A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
Kayn, stranded with a broken thigh, sees an enormous man landing on his island and tries to reach shelter first. The visitor recognises him and offers healing, saying he must attend Mass in Rome and reach Norway before sleeping. Kayn repeatedly refuses treatment until successive questions are answered. The healer’s adventures therefore unfold inside a frame in which the patient’s demand for narrative postpones the cure. The giant scale is explicit, while the herb treatment remains part of the tale.
The stranger relates the disappearance of his mother and sister with a magically built church, his defeat of a breath-drawing giant and the scaled guardians Roar and Rustle, and his escape from a one-eyed corpse-fisher. His later sons join the search for his abducted wife, confirming relationships through recognition and a ring. At the end he applies the healing material, cures Kayn’s leg and carries him ashore. The text first identifies him as Machkan-an-Athar, later as Mac Connachar, and gives uneven labels to the sons; this adaptation is not silently regularised into a perfect genealogy.
Origins & earliest records
Jacobs combines MacInnes’s Argyleshire tale with Campbell of Tiree’s telling and reports other manuscript, printed and collected versions. Those notices explain why an elaborate narrative may contain variation. The selected 1895 print is the directly inspected witness, not a critical edition of all versions.
Records & interpretation
The giant healer, extraordinary travel and embedded exploits are textual evidence for a narrative hero. Healing and Christian observance are respectfully attributed to the story rather than offered as treatment claims. Inconsistent names are disclosed to avoid false certainty or duplicate cataloguing.
In the literature
“here are two half-brothers of yours”
The Leeching of Kayn’s Leg; p192; ring recognition
The enormous traveller offers to heal Kayn’s broken leg, but Kayn repeatedly insists on further explanations. The healer narrates vanished mother and sister, defeated cave and bridge monsters, competing kings, abducted wives and returning sons. His initial Machkan-an-Athar identification later shifts to Mac Connachar.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
More Celtic Fairy Tales: The Leeching of Kayn’s Leg, pp. 177–193; note XLII
Selected episode and relevant source note inspected. Earlier works named by Jacobs are attributed references, not falsely claimed as independently collated texts.
- 02
More Celtic Fairy Tales
Joseph Jacobs, More Celtic Fairy Tales, selected1895 Nutt/Putnam edition, PG34453. Complete The Leeching of Kayn’s Leg, pp169–194, and noteXLII independently read.
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
Located primary passages
Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.
More Celtic Fairy Tales
Joseph Jacobs, More Celtic Fairy Tales, selected1895 Nutt/Putnam edition, PG34453. Complete The Leeching of Kayn’s Leg, pp169–194, and noteXLII independently read.
- The enormous traveller offers to heal Kayn’s broken leg, but Kayn repeatedly insists on further explanations. The healer narrates vanished mother and sister, defeated cave and bridge monsters, competing kings, abducted wives and returning sons. His initial Machkan-an-Athar identification later shifts to Mac Connachar.
The Leeching of Kayn’s Leg, pp169–194; Interrupted treatment and nested life account
- Three sons eventually join him, with ring evidence confirming the last son’s identity; the prose repeats Son of the Wet Mantle and later uses Son of Secret. They overcome the Son of the Blackbird’s forces and recover the first wife. These naming shifts are preserved without inventing extra children.
The Leeching of Kayn’s Leg, pp169–194; Unstable sons’ names and final reunion
- Only after the complete account does Kayn extend his injured leg. The healer applies the narrated plants, the leg heals, and he carries Kayn off the island to return to the king. This is historical tale action, not evidence of a clinically effective treatment.
The Leeching of Kayn’s Leg, pp169–194; Completed cure and restored journey
Inconsistent names and omitted mechanisms retained. No prayer, recurring healing formula or ritual instructions excerpted.
Primary source witness
Joseph Jacobs, More Celtic Fairy Tales, selected1895 Nutt/Putnam edition, PG34453. Complete The Leeching of Kayn’s Leg, pp169–194, and noteXLII independently read.
- Jacobs explicitly combines MacInnes’s Folk-Tales from ArgyleshireVII with Campbell of Tiree’s version. His manuscript dating, larger episode counts and comparisons are reported compiler scholarship; this selected adaptation is not represented as a direct transcript of one informant.
No cited manuscript or independent earlier print collation claimed.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Primary textMore Celtic Fairy Tales, selected 1895 edition: The Leeching of Kayn’s Leg, pp. 177–193; note XLIIResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
