More than a reward for battle
Fand's desire for Cú Chulainn is conveyed through messengers while he lies ill. Her sister Lí Ban links the proposed relationship to military assistance for Labraid. Although the arrangement initially treats a woman as a promised benefit, Fand later speaks at length in her own voice. Her responses prevent the bargain from exhausting what the relationship means to her.
Source: The Sick-Bed of Cuchulain — Leahy translation · The Sick-Bed of Cuchulain: Angus’s message, Lí Ban’s proposal and Fand’s welcome
A rival who recognizes another’s claim
At the meeting threatened by Emer's armed companions, Fand sees the danger before the men absorbed in their board game. After the exchange between husband and wife, she offers to leave. Her lament expresses desire, shame, and the injury of unequal affection. The narrative allows her loss to remain serious even as it turns toward restoration of Cú Chulainn's marriage.
Source: The Sick-Bed of Cuchulain — Leahy translation · The Sick-Bed of Cuchulain: Emer’s approach, offers to withdraw and Fand’s lament
Choosing a departure
Manannán offers Fand the choice of accompanying him or waiting for Cú Chulainn. She leaves, citing betrayal and the fact that the human hero already has a worthy wife. That decision belongs to this narrative's particular relationships. The final separating cloak closes a dangerous connection; it should not be expanded into a universal rule governing every supernatural woman's contact with mortals.
Source: The Sick-Bed of Cuchulain — Leahy translation · The Sick-Bed of Cuchulain: Manannán’s offer, Fand’s answer and separating cloak
- Period / witness
- Medieval Irish prose and verse preserved in medieval and early modern manuscript witnesses; Leahy translation 1905–1906.
- Recording context
- This entry concerns the literary version named in its passages, transmitted by Christian-era Irish manuscript culture and translated by A. H. Leahy. Legendary settings are not dates of composition or evidence for a single pre-Christian canon.
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 Sick-Bed of Cuchulain — Leahy translation ↗
Anonymous Irish literary narratives; translated and arranged by Arthur Herbert Leahy (1857–1928) · Volume I, 1905; Project Gutenberg eBook released May 2004 and updated 29 June 2026
Edition & rights note