batch.motif.celtic-irish-heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy-gutenberg-l8397-l8439
---
record_id: batch.motif.celtic-irish-heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy-gutenberg-l8397-l8439
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
passage_locator:
label: PAGE 126 / PAGE 127 / PAGE 128 / PAGE 129; lines 8397-8439
start: '8397'
end: '8439'
translation: Heroic Romances of Ireland
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: What has brought thee here, O Hound, / to fight with a strong champion?
summary: 'A metrical note introduces an Old Irish verse and a literal translation
of its first two stanzas. The translated stanzas present a hostile exchange: an
addressed figure called the Hound is warned that his blood will flow and that
his journey is woe; a first-person speaker says he has come before assembled warriors
and a prince to put the Hound under water and slay him in battle. Additional notes
gloss two later lines as references to need of height and absence of valour or
strength.'
language: English with Old Irish excerpt
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The passage is framed as an editorial note on the metre of a poem and includes
an Old Irish verse as an illustration.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: obs:2
text: The literal translation addresses a figure called the Hound and asks why he
has come to fight a strong champion.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:3
text: The addressed Hound is told that crimson-red blood will flow over the breaths
of his steeds.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The Hound's journey is described as woe, and he is told he will need healing
if he reaches home alive.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: A first-person speaker says he has come before warriors, battalions, hundreds,
and a mighty host-possessing prince.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: The first-person speaker says he has come to put the addressed figure under
the water and to slay him in combat.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: 'The passage includes brief line glosses: one line is rendered as need of
height, and another as absence of valour and strength.'
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: O Hound
description: The figure directly addressed in the translated stanzas; warned of
bloodshed, injury, need of healing, and being put under water.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: strong champion
description: A champion whom the addressed Hound is said to have come to fight.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: first-person speaker
description: The speaker who says he has come before warriors and a prince to put
the addressed figure under water and slay him.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: mighty host-possessing prince
description: A prince around whom warriors gather in the second translated stanza.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: warriors, battalions, and hundreds
description: Collective martial groups before whom the first-person speaker says
he has come.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
roles:
- id: role:1
label: addressed combatant
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The Hound is directly addressed and described as coming to fight and as the
target of threatened violence.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:2
label: opposing champion
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The Hound is asked why he has come to fight this strong champion.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: threatening speaker
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The first-person voice declares an intention to put the Hound under water
and slay him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: prince with host
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The prince is described as mighty and host-possessing, with warriors gathered
around him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: assembled martial witnesses or forces
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The warriors, battalions, and hundreds are named as gathered martial groups
before whom the speaker has come.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: blood
literal_form: crimson-red blood flowing
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: steeds' breaths
literal_form: breaths of the Hound's steeds
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: fuel against a house
literal_form: a kindling of fuel against a house
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: water
literal_form: being put under the water
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: height
literal_form: need of height
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Editorial presentation of verse metre
summary: The editor states that the metre of the poem is shared with preceding poems
in the romance and quotes an Old Irish verse to illustrate it.
figure_refs: []
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Warning to the Hound
summary: A voice addresses the Hound, asking why he has come to fight a strong champion
and warning that his blood will flow, his journey is woe, and he will need healing
if he reaches home alive.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Threat before assembled forces
summary: A first-person speaker says he has come before warriors, battalions, hundreds,
and a host-possessing prince to put the Hound under water and slay him in battle.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Additional line glosses
summary: Two later line glosses are supplied, one referring to need of height and
another to lack of valour and strength.
figure_refs: []
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: formal combat challenge and threat
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The translated stanzas center on a hostile address to the Hound, a coming
fight with a strong champion, and an explicit threat to slay him in battle.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The passage is a quoted and glossed excerpt rather than a full narrative
scene.
- id: motif:2
label: threatened submersion of an opponent
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The speaker says he has come to put the addressed figure under the water
and to slay him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not state whether the submersion occurs; it is a threat
within translated speech.
- id: motif:3
label: wounded hero's possible return home
taxonomy_refs:
- return
basis: The addressed Hound is warned that he will need healing if he reaches home
alive.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: low
cautions: The passage only poses the possibility of reaching home alive; it does
not narrate an actual return.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: PAGE 129; lines 8397-8403
quote_or_summary: The editor notes that this poem's metre is shared with preceding
poems in the romance, except the second, and quotes the original of the fifth
verse as illustration.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: PAGE 129; lines 8405-8412
quote_or_summary: Old Irish verse beginning “Re funiud, re n-aidchi” and ending
“Rachthair thairsiu is treo.”
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: PAGE 129; lines 8416-8424
quote_or_summary: "“What has brought thee here, O Hound, / to fight with a strong
champion?” The stanza also warns that crimson-red blood will flow, the journey
is woe, and healing will be needed if he reaches home alive."
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; brief quotation plus summary.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: PAGE 129; lines 8426-8434
quote_or_summary: The speaker says he has come before warriors, a mighty host-possessing
prince, battalions, and hundreds, to put the addressed figure under water and
slay him in battle.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:5
type: quote
locator: PAGE 129; lines 8437-8439
quote_or_summary: Line notes render phrases as “Good is thy need of height” and
“Without valour, without strength.”
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: Literal extraction is straightforward for the supplied editorial note and
translated stanzas. Motif labels remain cautious because the passage is fragmentary
and mostly quoted for metre.
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 comparison claims were added because the passage itself does not support a specific cross-textual or historical comparison.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:celtic-irish-heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy-gutenberg__l8397-l8439
passage_sha256=733044f5709209ab6a9077bca4ea97a947610c473b2d7f2888645f8d8654c82f