A creature named as a fine
Lugh's explanation of the compensation identifies Failinis as the king of Iroda's hound-whelp. Joyce describes radiance and a power that leaves wild animals helpless before him. These are the properties stated for the particular object of the quest. They explain his desirability without requiring the addition of every feat attached to similarly named hounds in other traditions.
Source: The Fate of the Children of Turenn — Joyce adaptation · The Fate of the Children of Turenn, chapter IV: explanation of the hound-whelp
An owner who refuses surrender
Asal, who has already given the brothers his pigs, accompanies them because the king of Iroda is his son-in-law. He tries to secure the hound by persuasion, warning of the brothers' successes and weapons. The king refuses. Their clash places an intermediary's family relationship between the quest's demands and another ruler's insistence on retaining an exceptional possession.
Source: The Fate of the Children of Turenn — Joyce adaptation · Chapter XI: Asal’s journey, mediation and Iroda’s refusal
Mercy interrupts the pattern
Brian overcomes the king but deliberately avoids killing him, carrying him alive to Asal. The resulting peace transfers the hound and allows the brothers to leave on friendly terms. This makes the episode different from earlier acquisitions ending in royal deaths. The marvelous creature matters partly because the effort to obtain him demonstrates that victory need not always culminate in the defeated owner's destruction.
Source: The Fate of the Children of Turenn — Joyce adaptation · Chapter XI: Brian’s restraint, capture, settlement and departure
- Period / witness
- Irish literary romance in Joyce’s historical adaptation; the consulted printed edition is dated 1920.
- Recording context
- Read through P. W. Joyce’s Old Celtic Romances, a literary translation and adaptation whose preface acknowledges freely recast wording, comparison of manuscript copies, and added chapter divisions. The 1920 print witness is distinct from the age of its underlying tale.
A recording location is not necessarily a story’s origin. Dates of texts, copies, and translations answer different questions.
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These references support the explanation above. Rights and edition notes are recorded individually.
The Fate of the Children of Turenn — Joyce adaptation ↗
Irish literary narrative; translated and adapted by Patrick Weston Joyce (1827–1914) · Consulted print edition dated 1920; preface to the third edition dated 1907; Project Gutenberg release 17 November 2011
Edition & rights note