batch.motif.celtic-irish-gods-and-fighting-men-gregory-gutenberg-l6249-l6275
---
record_id: batch.motif.celtic-irish-gods-and-fighting-men-gregory-gutenberg-l6249-l6275
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/gods-and-fighting-men-gregory.md
passage_locator:
label: CHAPTER I. THE COMING OF FINN / CHAPTER II. FINN'S HOUSEHOLD / CHAPTER III.
BIRTH OF BRAN. / CHAPTER IV. OISIN'S MOTHER.; lines 6249-6275
start: '6249'
end: '6275'
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: Finn notices a resemblance between the found boy and Sadbh and keeps him
near. When the boy learns to speak with the Fianna, he remembers being sheltered
by a beloved deer in an enclosed landscape of hills, streams, woods, cliffs, and
a cave. A dark-looking man repeatedly comes to the deer, sometimes gently and
sometimes angrily. At last he strikes her with a hazel rod, compelling her to
follow him while she cries back toward the child. The child cannot follow, loses
consciousness, and later wakes on the hillside where the hounds found him. The
Fianna name him Oisin; he later becomes their poet and fighter.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Finn thinks the boy has some look of Sadbh in his face and may be her son.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Finn keeps the boy always beside him.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: After learning the Fianna's speech, the boy tells what he remembers of his
earlier life.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The boy says he lived with a deer he loved, and that the deer cared for and
sheltered him.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The place where the boy and the deer lived had hills, valleys, streams, woods,
and high cliffs on every side with no way of escape.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The boy ate fruits and roots in summer, and in winter food was left for him
in the shelter of a cave.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: A dark-looking man came to the place and spoke to the deer sometimes softly
and sometimes angrily.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: The deer drew away from the dark-looking man with great dread, and he went
away in anger.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: The boy identifies the deer as his mother in the account of the last time
he saw her.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: The dark-looking man struck the deer-mother with a hazel rod, and she was
forced to follow him.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: The deer-mother looked back at the child and cried after him while being taken
away.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:12
text: The child tried to follow her but had no power to move, then fell on the grass
and lost consciousness.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:13
text: When the child awoke, he was on the hillside where hounds had found him.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:14
text: The boy searched for the place where he had been brought up but could not
find it.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:15
text: The Fianna name the boy Oisin, and he later becomes their maker of poems and
a good fighter.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Finn
description: Leader who notices the boy's resemblance to Sadbh and keeps him beside
him.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: the boy / Oisin
description: A found child who remembers being raised with a deer-mother and is
later named Oisin by the Fianna.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Sadbh
description: A woman whose appearance Finn sees reflected in the boy's face; Finn
thinks the boy may be her son.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: the deer / mother
description: A deer loved by the boy, said to have cared for and sheltered him;
later identified by him as his mother and compelled away by the dark-looking man.
role_refs:
- role:5
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: dark-looking man
description: A man who comes to the enclosed place, speaks to the deer, angers when
she draws away, and finally strikes her with a hazel rod so she follows him.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: the Fianna
description: The group who give the boy the name Oisin; he later becomes their poet
and fighter.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: hounds
description: Hounds associated with finding the boy on the hillside.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
roles:
- id: role:1
label: recognizer and protector
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Finn recognizes a resemblance to Sadbh and keeps the boy beside him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: found child
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The boy wakes on the hillside where hounds found him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:3
label: future poet and fighter
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The Fianna name him Oisin, and he later becomes their maker of poems and
good fighter.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:4
label: possible mother remembered by resemblance
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Finn thinks the boy may be Sadbh's son because of his face.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:5
label: animal mother and shelterer
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The boy says the deer cared for and sheltered him and later calls her his
mother.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
- id: role:6
label: compelled captive
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: After being struck with a hazel rod, she is forced to follow the dark-looking
man.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:7
label: coercive visitor
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: He repeatedly approaches the deer and finally compels her away with a hazel
rod.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:8
label: naming group
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The Fianna give the boy the name Oisin.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:9
label: discovering animals
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The boy wakes on the hillside where the hounds found him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: deer mother
literal_form: deer who shelters the child and is identified as his mother
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
- id: sym:2
label: enclosed valley landscape
literal_form: wide place with hills, valleys, streams, woods, and high cliffs with
no escape
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: cave shelter
literal_form: cave where food is left for the boy in winter
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- cave
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:4
label: hazel rod
literal_form: rod used by the dark-looking man to strike the deer-mother and compel
her to follow
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:5
label: hillside awakening
literal_form: the side of the hill where the boy wakes and where hounds found him
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Finn receives the boy
summary: Finn sees a resemblance to Sadbh in the boy, considers that he may be her
son, and keeps him beside him.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Childhood in the enclosed place
summary: The boy remembers living with a beloved deer who cared for him in an enclosed
landscape; he eats roots and fruits and receives winter food in a cave.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Dark man visits the deer
summary: A dark-looking man comes to the place, alternately speaks gently and angrily
to the deer, while she draws away in dread.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Deer-mother compelled away
summary: The dark-looking man strikes the deer-mother with a hazel rod, causing
her to follow him while she looks back and cries to the child; the child cannot
follow and loses consciousness.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:5
label: Awakening and naming
summary: The boy wakes on the hillside where hounds found him, cannot find the place
where he was raised, and is named Oisin by the Fianna; he later becomes their
poet and fighter.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: child raised or sheltered by animal mother
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The boy says he lived with a deer he loved, that she cared for and sheltered
him, and later identifies her as his mother.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents the deer as mother and protector but does not explain
how the mother came to be a deer.
- id: motif:2
label: inaccessible hidden childhood place
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The boy's early home is enclosed by high cliffs with no escape, and after
waking on the hill he cannot find it again.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The passage does not explicitly call the place otherworldly or magical.
- id: motif:3
label: coerced removal by magic-like rod
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The dark-looking man strikes the deer-mother with a hazel rod, after which
she is forced to follow him despite fear and grief.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The coercive effect is stated, but the passage does not explicitly define
the rod as magical.
- id: motif:4
label: human-animal mother or shapeshifting boundary
taxonomy_refs:
- shapeshifter
basis: Finn suspects the boy is Sadbh's son, and the boy's own account identifies
a deer as his mother.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: Within this excerpt there is no explicit transformation scene; the shapeshifter
classification relies only on the juxtaposition of Sadbh, the son, and the deer-mother.
- id: motif:5
label: found child becomes poet and warrior
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The found boy is named Oisin by the Fianna and later becomes their maker
of poems and a good fighter.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: The passage gives only a brief outcome statement, not a full career narrative.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 6249-6251
quote_or_summary: Finn thinks the boy has a look of Sadbh in his face, that he may
be her son, and keeps him always beside him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/gods-and-fighting-men-gregory.md
rights_note: Public domain source; brief summary.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 6251-6255
quote_or_summary: After learning their talk, the boy says he used to be with a deer
he loved, and that the deer cared for and sheltered him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/gods-and-fighting-men-gregory.md
rights_note: Public domain source; brief summary.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 6255-6258
quote_or_summary: The boy describes a wide place with hills, valleys, streams, woods,
and high cliffs on every side, with no way of escape.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/gods-and-fighting-men-gregory.md
rights_note: Public domain source; brief summary.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 6258-6260
quote_or_summary: He eats fruits and roots in summer; in winter food is left for
him in the shelter of a cave.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/gods-and-fighting-men-gregory.md
rights_note: Public domain source; brief summary.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 6260-6265
quote_or_summary: A dark-looking man comes to the place, speaks to the deer softly
or angrily, and the deer draws away in dread, after which the man leaves angrily.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/gods-and-fighting-men-gregory.md
rights_note: Public domain source; brief summary.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 6265-6270
quote_or_summary: The last time the boy sees the deer, his mother, the dark man
speaks to her, strikes her with a hazel rod, and she is forced to follow him while
looking back and crying after the child.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/gods-and-fighting-men-gregory.md
rights_note: Public domain source; brief summary.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 6270-6273
quote_or_summary: The child tries to follow, cries out in grief and rage, cannot
move, falls on the grass, and loses consciousness.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/gods-and-fighting-men-gregory.md
rights_note: Public domain source; brief summary.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 6273-6275
quote_or_summary: He wakes on the hillside where hounds found him and later searches
for the place where he was raised but cannot find it.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/gods-and-fighting-men-gregory.md
rights_note: Public domain source; brief summary.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 6275-6275
quote_or_summary: The Fianna give him the name Oisin, and afterward he is their
maker of poems and a good fighter.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/gods-and-fighting-men-gregory.md
rights_note: Public domain source; brief summary.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: Literal extraction is well supported by the passage. Motif candidates are
cautious because the excerpt implies but does not fully narrate some background
elements, especially any transformation involving Sadbh and the deer.
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: |-
Used only the supplied passage and metadata; no external comparisons added.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:celtic-irish-gods-and-fighting-men-gregory-gutenberg__l6249-l6275
passage_sha256=389b8f548d9163e41e57987f67ea9ae7b7762790904165033ea0aeb48fdbd297