gutenberg-l2033-l2183
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
passage_locator:
label: MAC DATHO'S BOAR / INTRODUCTION / MAC DATHO'S BOAR / FROM THE BOOK OF LEINSTER
(TWELFTH-CENTURY MS.); lines 2033-2183
start: '2033'
end: '2183'
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: Mac Datho, king in Leinster, possesses the famed hound Ailbe, guardian
of Leinster. Heralds from Connaught and Ulster arrive simultaneously to demand
the hound on behalf of rival rulers, each offering rich payment. Mac Datho is
troubled by the threat of war if he refuses either side. His wife advises promising
the hound to both. Mac Datho then separately tells the Connaught and Ulster messengers
that their respective rulers have been awarded the hound and should come in splendor
to collect it.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Mac Datho is described as a glorious king ruling over the men of Leinster.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Mac Datho possesses a hound named Ailbe, described as the guardian of all
Leinster and widely famed.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Messengers from Ailill and Maev and messengers from Conor arrive at the same
hour to demand Ailbe.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Mac Datho's palace is described as a hostelry with seven doors, seven passages,
and seven cauldrons containing meat.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Travellers in the hostelry may thrust a fork into a cauldron once; whatever
they draw out on the first attempt is their food, and no second attempt is allowed.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The Connaught messengers offer six thousand milch cows, a two-horsed chariot
with horses, and an equal amount again after a year in exchange for the hound.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The Ulster messengers offer treasures, cattle, an equal amount again after
a year, and Conor's friendship in exchange for the hound.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: Mac Datho becomes silent, does not eat or sleep, and tosses about because
of the competing demands.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: Mac Datho says that refusal to Conor or Ailill would bring destructive military
retaliation.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: Mac Datho's wife advises him to give the hound to both parties.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: Mac Datho separately tells the Connaught messengers that the hound is awarded
to Ailill and Maev.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:12
text: Mac Datho separately tells the Ulster messengers that the hound is awarded
to Conor.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Mesroda Mac Datho
description: King over the men of Leinster and owner of the hound Ailbe.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Ailbe
description: Mac Datho's famed hound, called the guardian of all Leinster.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Ailill
description: Ruler associated with Connaught who sends messengers to demand Ailbe.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Maev
description: Queen associated with Connaught who sends messengers to demand Ailbe.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Conor son of Ness
description: Ruler associated with Ulster who sends messengers to demand Ailbe.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:8
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Connaught messengers
description: Heralds sent by Ailill and Maev to ask Mac Datho for the hound.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Ulster messengers
description: Heralds sent by Conor to ask Mac Datho for the hound.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:8
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Mac Datho's wife
description: The wife who questions Mac Datho's distress and advises promising the
hound to both parties.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
roles:
- id: role:1
label: Leinster king
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage names Mac Datho as a king ruling over the men of Leinster.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: owner of contested hound
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The hound Ailbe is among Mac Datho's possessions and is demanded by rival
parties.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: deceptive host or allocator
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: After his wife's counsel, Mac Datho separately promises the hound to both
Connaught and Ulster.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:4
label: famed guardian animal
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Ailbe is called the guardian of all Leinster and is famous throughout the
land.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:5
label: rival claimant
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
basis: Ailill, Maev, and Conor each seek possession of Ailbe through their messengers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: role:6
label: herald or envoy
assigned_to:
- fig:6
- fig:7
basis: Both groups are described as heralds or messengers sent to demand the hound.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: role:7
label: counsel-giver
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Mac Datho's wife proposes the plan to give the hound to both claimants.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Ailbe the hound
literal_form: Famed hound and guardian of Leinster
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: sym:2
label: sevenfold hostelry
literal_form: Palace-hostelry with seven doors, seven passages, and seven cauldrons
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: cauldrons of meat
literal_form: Seven cauldrons seething with ox flesh and salted swine flesh
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: exchange payment
literal_form: Milch cows, cattle, treasures, chariot, horses, and promised future
payment
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Introduction of Mac Datho and Ailbe
summary: Mac Datho is introduced as a Leinster king who owns Ailbe, the famed guardian
hound of Leinster.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Arrival of rival heralds
summary: Heralds from Connaught and Ulster arrive at the same time to request Mac
Datho's hound.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Description of the hostelry
summary: The narrative describes Mac Datho's palace-hostelry, its sevenfold architecture,
seven cauldrons, and the rule governing travellers' food.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Mac Datho's anxiety and his wife's counsel
summary: Mac Datho is sleepless and troubled by the danger of offending either claimant;
his wife advises promising the hound to both sides.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:5
label: Separate promises to Connaught and Ulster
summary: Mac Datho separately tells Connaught and Ulster messengers that their own
rulers have been awarded the hound and should come to receive it.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Rival rulers contest a prized guardian animal
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Two royal parties demand the same famed hound, whose possession is valuable
enough to draw large payments and threats of conflict.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage introduces the dispute but does not yet narrate the later
outcome of the contest.
- id: motif:2
label: Deceptive double promise to avoid immediate retaliation
taxonomy_refs:
- trickster_boundary
basis: Mac Datho, after receiving his wife's advice, promises the single hound separately
to both rival claimants.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage presents a stratagem but does not explicitly call Mac Datho
a trickster; taxonomy alignment is functional and should be reviewed.
- id: motif:3
label: Prestige exchange for a heroic animal
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: The hound is requested through formal embassies and offered for cattle, treasure,
chariot, horses, future payment, and political friendship.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The exchange is political and heroic rather than explicitly sacred in
this passage.
- id: motif:4
label: Wise counsel from spouse resolves a ruler's dilemma
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Mac Datho is unable to decide between dangerous alternatives until his wife
proposes the plan that ends his immediate grief.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The counsel is prudent within the narrative situation but morally ambiguous
because it entails promising the same hound to both parties.
- id: motif:5
label: Ritualized hospitality in a many-doored hostelry
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The palace-hostelry is described with seven doors, seven passages, seven
cauldrons, and a fixed rule for travellers' portions.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: The description is institutional and spatial; no broader mythic taxonomy
reference is directly supported by the passage alone.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 2033-2051
quote_or_summary: Mac Datho is introduced as king over the men of Leinster; he owns
Ailbe, a famed hound described as guardian of all Leinster.
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: 2052-2058
quote_or_summary: Messengers from Ailill and Maev and heralds from Conor son of
Ness arrive at the same hour to demand the hound and are brought before Mac Datho.
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: 2059-2074
quote_or_summary: Mac Datho's palace-hostelry is described with seven doors, seven
passages, seven cauldrons of ox and swine flesh, and a one-thrust food rule for
travellers.
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: 2075-2090
quote_or_summary: Connaught envoys offer six thousand milch cows, a two-horsed chariot,
horses, and later equal payment; Ulster envoys offer treasures, cattle, future
payment, and Conor's friendship.
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: 2091-2139
quote_or_summary: Mac Datho grows silent, does not eat or sleep, and explains that
refusing either Conor or Ailill would bring destructive retaliation against him
and his 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:6
type: quote
locator: 2140-2144
quote_or_summary: '"Of that hound to them both be thou giver, / And who dies for
it little we care."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: 2153-2174
quote_or_summary: After three days and nights, Mac Datho privately tells the Connaught
messengers that he has decided to give the hound to Ailill and Maev and invites
them to come in splendor.
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: 2175-2183
quote_or_summary: Mac Datho then tells the Ulster messengers that he has awarded
the hound to Conor and invites the nobles of Ulster to come bear it away.
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: uncertain
notes: The main narrative elements are explicit. Motif-family mappings, especially
trickster_boundary and sacred_exchange, are interpretive and need review. No comparison
claims were made because the passage itself does not support cross-textual comparison.
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 the supplied passage and metadata. Taxonomy references are limited to supplied available refs and are included only where the passage gives functional support.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:celtic-irish-heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy-gutenberg__l2033-l2183
passage_sha256=244ced282af0ac8c034122e4fea615d2095f2575b5bc959940957ff25263e646