batch.motif.celtic-irish-gods-and-fighting-men-gregory-gutenberg-l4222-l4255
---
record_id: batch.motif.celtic-irish-gods-and-fighting-men-gregory-gutenberg-l4222-l4255
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/gods-and-fighting-men-gregory.md
passage_locator:
label: CHAPTER VII. MIDHIR AND ETAIN / CHAPTER VIII. MANANNAN / CHAPTER IX. MANANNAN
AT PLAY / CHAPTER X. HIS CALL TO BRAN; lines 4222-4255
start: '4222'
end: '4255'
translation: Gods and Fighting Men
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: Bran and his companions reach the Land of Women, are drawn ashore by a
woman using a thread, and enter a house with abundant beds, inexhaustible food,
and desired drink. After what seems to them a year, Nechtan and others urge Bran
to return to Ireland despite the woman's warning not to touch the land and to
retrieve the man left in the Island of Joy. Back near Ireland, people say Bran
is known only from old stories. Nechtan leaps ashore and becomes a heap of ashes,
as if centuries had passed. Bran recounts his wanderings, says farewell, and his
later wanderings are unknown.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Bran and his companions reach the Land of Women and see the chief woman at
the landing-place.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The chief woman welcomes Bran by name and invites him to land.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Bran does not dare to go ashore.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: The woman throws a ball of thread to Bran; it sticks to his palm while she
holds the other end and pulls the curragh to the landing-place.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: Inside a grand house there is a bed for every couple, described as three times
nine beds.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The food on every dish does not come to an end, and the visitors have whatever
food and drink they wish for.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The visitors think they have been in the Land of Women only one year.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: Nechtan, son of Collbrain, feels desire for home, and his kinsmen urge Bran
to return to Ireland with him.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: The woman warns that they will repent if they go and tells them not to touch
the land when they come to Ireland.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: The woman tells them to visit and bring back the man they left in the Island
of Joy.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:11
text: At Srub Bruin, people on the strand ask who is coming over the sea.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:12
text: Bran identifies himself as Bran, son of Febal, but the people say they know
no such man except that his voyage is in their very old stories.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:13
text: Nechtan leaps from the curragh and becomes a heap of ashes as soon as he touches
the shore of Ireland.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:14
text: Nechtan's ashes are compared in the passage to someone who had been in the
earth for hundreds of years.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:15
text: Bran tells the people the whole story of his wanderings, says farewell, and
his later wanderings are not known.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Bran, son of Febal
description: Leader of the voyage who is welcomed to the Land of Women, hesitates
to land, returns toward Ireland, tells his wanderings, and departs again.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: chief woman of the Land of Women
description: Woman at the landing-place who welcomes Bran, pulls the curragh ashore
with a thread, warns the voyagers against returning and touching Ireland, and
gives instructions about the Island of Joy.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Nechtan, son of Collbrain
description: Companion who longs for home, urges the return to Ireland, leaps from
the curragh, and turns to ashes on touching the shore.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Bran's companions and kinsmen
description: Members of Bran's party who go into the grand house and urge Bran to
return with Nechtan.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: people on the strand at Srub Bruin
description: People near Ireland who ask the voyagers who they are and say Bran
is known only from very old stories.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: man left in the Island of Joy
description: A man previously left in the Island of Joy, whom the woman tells Bran's
party to visit and bring with them.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: voyager to otherworldly land
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Bran reaches the Land of Women by curragh and later recounts his wanderings.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:8
- id: role:2
label: returning narrator
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Bran identifies himself near Ireland and tells the whole story of his wanderings
to the people.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: role:3
label: host and welcomer
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The chief woman welcomes Bran to land and brings the party into a grand house
with abundant provision.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: guardian of return conditions
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: She warns the voyagers against leaving and specifically forbids touching
the land of Ireland on return.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:5
label: homesick companion who breaks the condition
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Nechtan desires home, urges return, leaps out, touches Ireland, and becomes
ashes.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: role:6
label: voyage companions
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: They share the house and urge Bran to return to Ireland with Nechtan.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:7
label: shore witnesses
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: They question the voyagers and report that Bran is only known from very old
stories.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: ball of thread
literal_form: A ball of thread thrown by the woman to Bran, sticking to his palm
while she pulls the curragh ashore.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: curragh
literal_form: The boat in which Bran and his companions arrive and from which Nechtan
leaps.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:7
- id: sym:3
label: inexhaustible food and desired drink
literal_form: Food on every dish that never comes to an end, with every sort of
food and drink wished for.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: water crossing
literal_form: The sea route between the Land of Women and Ireland.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:5
label: forbidden shore-touching
literal_form: The instruction not to touch the land of Ireland on return.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: sym:6
label: heap of ashes
literal_form: Nechtan becomes a heap of ashes when he touches the Irish shore.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:7
label: three times nine beds
literal_form: Twenty-seven beds in the grand house, described as a bed for every
couple.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Arrival at the Land of Women
summary: Bran's party reaches the Land of Women; the chief woman welcomes Bran,
but he hesitates to land, and she pulls the curragh ashore with a thread.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Hospitality in the grand house
summary: The voyagers enter a grand house with three times nine beds and inexhaustible
food and drink according to their wishes.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Desire to return and warning
summary: After what seems to them a year, Nechtan and his kinsmen urge Bran to return
to Ireland; the woman warns they will repent, forbids touching land, and instructs
them to retrieve the man left in the Island of Joy.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Return to Srub Bruin
summary: Near Ireland, people on the strand question the voyagers; Bran names himself,
and the people answer that Bran's voyage belongs to very old stories.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:5
label: Nechtan touches Ireland and becomes ashes
summary: Nechtan leaps from the curragh; when he touches the Irish shore he becomes
a heap of ashes, as if centuries had passed.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: scene:6
label: Bran's farewell and unknown wanderings
summary: Bran tells the people the whole story of his wanderings, bids farewell,
and his later wanderings are not known.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Voyage to an otherworldly island or land
taxonomy_refs:
- afterlife_journey_map
- mystical_quest
basis: Bran and his companions travel over the sea to the Land of Women, receive
extraordinary hospitality, and later return toward Ireland.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage names the Land of Women but does not explicitly define it
as an afterlife realm; the taxonomy reference is based on the passage's voyage
pattern and supernatural features.
- id: motif:2
label: Otherworld hospitality with inexhaustible abundance
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: The party is welcomed into a grand house with beds and endless food and drink
according to their wishes.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not describe a reciprocal exchange, only hospitality
and abundance.
- id: motif:3
label: Time distortion on return from a marvelous land
taxonomy_refs:
- return
basis: The voyagers think only a year has passed, but people in Ireland know Bran
only from very old stories, and Nechtan becomes ashes as if hundreds of years
had passed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The passage implies, rather than directly states, that centuries elapsed
during the visit.
- id: motif:4
label: Prohibition against touching homeland after otherworld journey
taxonomy_refs:
- return
basis: The woman warns the voyagers not to touch the land when they reach Ireland,
and Nechtan turns to ashes immediately after doing so.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The passage does not explain the rule's cause.
- id: motif:5
label: Magical binding or drawing by thread
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The woman's thrown thread sticks to Bran's palm and allows her to pull the
curragh to the landing-place.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: No provided taxonomy reference directly matches this object-action pattern.
- id: motif:6
label: Unending wandering after failed return
taxonomy_refs:
- departure
- return
basis: After telling his story and saying farewell, Bran's wanderings from that
time are said to be unknown.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage gives no further details about the nature or destination of
the later wanderings.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 4222-4225
quote_or_summary: Bran and his companions reach the Land of Women; the chief woman
at the landing-place welcomes Bran, son of Febal, and invites him to land.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/gods-and-fighting-men-gregory.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 4225-4229
quote_or_summary: Bran does not dare go ashore; the woman throws him a ball of thread,
it sticks to his palm, and she pulls the curragh to the landing-place.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/gods-and-fighting-men-gregory.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 4230-4233
quote_or_summary: They enter a grand house with three times nine beds, and the food
and drink provided are inexhaustible and according to their wishes.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/gods-and-fighting-men-gregory.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 4234-4237
quote_or_summary: It seems to the voyagers that they have been there only a year;
Nechtan longs for home and his kinsmen urge Bran to return to Ireland.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/gods-and-fighting-men-gregory.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 4237-4241
quote_or_summary: The woman says they will repent if they go, tells them not to
touch land when they reach Ireland, and tells them to bring the man left in the
Island of Joy.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/gods-and-fighting-men-gregory.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 4242-4248
quote_or_summary: At Srub Bruin, people on the strand ask who comes over the sea;
Bran names himself, and they say they know of no such man except in very old stories
of Bran's voyage.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/gods-and-fighting-men-gregory.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: 4249-4252
quote_or_summary: Nechtan leaps from the curragh and, as soon as he touches Ireland's
shore, becomes a heap of ashes as if he had been in the earth for hundreds of
years.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/gods-and-fighting-men-gregory.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: 4253-4255
quote_or_summary: Bran tells the people the whole story of his wanderings, bids
them farewell, and his wanderings afterward are unknown.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/gods-and-fighting-men-gregory.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Extraction is based only on the supplied passage. Motif labels are candidate
classifications and should be reviewed, especially taxonomy mappings for otherworld
and return patterns.
reviewer_status:
status: needs_review
reviewer: ''
reviewed_at: ''
notes: Machine-generated draft from OpenAI Batch; not human-reviewed.
extracted_by: openai_batch:gpt-5.5
extracted_at: '2026-04-28'
notes: |-
No comparison claims were added because the passage itself does not support a specific external comparison beyond candidate motif classification.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:celtic-irish-gods-and-fighting-men-gregory-gutenberg__l4222-l4255
passage_sha256=f2850b90657b7b48f42a3efa73298958dcb31ca7ef53c91490bedd988e93479a