batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg-l5934-l6013
---
record_id: batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg-l5934-l6013
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
passage_locator:
label: 'The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS;
lines 5934-6013'
start: '5934'
end: '6013'
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: The passage surveys midsummer fire customs in France, England, Wales, the
Isle of Man, Ireland, and Scotland. It describes bonfires, burning wheels, torches,
firebrands, leaping over flames, dancing around fires, carrying fire or smoke
through fields and around cattle, and stated aims such as fertilising fields,
blessing apples, protecting corn, purifying air or livestock, and preventing disease
or blight.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: In Poitou, a straw-covered wheel is set on fire and run through fields, which
are said to be fertilised; people also leap three times over the fire with nut-tree
branches later hung over the cattle-stall door.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: In Brittany, midsummer fires burn on hills while people dance, sing, and leap
over embers; bonfires may be built around a pole topped with a nosegay or crown,
and burning discs or a tar barrel may be swung or thrown.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: In Britain and the Isle of Man, bonfires, torches, and firebrands are used
at midsummer in streets, fields, hills, and villages; the passage reports fires
to bless apples, smoke passing over corn, and blazing furze or gorse carried around
cattle.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: In Ireland, bonfires and torches are associated with the eves of St. John
Baptist and St. Peter; reports describe dancing around fires, passing people and
cattle through fire, purifying the air from harmful beings, and carrying coals
into corn-fields to prevent blight.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: In Scotland, the passage reports midsummer or St. Peter's Day fires and torches
on high grounds; in the Perthshire Highlands, a cowherd goes three times sunwise
around the fold with a burning torch, believed to purify herds and prevent disease.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: Several examples place fires on hills, high grounds, eminences, or tumuli.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: local participants in midsummer customs
description: People who light fires, dance, sing, leap over flames, carry torches
or firebrands, and process around fires or through fields.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: young people and children
description: Young people leap over fires in northern England, and children in Ireland
jump through flames or pass through fires.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: cattle, flocks, and herds
description: Livestock are associated with branches hung over cattle-stalls, blazing
furze or gorse carried around folded cattle, cattle made to pass through fire,
and herds purified by torch-circuit.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: fields, apples, corn, and crops
description: Fields, apples, and corn are described as recipients of fire, smoke,
coals, or blessing in midsummer customs.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: cowherd and herdsmen
description: Herdsmen and young people kindle fires on high grounds in Ayrshire;
a cowherd in the Perthshire Highlands carries a burning torch three times around
the fold.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: fire-rite participants
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:2
basis: They light, carry, dance around, leap over, or pass through midsummer fires
and torches.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:2
label: protected or purified livestock
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The passage states that cattle, flocks, and herds are circled with fire,
passed through fire, or purified to prevent disease.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:3
label: cultivated recipients of fire rites
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Fields, apples, and corn are linked to fertilisation, blessing, smoke, coals,
or blight prevention.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: ritual torch-bearer or circuit-maker
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The cowherd makes a threefold sunwise circuit of the fold with a burning
torch; herdsmen kindle high-ground fires.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: ritual fire
literal_form: bonfires, torches, firebrands, blazing reeds, glowing embers, live
coals, burning torch
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: sym:2
label: moving circular fire
literal_form: straw-covered burning wheel, ignited wooden discs, and swinging tar
barrel
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: high place for fire
literal_form: hills, high hills, high grounds, eminences, and a tumulus used as
fire settings
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: sym:4
label: plant and pole elements
literal_form: nut-tree branches, a pole topped with a nosegay or crown, and a summer
pole with a bush at the top
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:5
label: smoke over crops
literal_form: smoke from fires placed to windward of every field so that it passes
over the corn
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:6
label: threefold or sunwise circuit
literal_form: leaping thrice over the fire and going three times round the fold
according to the course of the sun
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: French and continental midsummer fire rites
summary: Burning wheels, discs, and a tar barrel are moved through fields or around
poles; people leap, dance, and sing around midsummer fires, sometimes with plant
elements attached to poles or carried by participants.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: British midsummer bonfires and crop-livestock rites
summary: Bonfires are lit in streets, fields, hills, and villages; participants
leap over flames, carry torches or firebrands, bless apples, expose corn to smoke,
and carry blazing furze or gorse around cattle.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Irish St. John's and St. Peter's Eve fires
summary: Bonfires and torch processions occur on eminences and in towns; people
shout, dance around fires, pass children and cattle through fire, and explain
some practices as purifying the air or preventing blight.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Scottish high-ground and fold-circuit fires
summary: The passage notes Scottish midsummer or St. Peter's Day fires and torches
on high grounds, including a Perthshire Highland practice in which a cowherd circles
the fold three times sunwise with a burning torch to purify herds and prevent
disease.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: midsummer fire festival
taxonomy_refs:
- seasonal_cycle
basis: The passage repeatedly locates bonfires, torches, wheels, leaping, dancing,
and processions at midsummer, St. John's Eve, or St. Peter's Day across several
regions.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage is a comparative survey rather than a single mythic narrative;
regional dates and customs vary.
- id: motif:2
label: fire used to fertilise or bless crops
taxonomy_refs:
- seasonal_cycle
basis: The passage explicitly says fields are supposed to be fertilised by a burning
wheel, fires are made to bless apples, smoke passes over corn, and coals are carried
to corn-fields to prevent blight.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The stated purpose is not identical in every locality; some examples concern
protection rather than fertility.
- id: motif:3
label: purifying and protective fire for people and livestock
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage reports leaping over or passing through fire, carrying fire around
cattle, and a torch circuit believed to purify flocks and herds and prevent diseases;
one Irish account explains the rite as purifying the air from harmful beings.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage records reported beliefs and practices; it does not establish
a single original meaning.
- id: motif:4
label: sunwise or repeated ritual circumambulation with fire
taxonomy_refs:
- seasonal_cycle
basis: 'The passage includes repeated movement around ritual spaces: dancing around
fires, carrying torches around bonfires, carrying blazing plants around cattle,
and a threefold sunwise circuit of a fold with a burning torch.'
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: Only the Perthshire example explicitly states a sunwise course; other
circular movements are described without that directional detail.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage presents regional customs in France, Britain, Ireland, and Scotland
as variants of a shared midsummer fire-custom pattern.
claim_level: same_motif
target: midsummer bonfire and torch customs in France and the British Isles
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The claim is limited to the passage's comparative presentation and
does not by itself prove historical contact, common origin, or continuity.
- id: claim:2
claim: 'Across several regions, fire, smoke, embers, or coals are assigned similar
practical-ritual functions toward crops and livestock: fertilisation, blessing,
purification, disease prevention, or blight prevention.'
claim_level: same_function
target: protective and fertility functions of seasonal fire rites
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: Functions differ by report and locality; some accounts emphasize fertility,
others purification or protection.
- id: claim:3
claim: The recurring use of bonfires at midsummer or saints' days supports a cautious
connection with the seasonal-cycle motif family.
claim_level: same_motif
target: seasonal_cycle
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The available taxonomy label is broad; the passage concerns customary
rites rather than a narrated seasonal myth.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 5934-5941
quote_or_summary: In Poitou, a straw-covered burning wheel is run through fields
said to be fertilised; people leap three times over fire holding nut-tree branches
later hung over a cattle-stall door. Brest has mass torch-flinging.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 5941-5950
quote_or_summary: In Brittany, midsummer fires blaze on hills; people dance, sing,
and leap over embers. Bonfires may be piled around a pole topped with a nosegay
or crown. Burning discs are thrown, and at Edersleben a burning tar barrel is
swung around a pole.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 5951-5971
quote_or_summary: In England, Wales, Cornwall, and the Isle of Man, midsummer bonfires,
torches, and firebrands are reported in streets, fields, hills, villages, and
near cattle; practices include leaping, blessing apples, carrying torches village
to village, placing smoke over corn, and carrying blazing furze or gorse around
cattle.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 5972-6003
quote_or_summary: Irish accounts describe bonfires and blazing reed bundles or torches
on the eves of St. John Baptist and St. Peter, fires on eminences, dancing and
shouting around fires, purification of air from harmful beings, people and cattle
passing through fire, and live coals formerly carried into corn-fields to prevent
blight.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 6004-6013
quote_or_summary: Scottish traces include midsummer or St. Peter's Day fires and
lighted torches on mountains or high grounds; in the Perthshire Highlands a cowherd
goes three times sunwise around the fold with a burning torch, believed to purify
flocks and herds and prevent diseases.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-2-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The passage is explicit about actions, dates, settings, and some reported
functions. Motif and comparison labels are cautious because the text is a later
comparative survey of customs, not a primary mythic narrative.
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. Taxonomy references are limited to available entries and applied only where directly supported.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:comparative-golden-bough-volume-2-frazer-gutenberg__l5934-l6013
passage_sha256=8ef0186625e41eb84c01cd666a28248ce67a0a1065d828cd1d03a44c0b53ff76