batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg-l8184-l8267
---
record_id: batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg-l8184-l8267
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
passage_locator:
label: MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING
THE GOD.; lines 8184-8267
start: '8184'
end: '8267'
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 compares the Lityerses story with European harvest customs in which
a corn-spirit is said to be killed at reaping or threshing. He lists customs from
Norway, Bavaria, Lothringen, Lithuania, Tyrol, Carinthia, Germany, Norway, Soest,
Nördlingen, and Brie, involving the last corn, last stroke, symbolic Old Man or
Old Woman figures, puppets or human representatives, binding in straw or sheaves,
water-drenching or throwing into streams, ransom, forfeits, and identification
of strangers or visitors with the corn-spirit.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The passage states that European harvest customs often treat the corn-spirit
as killed during reaping or threshing.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: In several examples, the person who gives the last stroke at threshing or
cuts the last stalks is said to have killed an Old Man, Corn-man, Old Woman, Boba,
or Old Rye-woman.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: obs:3
text: In Lithuania, the last handful or last stalks of corn are described as the
place where the Old Woman or Old Rye-woman is present.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: In one Lithuanian threshing scene, the threshers step back, strike the remaining
corn rapidly, and identify the last man to strike after the halt command as the
killer of the Old Rye-woman.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The corn-spirit is sometimes represented by a corn-stalk female puppet, by
a man lying under the last corn, or by the farmer’s wife placed with the last
sheaf as if to be threshed and winnowed.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: At Volders and in Carinthia, people associated with the last threshing are
bound or crowned with straw, carried or dragged, and thrown into a river or brook.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: Frazer states that throwing the representative of the corn-spirit into a stream,
like drenching him with water, is a rain-charm.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: In German and neighboring harvest customs, passing strangers, first-time visitors,
farmers, or guests may be bound with corn-stalk ropes, sheaves, straw, or flax
until they pay a forfeit or ransom.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:9
text: At Brie, reapers chase a passer-by, bind him in a sheaf, bite him on the forehead,
and say that he shall carry the key of the field.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:10
text: Frazer explains that carrying the key of the field is equivalent to being
identified with the Old Man, an embodiment of the corn-spirit.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Corn-spirit
description: A harvest spirit believed to be killed at reaping or threshing and
represented by persons, puppets, or the last corn.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Old Hay-man, Corn-man, Oats-man, Wheat-man, Old Man
description: Male names or forms associated with the corn-spirit in harvest and
threshing customs.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:8
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Old Woman, Boba, Old Rye-woman
description: Female names or forms associated with the corn-spirit in Lothringen
and Lithuanian harvest and threshing customs.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Last reaper or last thresher
description: The person who cuts the last corn or gives the last stroke and is said
to have killed the corn-spirit figure.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Corn-stalk female puppet
description: A female figure made of corn-stalks, dressed in clothes, and placed
under the final heap to be threshed.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Human representative under last corn
description: A man lying under the last corn while it is threshed upon his body,
with people saying the Old Man is being beaten to death.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Farmer’s wife
description: A woman who is sometimes thrust with the last sheaf under a threshing-machine
in a pretense of threshing and later winnowing.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Stranger, visitor, farmer, or guest entering the harvest-field or
threshing-floor
description: A passer-by or first-time entrant who may be bound in corn-stalks,
sheaves, straw, or flax and made to pay a forfeit or ransom.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Reapers or threshers
description: Harvest workers who bind, chase, strike, or identify persons connected
with the last sheaf or with entry into the field.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
- ev:8
roles:
- id: role:1
label: corn-spirit form
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
basis: The passage identifies these named figures as forms or embodiments of the
corn-spirit.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:8
- id: role:2
label: killer of the corn-spirit figure
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The last cutter or last thresher is said to have killed the named Old Man,
Old Woman, or Old Rye-woman.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: representative of the corn-spirit
assigned_to:
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
basis: The passage says the corn-spirit may be represented by a puppet, a man, the
farmer’s wife, or a stranger or visitor.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:4
label: bound entrant or captive
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The passage describes strangers, visitors, farmers, and guests being tied
in harvest materials until they pay.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:5
label: ritual actors in harvest custom
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: Reapers or threshers perform the binding, threshing, chasing, and verbal
identifications described in the customs.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
- ev:8
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: last corn or last sheaf
literal_form: The final stalks, handful, bundle, pile, or sheaf of grain at reaping
or threshing.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: sym:2
label: corn-stalk or straw bonds
literal_form: Rope of corn-stalks, straw bands, straw garland, straw crowns, sheaf-binding,
or flax wrapping used to bind persons.
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: sym:3
label: water, river, brook, or stream
literal_form: Water poured over a reaper’s head, or a river, brook, or stream into
which a bound representative is thrown.
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: sym:4
label: corn-stalk female figure
literal_form: A dressed female puppet made from corn-stalks and placed under the
final heap of corn.
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:5
label: key of the field
literal_form: 'A spoken designation at Brie addressed to a bound passer-by: he shall
carry the key of the field.'
associated_figures:
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:6
label: flails, scythe, and threshing-machine
literal_form: Harvest implements used in cutting, threshing, or pretending to thresh
the corn-spirit representative.
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Killing the corn-spirit at the last reaping or threshing
summary: The last reaper or thresher is said to kill a named corn-spirit figure
such as the Old Hay-man, Corn-man, Old Woman, Boba, or Old Rye-woman.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:2
label: Corn-spirit represented by puppet or human substitute
summary: A corn-stalk puppet, a man under the corn, or the farmer’s wife with the
last sheaf is treated as if beaten, threshed, or winnowed.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:4
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:3
label: Bound representative thrown into water
summary: The person associated with the last threshing is bound with straw or placed
with straw insignia, carried or dragged through the village, and thrown into a
river or brook; Frazer identifies this as a rain-charm.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:4
label: Stranger or visitor bound in harvest materials
summary: A stranger, visitor, farmer, or guest entering the harvest-field or threshing-floor
is bound in corn-stalks, sheaves, straw, or flax and must pay a forfeit or ransom.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: scene:5
label: Brie stranger carrying the key of the field
summary: At Brie, reapers catch a passer-by, bind him in a sheaf, bite his forehead,
and say he shall carry the key of the field, which Frazer equates with being the
Old Man or corn-spirit embodiment.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Killing of the harvest or corn spirit
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
- seasonal_cycle
basis: The passage repeatedly describes the corn-spirit as killed at reaping or
threshing, especially through the last stalks, last sheaf, or final threshing
stroke.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The passage gives comparative ritual descriptions, not a single mythic
narrative; taxonomy mapping to sacrifice and seasonal cycle is broad.
- id: motif:2
label: Last sheaf as spirit embodiment
taxonomy_refs:
- seasonal_cycle
basis: The last corn, last stalks, or last sheaf are treated as the location or
embodiment of the Old Woman, Old Rye-woman, Old Man, or corn-spirit representative.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The available taxonomy has no dedicated last-sheaf or corn-spirit category.
- id: motif:3
label: Human or puppet substitute for vegetation spirit
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
basis: The passage describes corn-stalk puppets, men, the farmer’s wife, and strangers
or visitors as representatives of the corn-spirit, some subjected to symbolic
beating, threshing, binding, or disposal.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The described actions are customary performances in Frazer’s account;
actual ritual meanings may vary by locality.
- id: motif:4
label: Water-drenching or water-disposal as rain charm
taxonomy_refs:
- seasonal_cycle
basis: The passage explicitly states that drenching or throwing the corn-spirit
representative into a stream is a rain-charm.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: This is Frazer’s interpretation of the custom within the passage.
- id: motif:5
label: Stranger captured as harvest-spirit embodiment
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
basis: The passage says strangers or first-time visitors entering the field may
be bound in harvest materials, and at Brie the bound stranger is interpreted as
the Old Man or embodiment of the corn-spirit.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The comparison to the Lityerses tale is stated by Frazer, but the passage
provides only the harvest-custom side of the comparison.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: Frazer presents European customs of binding a stranger or visitor in the
harvest-field as comparable to the Lityerses tale, where a stranger passing the
harvest-field is treated as a representative of the corn-spirit.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Lityerses story and European harvest customs involving a stranger in the
harvest-field
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:7
- ev:8
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage asserts the comparison but does not narrate the Lityerses
tale in detail within this line range.
- id: claim:2
claim: The passage groups multiple European harvest customs as sharing the function
of identifying a last worker, substitute, or stranger with the corn-spirit and
subjecting that figure to symbolic killing, binding, or disposal.
claim_level: same_function
target: Norwegian, Bavarian, Lothringen, Lithuanian, Tyrolean, Carinthian, German,
Soest, Nördlingen, and Brie harvest customs
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The evidence is Frazer’s comparative synthesis; local contexts and
meanings are not independently evaluated in the passage.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 8184-8188
quote_or_summary: Frazer introduces a comparison between the Lityerses story and
European harvest customs, stating that the corn-spirit is often believed to be
killed at reaping or threshing.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 8188-8195
quote_or_summary: Examples from Norway and Bavaria say that the Old Hay-man, Corn-man,
Oats-man, or Wheat-man has been killed by the completion of haymaking or by the
last stroke at threshing.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 8195-8210
quote_or_summary: In Lothringen and Lithuania, the last corn is associated with
an Old Woman, Boba, or Old Rye-woman; cutting the last handful may be described
as cutting off the Boba’s head, and the cutter may receive water over his head
or be said to bring trouble on himself.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 8210-8224
quote_or_summary: A Lithuanian threshing custom has threshers attack the final pile
until a halt command; the last man whose flail falls is surrounded and declared
to have struck the Old Rye-woman dead, then must provide brandy.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 8224-8235
quote_or_summary: The corn-spirit may be represented by a corn-stalk female puppet
under the last heap, by a man under the last corn being beaten to death, or by
the farmer’s wife placed with the last sheaf as if threshed and later winnowed.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 8235-8245
quote_or_summary: At Volders and in Carinthia, people linked to the last threshing
are bound or crowned with straw, tied on a bundle or sledge, and thrown into a
river or brook; Frazer calls this, like drenching with water, a rain-charm.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 8246-8258
quote_or_summary: Frazer turns to cases where a stranger or first-time visitor represents
the corn-spirit; in Germany, Norway, Soest, and Nördlingen, such persons may be
bound with corn-stalk ropes, sheaves, straw, or flax until they pay a forfeit
or ransom.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 8258-8267
quote_or_summary: At Brie, reapers catch a passer-by, bind him in a sheaf, bite
him on the forehead, and say he shall carry the key of the field; Frazer explains
this as equivalent to saying he is the Old Man, an embodiment of the corn-spirit.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The passage is explicit about corn-spirit killing, last-sheaf embodiments,
stranger representatives, and rain-charm interpretation. Taxonomy mappings are
approximate because the available motif list lacks specific harvest-spirit categories.
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 provided passage text and metadata; comparative claims are limited to comparisons made within Frazer’s passage.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg__l8184-l8267
passage_sha256=d0a7bed52527c74fade6c38d11141c9fd0485f094a9761810ff161b4adeddaee