Motif
formal staged duel with weapon progression
formal_staged_duel_with_weapon_progression
A motif of the Sacred Combat and Ritual Warfare family, within the sub-family Champion Combat and Duel. 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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Heroic Romances of Ireland ALSO THE CONCLUSION OF THE TALE FROM THE SAME VERSION / THE COMBAT AT THE FORD / INTRODUCTION / THE COMBAT AT THE FORD; lines 5480-5582 confidence: high
Ferdia asks what weapons they will use; Cuchulain grants him choice until night because he reached the Ford first. They use shields, edged throwing-shields, javelins, ivory-hilted dirks, and darts from dawn to midday; all casts hit, but neither warrior is wounded or bloodied. They then hand the weapons to their charioteers.
The fighters observe order in choosing weapons, begin with casting weapons that do not draw blood, and then progress to spears that wound both men.
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