Motif
choosing the harder living capture over killing
choosing_the_harder_living_capture_over_killing
A motif of the Sacred Combat and Ritual Warfare family, within the sub-family Aftermath and Spoils. Every row below is a tagged passage; each rests on a quote in its source text.
1 occurrences
1 traditions
celtic irish
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The Ancient Irish Epic Tale Tain Bo Cualnge THE PILLOW-TALK / THIS IS THE ROUTE OF THE TAIN / THE MARCH OF THE HOST / THE YOUTHFUL EXPLOITS OF CUCHULAIN; lines 3814-3941 confidence: medium
At Sliab Fuait, Cuchulain learns the animals are wild deer, asks whether alive or dead would be more wonderful, pursues them into a bog where the horses stick, catches two deer alive in the morass, and fastens them to the chariot.
Cuchulain repeatedly asks whether bringing wild deer or birds alive would be more remarkable than bringing them dead, and he selects feats associated with the more difficult achievement.
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