batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg-l2715-l2793
---
record_id: batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg-l2715-l2793
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
passage_locator:
label: PREFACE. / J. G. FRAZER. / CHAPTER I. THE KING OF THE WOOD. / MACAULAY.;
lines 2715-2793
start: '2715'
end: '2793'
translation: 'The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2)'
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: Frazer argues that Diana of the Arician grove has the attributes of a tree-spirit
or woodland deity, including association with groves, childbirth, wild animals,
cattle, a sacred spring, and perpetual fire. He then proposes that the King of
the Wood at Nemi was regarded as a living incarnation of the tree-spirit, whose
life was connected with the Golden Bough and who was credited with fertility and
weather powers. The passage closes by describing the broader reverence of Latin
peoples for the sacred grove on the Alban Mountain and compares this attention
to offerings sent to Cambodian Kings of Fire and Water.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The passage says Diana’s sanctuaries were in groves and that every grove was
her sanctuary.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The passage says Diana helped women in travail and was patroness of wild animals.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The passage says Diana is associated with Silvanus in inscriptions.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: The passage compares Diana’s care for wild animals with the Finnish wood-god
Tapio and with Samogitian beliefs about sacred birds and beasts of the woods.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The passage states that domestic cattle were indicated to be under Diana’s
protection and certainly under Silvanus’s protection.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The passage mentions a sacred spring and a perpetual fire in the Arician grove.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The passage says Virbius was the companion deity of Diana at Nemi and that
some believed him to be the sun.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: The passage says a tree-spirit is frequently represented by a living person
regarded as an embodiment of the tree-spirit and possessed of fertilising powers.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: The passage identifies several figures called kings in relation to vegetation
or woodland contexts, including the King of the Wood, King of May, Grass King,
the Dreadful King cedar, and Tapio as Wood King or Golden King of the Wood.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: The passage says the King of the Wood could only be assailed by someone who
had plucked the Golden Bough.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: The passage says the King of the Wood’s life was safe from assault so long
as the bough or the tree on which it grew remained uninjured.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:12
text: The passage says the Golden Bough was regarded as a special manifestation
of the divine life of the grove.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:13
text: The passage provisionally assumes that the King of the Wood was deemed a living
incarnation of the tree-spirit.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:14
text: The passage says such a figure would be credited with powers of sending rain
and sunshine, making crops grow, women bring forth, and flocks and herds multiply.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:15
text: The passage says the sacred grove on the Alban Mountain was an object of common
reverence and care among the petty tribes of the Latin League.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: obs:16
text: The passage says Italian pilgrims turned toward the Alban Mountain, described
as the home of the mysterious priest of Nemi, the King of the Wood.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Diana
description: Goddess of the Arician grove, described as having attributes of a tree-spirit
or sylvan deity; associated with groves, childbirth, wild animals, cattle, the
sacred spring, and the perpetual fire.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Silvanus
description: Wood-god associated with Diana in inscriptions and said to protect
domestic cattle.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Tapio
description: Finnish wood-god believed to care for wild creatures of the wood and
described as Wood King, Lord of the Woodland, and Golden King of the Wood.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Samogitian god of the wood
description: A god of the wood under whose protection birds and beasts of the woods
were said to be sacred.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Virbius
description: Companion deity of Diana at Nemi; some believed him to be the sun.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: King of the Wood / priest of Nemi
description: A king and priest resident in the grove, provisionally interpreted
in the passage as a living incarnation of the tree-spirit whose safety depended
on the Golden Bough remaining unplucked and uninjured.
role_refs:
- role:5
- role:7
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:9
- ev:12
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: King of May
description: A comparative vegetation or tree-spirit representative used as an analogy
for the King of the Wood.
role_refs:
- role:5
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:9
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Grass King
description: A comparative vegetation representative used as an analogy for the
King of the Wood.
role_refs:
- role:5
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Dreadful King cedar of the Gilgit tribes
description: A sacred cedar called the Dreadful King.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Kings of Fire and Water
description: Mystic kings in Cambodia to whom Cambodian kings sent offerings, used
as a comparison for distant reverence toward the priest of Nemi.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Italian pilgrims
description: Pilgrims from the Latian plain who are imagined as turning toward the
Alban Mountain and the priest of Nemi.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
roles:
- id: role:1
label: Goddess of the Arician grove
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Diana is explicitly called the goddess of the Arician grove.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: Tree-spirit or sylvan deity
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage states that Diana’s attributes are those of a tree-spirit or
sylvan deity.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: Protector of childbirth and animals
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Diana is said to help women in travail and to be patroness of wild animals,
with indications of protection over domestic cattle.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: Wood-god or god of the wood
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
basis: Silvanus, Tapio, and the Samogitian woodland deity are each described in
relation to woods, wild creatures, or cattle protection.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: Woodland or vegetation king
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
basis: The passage groups several figures or titles under royal woodland, vegetation,
or mystic kingship language.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:9
- ev:12
- id: role:6
label: Companion deity associated with the sun
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Virbius is called Diana’s companion deity at Nemi and is said by some to
be the sun.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:7
label: Living incarnation of the tree-spirit
assigned_to:
- fig:6
- fig:7
basis: The passage provisionally assumes that the King of the Wood, like the May
King and related figures, was deemed a living incarnation of the tree-spirit.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:8
label: King and priest of the grove
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The passage refers to the King of the Wood’s double character as king and
priest and to the mysterious priest of Nemi.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:12
- id: role:9
label: Pilgrim worshippers
assigned_to:
- fig:11
basis: The passage says Italian pilgrims turned their eyes and steps toward the
Alban Mountain and the priest of Nemi.
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Arician grove
literal_form: Sacred grove of Diana at Aricia / Nemi
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:9
- id: sym:2
label: Golden Bough
literal_form: A bough that must be plucked before the King of the Wood can be assailed
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: sym:3
label: Tree of the Golden Bough
literal_form: The tree on which the Golden Bough grew
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:4
label: Sacred spring
literal_form: Spring bubbling in the Arician grove
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: Perpetual fire
literal_form: Fire said to have burned in the Arician grove
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:6
label: Sacred cedar
literal_form: Cedar of the Gilgit tribes called the Dreadful King
associated_figures:
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:7
label: Alban Mountain
literal_form: Mountain described as the location associated with the sacred grove
and the priest of Nemi
associated_figures:
- fig:6
- fig:11
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- ev:12
- id: sym:8
label: Rain and sunshine
literal_form: Weather powers attributed to forest gods and to the tree-spirit incarnation
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:10
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Diana’s woodland attributes at Aricia
summary: The passage lists Diana’s groves, aid in childbirth, patronage of animals,
possible cattle protection, sacred spring, and perpetual fire as evidence for
her woodland or tree-spirit character.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:4
- sym:5
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:2
label: Comparative woodland deities and animal protection
summary: The passage compares Diana and Silvanus with Tapio and a Samogitian woodland
god as figures connected with care for wild animals or cattle.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: The King of the Wood and the Golden Bough
summary: The passage argues that the King of the Wood’s title, office, residence
in the grove, and vulnerability only after the Golden Bough is plucked point to
a connection between his life and the tree.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: scene:4
label: Tree-spirit represented doubly
summary: The passage states that a tree-spirit can be represented both by a tree
or bough and by a living person, and applies this to the Golden Bough and the
King of the Wood.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: scene:5
label: Fertility and weather powers of the King of the Wood
summary: The passage says the tree-spirit incarnation would be credited with powers
over rain, sunshine, crops, childbirth, flocks, and herds.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: scene:6
label: Regional reverence for the Alban Mountain grove
summary: The passage describes the sacred grove on the Alban Mountain as an object
of common reverence among Latin peoples and imagines Italian pilgrims turning
toward the home of the priest of Nemi.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
- fig:10
- fig:11
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- ev:12
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Sacred grove as dwelling of a tree-spirit or woodland deity
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_tree_axis
basis: Diana’s grove sanctuaries, the Arician grove, and the argument that its cult
was essentially that of a tree-spirit or wood deity support a sacred tree/grove
motif.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage concerns a grove and tree-spirit rather than explicitly a
cosmic axis; taxonomy mapping is approximate.
- id: motif:2
label: Living person as incarnation of vegetation or tree-spirit
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_tree_axis
- seasonal_cycle
basis: The passage states that tree-spirits are often represented by living persons
and provisionally identifies the King of the Wood as such an incarnation, comparable
to the May King and related figures.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: The passage’s claim is Frazer’s comparative interpretation, not a direct
ancient ritual description.
- id: motif:3
label: Life of a ruler or priest bound to a sacred tree or bough
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_tree_axis
- royal_legitimacy
basis: The King of the Wood could only be attacked after the Golden Bough was plucked,
so his life is said to be bound up with the tree.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The passage frames the conclusion as an interpretive inference from the
assault rule and the Golden Bough.
- id: motif:4
label: Woodland deity grants fertility and weather powers
taxonomy_refs:
- seasonal_cycle
basis: The passage attributes to the tree-spirit or its living incarnation powers
to send rain and sunshine, grow crops, aid childbirth, and multiply flocks and
herds.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:10
confidence: medium
cautions: The seasonal-cycle taxonomy is broader than the explicit wording, which
emphasizes fertility and weather.
- id: motif:5
label: Sacred kingship fused with priesthood
taxonomy_refs:
- royal_legitimacy
basis: The King of the Wood is described as having a double character as king and
priest, with his sacred office and grove residence supporting his status.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:12
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not focus on political legitimacy; it focuses on sacral
embodiment.
- id: motif:6
label: Pilgrimage or regional reverence toward a sacred woodland center
taxonomy_refs:
- world_center
basis: The sacred grove on the Alban Mountain is described as an object of common
reverence and care for Latin peoples, and pilgrims are imagined turning toward
it.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- ev:12
confidence: low
cautions: The passage presents regional sacred focus, but does not explicitly describe
the grove as a world center.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage compares Diana’s protection of wild animals with Tapio’s care
for wild creatures and the Samogitian treatment of woodland birds and beasts as
sacred under a god of the wood.
claim_level: same_function
target: Finnish Tapio and Samogitian god of the wood
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: This is a functional comparison within Frazer’s argument, not evidence
of historical contact.
- id: claim:2
claim: The passage compares the King of the Wood with the King of May, Grass King,
and other Northern European congeners as living representatives of the tree-spirit
or vegetation spirit.
claim_level: same_motif
target: May King, Grass King, and Northern European vegetation representatives
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:9
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The comparison is explicitly provisional and rests on Frazer’s comparative
reconstruction.
- id: claim:3
claim: The passage compares the King of the Wood’s remote sacred importance with
Cambodian Kings of Fire and Water, both receiving attention or offerings from
rulers or pilgrims at a distance.
claim_level: same_function
target: Cambodian Kings of Fire and Water
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The comparison concerns analogous reverence toward remote sacred figures,
not identical ritual structure.
- id: claim:4
claim: The passage links the sacred spring and perpetual fire of the Arician grove
with broader attributes of forest gods, namely powers over rain and sunshine.
claim_level: same_function
target: Forest-god weather powers
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: low
limitations: Frazer marks this as tentative with 'may perhaps detect' and 'perhaps
explains'.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: quote
locator: lines 2715-2725
quote_or_summary: Diana’s attributes are said to be those of a tree-spirit or sylvan
deity; her sanctuaries were in groves, she is associated with Silvanus, helped
women in travail, and was patroness of wild animals.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 2725-2732
quote_or_summary: Tapio in Finland is said to care for wild creatures as his cattle,
and Samogitians deemed woodland birds and beasts sacred under the protection of
a god of the wood.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 2732-2738
quote_or_summary: The passage states that domestic cattle show indications of Diana’s
protection and were certainly supposed to be protected by Silvanus; Finnish herds
were also protected by wood-gods.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 2738-2748
quote_or_summary: The sacred spring and perpetual fire in the Arician grove are
treated as possible traces of forest-god powers to make rain fall and sun shine;
Virbius, Diana’s companion at Nemi, was by some believed to be the sun.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 2749-2757
quote_or_summary: Frazer states that European folk-custom shows a tree-spirit often
represented by a living person regarded as its embodiment and possessed of fertilising
powers.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 2757-2768
quote_or_summary: The passage says living representatives of tree-spirits are often
called kings; examples include the Dreadful King cedar of Gilgit and Tapio as
Wood King, Lord of the Woodland, and Golden King of the Wood, alongside King of
May and Grass King analogies.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 2768-2777
quote_or_summary: The King of the Wood could only be assailed by someone who had
plucked the Golden Bough, and his life was safe while the bough or its tree remained
uninjured.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 2777-2785
quote_or_summary: 'The passage says the Golden Bough was a special manifestation
of divine life in the grove and that tree-spirits may be represented in double
form: by a tree or bough and by a living person.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 2786-2793
quote_or_summary: Considering his double character as king and priest, relation
to the Golden Bough, and the woodland divinity of the grove, the passage provisionally
assumes that the King of the Wood was a living incarnation of the tree-spirit,
like the May King and Northern European congeners.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 2793-2802
quote_or_summary: As tree-spirit incarnation, the King of the Wood would be credited
with powers to send rain and sunshine, grow crops, aid childbirth, and multiply
flocks and herds.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: lines 2802-2809
quote_or_summary: The sacred grove on the Alban Mountain is said to have been an
object of common reverence and care among the petty tribes of the Latin League.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:12
type: summary
locator: lines 2809-2818
quote_or_summary: The passage compares Cambodian offerings to the mystic Kings of
Fire and Water with Italian pilgrims turning from the Latian plain toward the
Alban Mountain, home of the mysterious priest of Nemi, the King of the Wood.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: Extraction is based directly on the supplied passage. Motif taxonomy assignments
are cautious because the passage is itself a comparative scholarly argument and
some available taxonomy labels are broader than Frazer’s wording.
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: |-
Only the supplied passage and metadata were used. No external taxonomy identifiers beyond the provided available taxonomy refs were added.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg__l2715-l2793
passage_sha256=d7517b0e67cb01accae8feab502c75fff4f1dd4140eb7821b729c68679330b60