batch.motif.celtic-irish-heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy-gutenberg-l4563-l4635
---
record_id: batch.motif.celtic-irish-heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy-gutenberg-l4563-l4635
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
passage_locator:
label: BOOK OF LEINSTER VERSION / THE LAMENT OF DEIRDRE OVER THE SONS OF USNACH
/ ACCORDING TO THE GLENN MASAIN VERSION / ALSO THE CONCLUSION OF THE TALE FROM
THE SAME VERSION; lines 4563-4635
start: '4563'
end: '4635'
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: After the sons of Usnach have been slain, Deirdre remains in Conor's household
for a year without laughter or lifted spirits. Conor sends for Eogan and orders
Deirdre to go with him. In the chariot she glares at Eogan and Conor, whom she
hates. Conor compares her glance to that of a ewe between two rams. Deirdre leaps
from the chariot, strikes her head against rocks, and dies. The passage then gives
a genealogical account called the Tree of their race, linking Magach, Cathbad,
Cathbad's daughters, Conall, the sons of Usnach, and Cuchulain, and ends by naming
the story the Third of Griefs.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Deirdre stays in Conor's household for a full year after the sons of Usnach
are slain.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: During that year Deirdre does not raise her head or laugh, and neither sport,
kindness, jesting, nor honour raises her spirits.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Conor sends for Eogan son of Durthacht, lord of Fernmay, after failing to
turn Deirdre from grief.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The passage reports that, according to some tellings, Eogan had slain Naisi
in Emain Macha.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:5
text: Conor commands Deirdre to depart to Eogan and spend another period of time
with him.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: Deirdre is placed behind Eogan in a chariot, and Conor also goes in the chariot
to deliver her to Eogan.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:7
text: Deirdre casts fierce glances at Eogan and Conor, and the narrator states she
hates those two men more than anything in the world.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:8
text: Conor compares Deirdre's glance to that of a ewe set between two rams.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:9
text: Deirdre leaps from the chariot, strikes her head against stony rocks, shatters
her head, and dies.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:10
text: A following section is introduced as the Tree of their race and an account
of the kinships of some Champions of the Red Branch before the deeds of Cuchulain.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:11
text: The genealogy presents Magach as having children by Cathbad, Rossa Ruddy-faced,
and Carbre Red.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:12
text: 'Cathbad is described as powerful in wizard lore and father of three daughters:
Finuchoem, Ailbhe, and Deithchim.'
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:13
text: Finuchoem is mother of Conall; Ailbhe is mother of Ardan, Ainnle, and Naisi;
Deithchim is mother of Cuchulain.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:14
text: The sons of Usnach are described as protectors of friends who fell by the
might of hosts on a battlefield.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:15
text: The passage ends by saying that the Third of Griefs is told.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Deirdre
description: Woman who remains in Conor's household after the sons of Usnach are
slain, refuses consolation, is ordered to go to Eogan, and dies by leaping from
the chariot into rocks.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Conor
description: Man in whose household Deirdre stays; he cannot console her, sends
for Eogan, commands her transfer, rides in the chariot, and speaks the ewe-and-rams
comparison.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Eogan son of Durthacht
description: Lord of Fernmay; in some tellings the slayer of Naisi; summoned by
Conor and made the recipient of Deirdre.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:8
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Naisi
description: One of the sons of Usnach; said in some tellings to have been slain
by Eogan in Emain Macha; listed as a son of Ailbhe.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Sons of Usnach
description: Ardan, Ainnle, and Naisi; sons of Ailbhe, described as fearless and
as protectors of friends who fell in battle.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Cathbad
description: A figure mighty in wizard lore, linked genealogically with Magach and
father of Finuchoem, Ailbhe, and Deithchim.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Magach
description: Woman presented as a genealogical source who has children by Cathbad,
Rossa Ruddy-faced, and Carbre Red.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Finuchoem, Ailbhe, and Deithchim
description: Three daughters of Cathbad and Magach; mothers respectively of Conall,
the sons of Usnach, and Cuchulain.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Conall
description: Son of Finuchoem, described as glorious and victorious in every field.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Cuchulain
description: Son of Deithchim, associated with Dun Delga's hold; his deeds are mentioned
as the next subject after this genealogy.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
roles:
- id: role:1
label: inconsolable captive or held woman
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Deirdre remains in Conor's household after the deaths, cannot be consoled,
is ordered to go to Eogan, and is physically placed in the chariot.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: holder and commander of transfer
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Conor keeps Deirdre in his household, summons Eogan, commands Deirdre to
depart, and accompanies the chariot to deliver her.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: recipient enemy and possible killer
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Eogan is summoned to receive Deirdre, and some tellings identify him as Naisi's
killer; Deirdre hates him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:8
- id: role:4
label: slain heroic brothers
assigned_to:
- fig:4
- fig:5
basis: The sons of Usnach are described as sons of Ailbhe, as battlefield protectors,
and as slain; Naisi is one of them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:5
label: wizard ancestor
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Cathbad is described as having might in wizard lore and as a genealogical
parent in the Tree of their race.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:6
label: genealogical mother or maternal line
assigned_to:
- fig:7
- fig:8
basis: Magach and Cathbad's daughters are presented through births and maternal
relationships to major heroic figures.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:7
label: heroic descendant
assigned_to:
- fig:9
- fig:10
basis: Conall and Cuchulain are introduced as sons within the genealogy and described
with heroic associations.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: chariot of transfer
literal_form: Chariot in which Deirdre is placed behind Eogan while Conor rides
to deliver her.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: stony rocks of death
literal_form: Stony rocks in front of Deirdre against which she strikes her head
after leaping from the chariot.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:3
label: ewe between two rams
literal_form: Conor's spoken comparison of Deirdre's glance to the glance of a ewe
set between two rams.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: Tree of their race
literal_form: The passage's phrase for a genealogical account of the kinships of
Red Branch champions.
associated_figures:
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Deirdre's year of grief in Conor's household
summary: After the sons of Usnach are slain, Deirdre stays with Conor for a year
and shows no laughter or lifted spirits despite attempts at consolation.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Conor orders Deirdre to Eogan
summary: Conor, unable to turn Deirdre from grief, summons Eogan and orders Deirdre
to spend time with him; she is placed behind Eogan in the chariot while Conor
rides along to deliver her.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: The chariot death of Deirdre
summary: Deirdre glares at Eogan and Conor, Conor mocks or comments on the glance
with an ewe-and-rams comparison, and Deirdre leaps from the chariot onto rocks
and dies.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Genealogical tree of Red Branch figures
summary: A genealogical poem traces kinships from Magach and Cathbad through Cathbad's
daughters to Conall, the sons of Usnach, and Cuchulain, and closes the tale as
the Third of Griefs.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: inconsolable grief after slain companions or beloveds
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Deirdre remains for a year after the sons of Usnach are slain and cannot
be made to laugh or recover her spirits.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: high
cautions: The passage does not explicitly name the emotional relationship between
Deirdre and each son in this excerpt, only her grief after their deaths.
- id: motif:2
label: forced transfer of a woman to a hated enemy
taxonomy_refs:
- stolen_beloved
basis: Conor commands Deirdre to depart to Eogan, has her placed behind Eogan in
a chariot, and the narrator says she hates Conor and Eogan more than anything
in the world.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy reference is approximate; the excerpt emphasizes coercive
transfer and hatred rather than using theft or abduction language.
- id: motif:3
label: self-inflicted death to escape coercion or humiliation
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Immediately after Conor's ewe-and-rams comparison, Deirdre leaps from the
chariot, strikes her head against rocks, and dies.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The passage gives the action and sequence but does not explicitly state
Deirdre's internal motive at the moment of death.
- id: motif:4
label: fatal triangle expressed through animal simile
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Conor describes Deirdre's glance at himself and Eogan as the glance of a
ewe between two rams, in a scene where she is physically between the two men in
the chariot transfer.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The animal comparison is spoken by Conor and may be mocking; interpretation
should distinguish it from the narrator's statement of Deirdre's hatred.
- id: motif:5
label: genealogical tree of heroic kinship
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage introduces a Tree of their race and gives kinships among the
Champions of the Red Branch, connecting Cathbad, Magach, their descendants, the
sons of Usnach, Conall, and Cuchulain.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The 'tree' is a genealogical metaphor in the passage, not a literal sacred
tree.
- id: motif:6
label: slain heroic brothers as protectors of friends
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The sons of Usnach are named as Ardan, Ainnle, and Naisi and described as
protecting friends before falling in battle.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The available taxonomy includes sibling_pair, but this passage concerns
three brothers, so that taxonomy is not applied.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage explicitly frames the completed tale as the Third of Griefs,
supporting comparison with an Irish grief- or sorrow-tale grouping.
claim_level: same_function
target: Irish 'Third of Griefs' / sorrow-tale framing
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: Only the phrase 'Third of Griefs' appears in this excerpt; the other
griefs or the full grouping are not described here.
- id: claim:2
claim: The genealogical section links this tale to the Red Branch and Cuchulain
heroic corpus by presenting kinships before proceeding to the deeds of Cuchulain.
claim_level: same_function
target: Red Branch and Cuchulain-cycle genealogical framing
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The claim is limited to literary and genealogical framing stated in
the passage; it does not establish historical contact or origin.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 4563-4569
quote_or_summary: Deirdre abides in Conor's household for a whole year after the
sons of Usnach are slain; she never raises her head or laughs, and no sport, kindness,
jesting, or honour raises her spirits.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 4569-4578
quote_or_summary: Conor sends for Eogan son of Durthacht, commands Deirdre to depart
to Eogan, and has her placed behind Eogan in a chariot while Conor also rides
to deliver her into Eogan's hand.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 4578-4585
quote_or_summary: Deirdre casts fierce glances at Eogan and Conor, whom she hates;
Conor says her glance is like that of a ewe set between two rams.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 4585-4589
quote_or_summary: Deirdre leaps from the chariot, strikes her head against stony
rocks, her head is shattered, and she dies.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 4593-4596
quote_or_summary: The text introduces the following material as the Tree of their
race and an account of kinships of Champions of the Red Branch before speaking
of the deeds of Cuchulain.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 4597-4628
quote_or_summary: The genealogical poem connects Magach with Cathbad, Rossa, and
Carbre; names Cathbad's daughters Finuchoem, Ailbhe, and Deithchim; and identifies
Conall, Ardan, Ainnle, Naisi, and Cuchulain as descendants through these women.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: 4629-4635
quote_or_summary: The sons of Usnach are described as protectors of friends who
fell by the might of hosts on the battlefield; the passage closes by saying the
Third of Griefs is told.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: 4571-4573
quote_or_summary: A note within the narrative says that, as some tell the story,
Eogan was the one who had slain Naisi in Emain Macha.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: Literal extraction is strong for the Deirdre death scene and the genealogy.
Motif taxonomy matches are cautious because the available taxonomy only partly
overlaps the passage's specific motifs.
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. Long quotations avoided in favor of concise summaries.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:celtic-irish-heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy-gutenberg__l4563-l4635
passage_sha256=b8f2ae1bee1db1cd2b7d01313299c21d05e42c13e7b38c0bad92d7df7678896e