batch.motif.celtic-irish-heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy-gutenberg-l1694-l1812
---
record_id: batch.motif.celtic-irish-heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy-gutenberg-l1694-l1812
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
passage_locator:
label: THE COURTSHIP OF ETAIN / EGERTON VERSION / THE COURTSHIP OF ETAIN / LEABHAR
NA H-UIDHRI VERSION; lines 1694-1812
start: '1694'
end: '1812'
translation: Heroic Romances of Ireland
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: Etain repeatedly comes to a tryst meant for Ailill but meets a man like
him, who identifies himself as Mider of Bri Leith and claims to have been her
former husband before sorcery separated them. Mider describes his marvellous land
and asks Etain to come with him; she refuses unless Eochaid should ask it of her.
Mider says he caused and then removed Ailill's desire so Etain's honour would
not be harmed. Ailill is cured, and Eochaid thanks Etain. Later, Eochaid sees
an unknown richly armed warrior at Tara; the stranger identifies himself as Mider
and challenges Eochaid to chess, producing a splendid silver-and-gold chessboard.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Etain arrives at the appointed tryst and sees a man like Ailill, while Ailill
himself remains lamenting in the house.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Etain comes three times, Ailill fails to keep the tryst each time, and the
same man is present each time.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The man tells Etain that he was her husband when she was Etain of the Horses,
daughter of Ailill.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The man identifies himself as Mider of Bri Leith.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: Mider says that sorcery by Fuamnach and spells by Bressal Etarlam caused the
separation between himself and Etain.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: Mider describes his home as a marvellous land with bright crowns, white bodies,
strong ale, streams, mead, wine, lack of crime, unblemished men, and love without
sin.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: Mider says his people can move through the human world seeing all, while humans
cannot perceive them.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:8
text: Etain refuses to leave the king of Ireland for Mider, but says she would come
with him if Eochaid asked it of her.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: Mider says he placed love for Etain in Ailill's mind and also removed Ailill's
desire so that Etain's honour would not be harmed.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:10
text: Ailill says he has been cured of his sickness and that Etain's honour has
not been stained.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:11
text: Eochaid later ascends the high ground of Tara on a summer day to look over
the plain of Breg.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:12
text: Eochaid sees an unknown young warrior beside him, though no such person had
been in Tara the previous night and the gate had not yet been opened.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:13
text: The young warrior is described with a purple tunic, golden shoulder-length
hair, grey lustrous eyes, a five-pointed spear, and a shield with a white boss
and gold gems.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:14
text: The warrior places himself under Eochaid's protection, identifies himself
as Mider of Bri Leith, and says he has come to play chess with Eochaid.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:15
text: Mider produces a chessboard of silver, gold chessmen, costly stones giving
light, and a bag of woven brass chains.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Etain
description: A woman addressed by Mider as fair-haired and formerly as Etain of
the Horses; she is wife of the king of Ireland in the passage.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Ailill
description: The man Etain intended to meet at the tryst; he remains lamenting,
had been sick with wasting desire, and later is cured.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Mider of Bri Leith
description: A man appearing like Ailill at the tryst, claiming to be Etain's former
husband, describing his marvellous land, and later appearing as an unknown young
warrior at Tara to challenge Eochaid to chess.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:5
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Fuamnach
description: Named by Mider as a source of sorcery that parted him from Etain.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Bressal Etarlam
description: Named by Mider as a source of spells that parted him from Etain.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Eochaid Airemm
description: King of Tara and king of Ireland; Etain's husband, grateful for Ailill's
recovery, and later challenged to chess by Mider.
role_refs:
- role:8
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Mider's folk
description: A strong folk belonging to Mider, described as dwelling in a marvellous
land and moving unseen through the human world.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
roles:
- id: role:1
label: queen and rescuer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Etain describes herself as wife of the king of Ireland and says she came
to rescue the sick man; Ailill later says he was cured without stain to her honour.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: role:2
label: former spouse sought by Mider
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Mider says Etain was formerly his wife and invites her to come to his home.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: lovesick man cured
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Ailill is lamenting, Mider says Ailill's blood and flesh were affected by
love, and Ailill later says his sickness is cured.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:4
label: former husband and claimant
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Mider claims prior marriage to Etain and asks whether she will come with
him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: otherworld host
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Mider describes his own marvellous land and invites Etain to his folk.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:6
label: mysterious challenger
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Mider appears at Tara as an unknown warrior and proposes a chess game with
Eochaid.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:7
label: spell-worker named as cause of separation
assigned_to:
- fig:4
- fig:5
basis: Mider names Fuamnach's sorcery and Bressal Etarlam's spells as the cause
that parted him from Etain.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:8
label: king and husband
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Etain calls Eochaid the king of Ireland; he is also called king of Tara.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: role:9
label: chess opponent
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Mider comes to play chess with Eochaid, who says he is skilled at chess-play.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:10
label: unseen otherworld people
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Mider describes his folk as able to see humans while not being seen by them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: appointed tryst
literal_form: Repeated meeting-place and time where Etain expects Ailill but encounters
Mider-like-Ailill
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: marriage price of Ireland's plains and waters
literal_form: Chief plains and waters of Ireland, plus gold and silver equal to
Etain's value
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: marvellous land of Mider
literal_form: Land with bright crowns, white bodies, strong ale, streams, mead,
wine, absence of crime, and love without sin
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: milk and mead
literal_form: New milk and mead offered as drink in Mider's land
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- milk
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:5
label: unseen movement through human world
literal_form: Mider's people see humans while humans cannot notice their observers
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:6
label: Tara high ground and flowering plain
literal_form: High ground of Tara overlooking the blossom-filled plain of Breg in
summer
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:7
label: five-pointed spear and gemmed shield
literal_form: Five-pointed spear and shield with white central boss and gold gems
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:8
label: splendid chessboard
literal_form: Silver chessboard, gold playing-men, costly light-giving stones, and
brass-chain bag
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Etain's repeated tryst and Mider's disclosure
summary: Etain comes to the tryst for Ailill but repeatedly finds a man like Ailill,
who identifies himself as Mider and claims a former marriage to her that was broken
by sorcery and spells.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Mider's invitation to his marvellous land
summary: Mider describes his land as beautiful, abundant, sinless, and partly hidden
from human perception, and invites Etain to join his folk.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Etain's refusal and Ailill's cure
summary: Etain refuses to leave Eochaid unless he asks it of her; Mider says he
caused and removed Ailill's desire, and Ailill later reports that he is cured
with Etain's honour unstained.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:6
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Mider appears at Tara as a warrior
summary: On a summer day Eochaid views the plain of Breg from Tara and sees a richly
armed unknown young warrior who could not have entered normally.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:5
label: Chess challenge with a splendid board
summary: The warrior identifies himself as Mider of Bri Leith, seeks a chess game
with Eochaid, and produces a luxurious silver-and-gold chessboard.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Former beloved reclaimed after magical separation
taxonomy_refs:
- stolen_beloved
basis: Mider claims that Etain was once his wife and that sorcery and spells caused
their separation; he now seeks her return.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage reports Mider's claim but does not independently verify the
earlier marriage or separation within this excerpt.
- id: motif:2
label: Otherworld invitation to a wondrous land
taxonomy_refs:
- mystical_quest
basis: Mider invites Etain to his home and describes a marvellous, abundant land
whose people can move unseen through the human world.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy reference is approximate; the passage is an invitation rather
than a completed quest.
- id: motif:3
label: Shapeshifting or deceptive double at a tryst
taxonomy_refs:
- shapeshifter
- trickster_boundary
basis: Etain repeatedly meets the same man who is like Ailill at the tryst while
Ailill remains elsewhere; the man later identifies himself as Mider.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage says the man is like Ailill but does not explicitly state
the mechanism of transformation.
- id: motif:4
label: Bride-price measured in land, waters, and precious metals
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_marriage
- sacred_exchange
basis: Mider says Etain's earlier marriage price included the chief plains and waters
of Ireland and gold and silver equal to her value.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage presents the payment as remembered speech by Mider; ritual
or sacred status is inferred only cautiously from the scale and context.
- id: motif:5
label: Supernatural stranger challenges a king to a board game
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: An unknown richly described warrior appears at Tara without ordinary entry,
identifies as Mider, and comes to play chess with Eochaid using a splendid board.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: No wager or consequence of the game appears within the provided passage.
- id: motif:6
label: Magically induced and removed lovesickness
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Mider says he placed love for Etain into Ailill's mind, causing bodily wasting,
and also removed the desire so Etain's honour would not be harmed; Ailill reports
his cure.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The explanation is attributed to Mider's speech.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 1694-1704
quote_or_summary: Etain comes at the appointed tryst, sees a man like Ailill, finds
Ailill still lamenting, and repeats this three times while Ailill does not keep
the tryst.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 1705-1720
quote_or_summary: The man says he was Etain's husband when she was Etain of the
Horses, names himself Mider of Bri Leith, describes her marriage price as plains,
waters, gold, and silver, and names Fuamnach's sorcery and Bressal Etarlam's spells
as the cause of separation.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 1721-1764
quote_or_summary: Mider's poem invites Etain to his home, a marvellous land of beauty,
abundance, strong drink, streams, mead, wine, absence of crime, unblemished men,
love without sin, unseen passage through the human world, pork, milk, and mead.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 1765-1778
quote_or_summary: Etain refuses to leave the king of Ireland for Mider unless Eochaid
asks it; Mider says he caused Ailill's love and wasting and then removed his desire
to preserve Etain's honour.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 1779-1787
quote_or_summary: Ailill tells Etain that the tryst has cured his sickness and not
stained her honour; Eochaid later returns and thanks Etain for preserving his
brother's life.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 1788-1802
quote_or_summary: Eochaid Airemm ascends Tara's high ground in summer, views the
flowering plain of Breg, and sees an unknown young warrior with purple tunic,
golden hair, grey eyes, five-pointed spear, and gemmed shield, though the gate
had not been opened.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: 1803-1809
quote_or_summary: The warrior comes under Eochaid's protection, is welcomed, says
he knows Eochaid, names himself Mider of Bri Leith, and says he has come to play
chess.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: 1810-1812
quote_or_summary: Mider says he has a chessboard not inferior to Eochaid's; it is
silver, with gold playing-men, costly stones casting light, and a bag of woven
brass chains.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Literal extraction is well supported by the supplied passage. Motif taxonomy
assignments are cautious because several categories are approximate for this episode.
No external comparison claims were made.
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; comparison_claims left empty because no explicit cross-tradition comparison is present in the passage.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:celtic-irish-heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy-gutenberg__l1694-l1812
passage_sha256=488a4c920cf6b5a869fe9048970fea37dfbfa42ad950e6d0edd805d4b912b45e