thought to mean ' truth about women '. That meaning is illuminated in versions that provide a more fuller title, e. g., "The Shining Sword and the Knowledge of the Cause of the One Story about Women", This has been corrupted to "news of the death of Anshgayliacht" in the L (Larminie) version. Kittredge considered the "secret about women" element to be an essential and original part of the Irish story, as seen in the stemma of texts given by him, even though the "woman" part of it has been lost in some variants, such as Kennedy's Fios Fath an aon Sceil ("perfect narrative of the unique story") A more familiar Arthurian tale perhaps than Arthur and Gorlagon which embeds the quest of "What is it that women most desire?" is The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle. External soul motif The external soul motif in Sword of Light stories have been noted for example by Gerard Murphy. The tale "The Young King Of Easaidh Ruadh" was also given as a typical example of "External soul" motif (E 710) by folklorist Katharine Mary Briggs. It has been pointed out that the Easaidh Ruadh refers to a place name in Ireland, probably the Assaroe Falls in Ballyshannon, County Donegal. A similar Irish tale involving the "external soul" is the Donegal tale "Hung up Naked Man" (; Irish title: "Éamonn Ua Ciórrthais(?)" ed. E. C. Quiggin), studied by Roger Sherman Loomis. While Loomis does not explicitly state a connection to the sword of light, he remarks that there is parallel to the Irish giant Cú roí whom he describes a "solar host" or "solar divinity", and notes that Cú roí was "slain with his own sword", (as according to the narrative Aided Chon Roí in which Cú roí's wife Blaíthíne reveals the weakness). Three attempts In the specimen collected by Kennedy, the hero is assisted by the king who is his own father-in-law, who happens to be the brother of the sword owner, and the hero's antagonist, the Druid demanding the sword. The Sculloge's rides forth to the dwelling of the sword owner three times, his horse being hacked by the sword in the first two tries, but succeeding on the third. The three time's the charm element that occurs here is also present in the Morraha tale collected by Larminie. As a mythological sword The assertion has been made that