Celtic epic depicted friends as enemies by day and healers by night

Evidence

Neither wanted to fight. Cuchulainn begged Ferdiad to turn back; Ferdiad, bound by his oath to the queen and shamed by her taunts into the fight, refused. So the two friends faced each other at the ford. They fought all through the day with terrible skill — and at evening, the combat done for the day, each sent food and healing herbs across the ford to the other, and they spoke as the friends they still were. Then in the morning they fought again. For days this went on: by day, two friends trying to kill each other; by night, two friends caring for each other’s wounds. — , A Year of World Stories, 14355

Categorization

• FICTION: The day-fight/night-care rhythm is a striking scene structure usable in fiction about reluctant enemies.
• XREF: connects to: Celtic epics frame war’s worst harm as killing those you love — , A Year of World Stories, 14356; Epic traditions differ sharply in how they humanize their antagonists — , A Year of World Stories, 6773

Related

• Celtic epics frame war’s worst harm as killing those you love (similarity 0.87)

Broader Connections

• Celtic epics frame war’s worst harm as killing those you love #corroborates (0.70) — , A Year of World Stories, 14356
• Epic traditions differ sharply in how they humanize their antagonists #exemplifies (0.50) — , A Year of World Stories, 6773