batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg-l15400-l15519
---
record_id: batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg-l15400-l15519
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
passage_locator:
label: CONTENTS / NOTE. OFFERINGS OF FIRST-FRUITS. / INDEX. / FOOTNOTES; lines 15400-15519
start: '15400'
end: '15519'
translation: 'The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2)'
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: A series of footnotes in Frazer discusses parallels between the Balder
myth and blindfolded striking or throwing customs aimed at a corn-spirit, cock,
hen, or bear-skin; notes traditions concerning the Golden Bough, mistletoe, and
its location near Avernus or Nemi; and cites examples of annually burning a human
or substituted divine representative, with possible sacramental eating.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The passage states that weapons and mistletoe are thrown at Balder in the
myth, and that Hödur, who kills him, is blind.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Frazer compares the Balder episode to Irish reapers who kill the corn-spirit
in the last sheaf by throwing sickles at it while blindfolded.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: In Mecklenburg, a cock is buried in the ground and blindfolded men strike
at it with a flail until it is killed.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: In England on Shrove Tuesday, a hen was tied to a man's back and blindfolded
men struck at it with branches until it was killed.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: Frazer states that these customs suggest that the human representative of
the oak-spirit was killed by a blindfolded man who threw a weapon or mistletoe
from a short distance.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: After Lapps killed a bear, the bear's skin was hung on a post and blindfolded
women shot arrows at it.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: Virgil is cited for the Golden Bough, and another note says Virgil places
it near Lake Avernus, while Italian tradition placed it in the grove at Nemi.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: The passage notes customs or traces of annually burning a human representative
of the corn-spirit or human god in several traditions, including Egyptians, Pawnees,
Khonds, and Semitic lands.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:9
text: The image of Hercules, identified parenthetically as Baal, periodically burned
on a pyre at Tarsus is described as a substitute for a human representative of
the god.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:10
text: The passage says the Druids seem to have eaten portions of a human victim
and speculates that portions of the King of the Wood may have been eaten sacramentally.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:11
text: A note reports that at York, mistletoe was formerly carried to the cathedral
high altar on Christmas Eve and a public liberty, pardon, and freedom was proclaimed
at the city gates.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:12
text: Fern-seed is said to bloom at Easter as well as at midsummer and Christmas,
and Easter is identified as a time when sun-fires are kindled.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Balder
description: Mythic figure at whom weapons and mistletoe are thrown; killed by Hödur
according to the note.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Hödur
description: Blind figure who slew Balder in the myth as described by Frazer.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Irish reapers
description: Reapers who kill the corn-spirit in the last sheaf by throwing sickles
blindfolded.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: corn-spirit in the last sheaf
description: Spirit represented in the last sheaf and killed by blindfolded sickle-throwing
in the Irish custom.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: blindfolded Mecklenburg striker
description: A man who strikes at a buried cock with a flail while blindfolded.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: cock
description: Animal buried in the ground and struck until killed in the Mecklenburg
custom.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: blindfolded English strikers
description: Men who strike at a hen tied on a man's back with branches until it
is killed.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: hen
description: Animal tied on a man's back and struck by blindfolded men in an English
Shrove Tuesday custom.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: human representative of the oak-spirit
description: Inferred representative whom Frazer suggests was killed by a blindfolded
man using a weapon or mistletoe.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Lapp women
description: Women who, blindfolded, shot arrows at a bear-skin hung on a post after
a bear-killing.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: bear-skin
description: Skin of a killed bear hung on a post and shot at by blindfolded women.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: human representative of the corn-spirit
description: Human representative said to have been annually burned in several cited
customs.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:13
name_or_label: image of Hercules or Baal
description: Image periodically burned on a pyre at Tarsus and described as a substitute
for a human representative of the god.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:14
name_or_label: King of the Wood
description: Figure whose flesh Frazer speculates may have been eaten by worshippers
as a sacrament.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
roles:
- id: role:1
label: slain mythic target
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Balder is the target of thrown weapons and mistletoe and is slain by Hödur.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: blind killer
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Hödur's blindness and role in killing Balder are emphasized.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: blindfolded ritual striker or shooter
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:5
- fig:7
- fig:10
basis: These figures perform striking, throwing, or shooting actions while blindfolded.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: spirit or victim representative
assigned_to:
- fig:4
- fig:6
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:11
- fig:12
basis: These figures or objects are described as killed, targeted, or representing
a corn-spirit, oak-spirit, bear, or victim figure.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: role:5
label: substitute divine image
assigned_to:
- fig:13
basis: The burned image is explicitly described as a substitute for a human representative
of the god.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:6
label: possibly sacramental victim
assigned_to:
- fig:14
basis: Frazer speculates that portions of this figure's flesh may have been eaten
sacramentally.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: mistletoe
literal_form: mistletoe thrown at Balder and possibly used as the killing implement
for an oak-spirit representative
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: last sheaf
literal_form: last sheaf containing or representing the corn-spirit
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: blindfold
literal_form: covering or condition preventing sight during striking, throwing,
or shooting
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:5
- fig:7
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: sym:4
label: Golden Bough
literal_form: bough cited from Virgil and located by different traditions near Avernus
or at Nemi
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:5
label: pyre fire
literal_form: fire on which a human representative or divine substitute image is
burned
associated_figures:
- fig:12
- fig:13
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: sym:6
label: sacramental flesh
literal_form: portions of a human victim or King of the Wood possibly eaten as sacrament
associated_figures:
- fig:14
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:7
label: Christmas mistletoe at altar
literal_form: mistletoe carried to the high altar of York cathedral on Christmas
Eve
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: sym:8
label: sun-fires
literal_form: fires kindled at Easter, mentioned with fern-seed blooming times
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Balder and blind Hödur compared with blindfolded harvest striking
summary: Frazer links the mythic throwing of weapons and mistletoe at Balder by
blind Hödur with Irish blindfolded sickle-throwing at the last sheaf as corn-spirit.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Blindfolded animal-killing customs
summary: Mecklenburg and English customs involve blindfolded men striking at a cock
or hen until the animal is killed.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Inferred killing of an oak-spirit representative
summary: Frazer infers from the Balder myth and analogous customs that a human representative
of the oak-spirit may have been killed by a blindfolded man from a short distance.
figure_refs:
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Bear-skin arrow shooting after bear killing
summary: After a bear was killed, Lapp women shot arrows blindfolded at the bear's
skin hung on a post.
figure_refs:
- fig:10
- fig:11
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: Golden Bough locations
summary: The Golden Bough is associated with Virgil's Avernus setting and with an
Italian tradition placing it at Nemi.
figure_refs: []
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:6
label: Annual burning of representative figures
summary: Frazer cites customs or traces of annual burning of a human representative
of the corn-spirit or a human god, including a substitute divine image burned
at Tarsus.
figure_refs:
- fig:12
- fig:13
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:7
label: Possible sacramental eating of victim portions
summary: The passage cites Druids eating portions of a human victim and speculates
about sacramental consumption of portions of the King of the Wood.
figure_refs:
- fig:14
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: scene:8
label: Seasonal plant and fire customs
summary: The notes mention Christmas mistletoe carried to York cathedral and fern-seed
blooming at Easter, midsummer, and Christmas, alongside Easter sun-fires.
figure_refs: []
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: blindfolded killing of a spirit representative
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
basis: Multiple examples involve blind or blindfolded actors killing or symbolically
attacking Balder, a corn-spirit in a sheaf, a cock, a hen, a bear-skin, or an
inferred oak-spirit representative.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The oak-spirit human representative is Frazer's inference, not a directly
reported custom in this passage.
- id: motif:2
label: annual burning of a human or substituted divine representative
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
- seasonal_cycle
basis: Frazer cites annual burning of a human representative of the corn-spirit
and traces of annually burning a human god, with an image at Tarsus functioning
as substitute.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage summarizes cited materials and includes Frazer's interpretive
claim that the Tarsus image substituted for a human representative.
- id: motif:3
label: sacramental consumption of victim portions
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
- sacred_exchange
basis: The passage reports apparent Druid consumption of portions of a human victim
and suggests possible sacramental eating of the King of the Wood.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
confidence: low
cautions: The King of the Wood example is explicitly speculative in the passage.
- id: motif:4
label: sacred bough connected with descent to the infernal world
taxonomy_refs:
- hero_descent
- afterlife_journey_map
basis: Virgil is cited for the Golden Bough, and the note says its Avernus placement
served Aeneas's descent to the infernal world.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: low
cautions: This is only a footnote about location and literary convenience, not a
full narrative extraction.
- id: motif:5
label: seasonal gathering or ritual use of potent plants
taxonomy_refs:
- seasonal_cycle
basis: The notes mention mistletoe carried at Christmas and fern-seed blooming at
Easter, midsummer, and Christmas.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage provides brief notes rather than full descriptions of the
seasonal rites.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: Frazer explicitly compares the Balder myth's blind killer and thrown mistletoe
or weapons with blindfolded harvest customs in which reapers throw sickles at
the last sheaf as corn-spirit.
claim_level: same_function
target: Balder myth and Irish last-sheaf corn-spirit custom
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The comparison is Frazer's interpretive analogy; the passage does not
establish historical contact.
- id: claim:2
claim: Frazer groups Mecklenburg cock-killing and English Shrove Tuesday hen-killing
with harvest-field customs of killing a cock as representative of the corn-spirit.
claim_level: same_motif
target: blindfolded animal-killing sports and corn-spirit representative customs
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage cites Mannhardt's probability judgment and does not provide
the full underlying evidence.
- id: claim:3
claim: Frazer compares several traditions as examples of annually burning a human
representative of a vegetation or divine figure.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Egyptian, Pawnee, Khond, and Semitic burning customs
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage is a compressed comparative note and includes broad cultural
grouping without detailed context.
- id: claim:4
claim: Frazer links plant calendar lore with seasonal fire customs by noting that
fern-seed blooms at Easter, midsummer, and Christmas, and that Easter is a time
of sun-fires.
claim_level: same_function
target: fern-seed seasonal blooming lore and sun-fire calendar rites
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: low
limitations: The comparison is brief and does not explain the ritual function beyond
calendar association.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 15401-15412
quote_or_summary: Frazer says the weapons and mistletoe thrown at Balder, and blind
Hödur who slew him, recall Irish reapers who kill the corn-spirit in the last
sheaf by throwing sickles at it blindfolded.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 15412-15422
quote_or_summary: Mecklenburg cock-burying and English Shrove Tuesday hen-striking
customs are described, with blindfolded men striking the animals until killed;
Mannhardt is cited for connection with killing a cock on the harvest-field as
corn-spirit representative.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 15422-15426
quote_or_summary: Frazer says the customs and Hödur's blindness suggest that the
killer of the human representative of the oak-spirit was blindfolded and threw
a weapon or mistletoe from a little distance.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 15426-15430
quote_or_summary: After Lapps killed a bear, the bear's skin was hung on a post
and women, blindfolded, shot arrows at it.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 15454-15463, 15478-15479
quote_or_summary: Virgil is cited for the Golden Bough; another note says Virgil
placed it near Lake Avernus for Aeneas's descent to the infernal world, while
Italian tradition placed it in the grove at Nemi.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 15467-15472
quote_or_summary: Frazer notes a custom of annually burning a human representative
of the corn-spirit among Egyptians, Pawnees, and Khonds, and traces of annually
burning a human god in Semitic lands.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 15472-15476
quote_or_summary: The periodically burned image of Hercules, identified as Baal,
at Tarsus is described as a substitute for a human representative of the god.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 15476-15478
quote_or_summary: Frazer says Druids seem to have eaten portions of a human victim
and speculates that portions of the King of the Wood may have been eaten by worshippers
as a sacrament.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 15488-15496
quote_or_summary: A note says mistletoe was gathered at Christmas; at York it was
carried to the cathedral high altar on Christmas Eve and public liberty, pardon,
and freedom were proclaimed at the city gates.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 15511-15514
quote_or_summary: Fern-seed is said to bloom at Easter, midsummer, and Christmas;
Easter is noted as one of the times when sun-fires are kindled.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
confidence:
extraction: medium
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The passage is a set of comparative footnotes rather than a single primary
mythic narrative. Many entries are Frazer's summaries or interpretations, so candidate
motifs and comparisons require review against the cited primary materials.
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 taxonomy IDs beyond those supplied were invented; unsupported or passage-external comparisons were omitted.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg__l15400-l15519
passage_sha256=e70c84e5f0c780b32e86f4aafffd9ed1beb9f3c6a9b6b43f7cccfcf4fc0d2a83