Motif
derisive boast before reversal
derisive_boast_before_reversal
A motif of the Pride, Hubris, and Downfall family. 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 HERE FOLLOWETH ILIACH'S CLUMP-FIGHT / HERE NOW THE DEER-STALKING OF AMARGIN IN TALTIU / THE ADVENTURES OF CUROI SON OF DARE FOLLOW NOW / THE REPEATED WARNING OF SUALTAIM; lines 13568-13690 confidence: high
Medb proposes a hollow array before Conchobar and thirty hundred behind, intending to capture him and his people without wounding; the narrator calls this the third most derisive word spoken in the Cattle-lifting of Cualnge.
Medb proposes capturing Conchobar and his people unwounded, the narrator marks the saying as derisive, and Conchobar subsequently breaks the formation and kills many while remaining unbloodied.
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