Motif
heroic restraint before use of decisive weapon
heroic_restraint_before_use_of_decisive_weapon
A motif of the Divine Warrior and Sacred Combat family, within the sub-family Battle Fury and Aristeia. Every row below is a tagged passage; each rests on a quote in its source text.
1 occurrences
1 traditions
celtic irish
-
Heroic Romances of Ireland ACCORDING TO THE GLENN MASAIN VERSION / ALSO THE CONCLUSION OF THE TALE FROM THE SAME VERSION / THE COMBAT AT THE FORD / INTRODUCTION; lines 4638-4720 confidence: high
The passage says Cuchulain’s concern for his country outweighs his feeling for his friend, that he appeals to Ferdia to abandon his purpose during the first three days, and that on the fourth day he withholds his full strength at first and uses the Gae-Bulg only when driven to it.
Cuchulain is described as not using all his strength at first and using the irresistible Gae-Bulg only when driven to it by Ferdia.
read in the book →