batch.motif.celtic-irish-heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy-gutenberg-l9353-l9526
---
record_id: batch.motif.celtic-irish-heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy-gutenberg-l9353-l9526
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
passage_locator:
label: MORTALS / IMMORTALS / TAIN BO FRAICH / THE RAID FOR THE CATTLE OF FRAECH;
lines 9353-9526
start: '9353'
end: '9526'
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: Ailill invites Fraech to swim, discovers Findabar's ring in Fraech's purse,
and throws it into the water. Fraech retrieves the ring indirectly by catching
a salmon, then is ordered to bring a branch from a rowan tree. A dragon or monster
guarding the rowan attacks him in the river. Findabar brings him a sword despite
danger from Ailill's spear, and Fraech kills the monster. Wounded, he is given
a healing bath, hears otherworldly keening, is taken to his fairy kin in the Sid,
and returns the next morning healed and accompanied by fairy women.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Ailill asks Fraech to enter and swim in the stream, saying other youths have
bathed there safely.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Ailill sees Findabar's ring in Fraech's purse and throws it into the flood.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: A salmon rises at the flashing ring, and Fraech catches the salmon by the
jowl and throws it to a hidden place on the bank.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: Ailill tells Fraech to bring a wet berry-bearing branch from a rowan tree.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: Fraech breaks a branch from the rowan tree while swimming, and Findabar praises
his appearance.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: A dragon or monster guarding the rowan tree rises from the river and rushes
at Fraech.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: Findabar strips off her clothes and leaps into the river to bring Fraech his
sword.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: Ailill throws a five-barbed spear toward his daughter, cutting two tresses
from her head, and Fraech catches and casts the spear back.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:9
text: The beast bites Fraech, but Fraech later attacks it with the sword, kills
it, and drags it to the bank.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: obs:10
text: The place is named Bree's Dub-lind, the Dark Water of Fraech, from the fight.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: Ailill orders a bath of fresh bacon broth and minced heifer flesh to be prepared
for Fraech's healing.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:12
text: Fraech hears keening from Boand's women and says his fairy mother is near.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:13
text: Fraech is carried to his kin, passes from sight out of Croghan, and dwells
that night with the Sid-Dwellers in the caverns of Croghan's Sid.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:14
text: The next morning Fraech returns healed, without blemish or scar, accompanied
by fifty fairies in similar garments and appearance.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: obs:15
text: The surrounding men feel marvellous awe and fear at the sight of the returning
fairy company.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Fraech
description: A famed swimmer and prince who enters the river, retrieves the ring
by catching the salmon, takes the rowan branch, fights the monster, is wounded,
is taken to the Sid, and returns healed.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:10
- ev:11
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Ailill
description: The king who invites Fraech to swim, throws Findabar's ring into the
water, orders Fraech to bring rowan branches, hurls a spear toward Findabar, and
later orders a healing bath for Fraech.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Maev
description: Queen beside Ailill who recognizes the ring and later obeys Ailill's
order concerning Fraech's healing bath.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:8
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Findabar / Finnabar
description: Ailill's daughter, associated with the ring, who admires Fraech and
leaps into the river to bring him his sword.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Salmon
description: A fish that rises at the flashing ring and is caught by Fraech with
the ring.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Dragon / monster
description: The guardian of the rowan tree that rises from the river, attacks and
bites Fraech, and is killed by him.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Boand's women
description: Women whose keening Fraech identifies as a sign that his fairy mother
is near.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Fraech's fairy kin / Sid-Dwellers
description: Fraech's kin in the Sid, including fifty fairies who accompany him
when he returns healed.
role_refs:
- role:8
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Men and youths of the court
description: People on the bank who do not give Fraech his sword because of fear
of the king and queen, and who later are awed by the fairy company.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:11
roles:
- id: role:1
label: endangered swimmer and combatant
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Fraech swims in the river, confronts the guardian monster, and kills it after
being bitten.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:2
label: king who tests and endangers
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Ailill invites Fraech into the water, throws the ring into the flood, demands
the rowan branch, and hurls a spear toward Findabar.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: role:3
label: queen and ring witness
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Maev is called to inspect the ring and recognizes it.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: beloved helper
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Findabar admires Fraech and enters the river to bring him his sword.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:5
label: animal that carries the ring
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The salmon rises at the flashing ring and is thrown to the bank with the
ring.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:6
label: otherworld-affiliated hero
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Fraech says his fairy mother is near, is restored to his kin, and returns
from the Sid healed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:11
- id: role:7
label: rowan-tree guardian
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The dragon is described as guard to the rowan tree and attacks Fraech in
the river.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:8
label: otherworld kin
assigned_to:
- fig:7
- fig:8
basis: Boand's women and Sid-Dwellers are connected with Fraech's fairy mother and
kin.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: role:9
label: healed return escort
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Fifty fairies accompany Fraech when he returns healed the next morning.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: role:10
label: fearful witnesses
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The court men withhold the sword from fear and later are awed by the fairy
company.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:11
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: river / flood / dark water
literal_form: The stream, flood, river, black pool, and later named Dark Water of
Fraech.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: sym:2
label: Findabar's ring
literal_form: A ring found in Fraech's purse and thrown by Ailill into the flood.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: salmon with the ring
literal_form: A salmon that rises at the ring's flash and is caught by Fraech.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: rowan tree and berries
literal_form: A dread rowan tree with wet berry-bearing branches, guarded by a dragon.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: sym:5
label: sword brought through water
literal_form: Fraech's sword, which Findabar enters the river to bring to him.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: sym:6
label: five-barbed spear
literal_form: Ailill's five-barbed spear, hurled toward Findabar and caught and
returned by Fraech.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:7
label: dragon or monster
literal_form: A dragon or beast guarding the rowan tree in the river.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: sym:8
label: healing bath
literal_form: A bath of fresh bacon broth and minced heifer flesh ordered for Fraech's
healing.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:9
label: Sid caverns
literal_form: The caverns of Croghan's deep Sid, identified in the note as the fairy
mound.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs:
- cave
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Invitation to swim and discovery of the ring
summary: Ailill asks Fraech to swim; while Fraech is in the stream, Ailill and Maev
discover Findabar's ring in his purse, and Ailill throws it into the water.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Salmon and concealed ring recovery
summary: The ring flashes in the water, a salmon rises at it, and Fraech catches
the salmon and throws it with the ring to a hidden nook on the bank.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Rowan branch fetched from the water
summary: Ailill orders Fraech to bring a branch from the rowan tree; Fraech breaks
a branch while swimming, and Findabar admires his beauty with the berries across
his back.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Attack by the rowan guardian
summary: When Fraech goes for more branches, the guardian dragon rises from the
river. Findabar brings Fraech his sword, Ailill hurls a spear toward her, and
Fraech catches and returns it while being bitten.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:6
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:4
- sym:5
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:5
label: Monster slain and water named
summary: Fraech uses the sword to kill the monster and drag it to the bank; the
place is named the Dark Water of Fraech after the fight.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:5
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: scene:6
label: Wounding, healing bath, and otherworld call
summary: Ailill orders a healing bath for Fraech. Fraech hears keening from Boand's
women and says his fairy mother is near.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: scene:7
label: Sojourn in the Sid and healed return
summary: Fraech is carried to his kin, disappears from Croghan for the night into
the Sid, and returns the next morning healed and accompanied by fifty fairies,
causing awe among witnesses.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: hero tested in dangerous water
taxonomy_refs:
- initiation
basis: Fraech is invited to swim, drawn into successive tasks in the water, attacked
by a guardian monster, and survives through combat and aid.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not explicitly call the episode an initiation; this is
an inferred motif label based on ordeal structure.
- id: motif:2
label: guarded tree with dangerous guardian
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_tree_axis
basis: The rowan tree is described as dread and guarded by a dragon that attacks
when Fraech takes its branches.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage supports a guarded tree pattern, but does not explicitly define
the rowan as a cosmic or world-axis tree.
- id: motif:3
label: beloved aids hero despite parental threat
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_beloved
basis: Findabar, Ailill's daughter, admires Fraech and risks herself by entering
the river with his sword while Ailill throws a spear toward her.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage presents Findabar as beloved/helper, but her divinity is not
stated in this passage.
- id: motif:4
label: otherworld healing and return
taxonomy_refs:
- death_rebirth
- return
basis: Fraech is wounded, hears the otherworldly keening, is taken to his fairy
kin in the Sid for the night, and returns next morning wholly healed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:11
confidence: high
cautions: The passage states disappearance to the Sid and healed return; it does
not state that Fraech literally dies.
- id: motif:5
label: animal-mediated recovery of a token
taxonomy_refs:
- mystical_quest
basis: The ring thrown into the flood is taken by or associated with a salmon, which
Fraech catches and casts onto the bank with the ring.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The recovery is not explicitly framed as a quest; the motif label is based
on the action sequence.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 9353-9364
quote_or_summary: Ailill says he has heard of Fraech's fame in floods and asks him
to swim, claiming the stream is safe because many youths have bathed there.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 9365-9382
quote_or_summary: Fraech enters the stream; Ailill sees Findabar's ring in Fraech's
purse, shows it to Maev, removes it, and throws it into the flood.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 9383-9392
quote_or_summary: Fraech sees the flashing ring; a salmon rises at it, and Fraech
catches the salmon and throws it unnoticed to a hidden nook on the bank with the
ring.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 9393-9438
quote_or_summary: Ailill orders Fraech to bring a wet branch from the rowan tree.
Fraech breaks a branch while swimming, and Findabar praises his beauty as he carries
the berries.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 9439-9449
quote_or_summary: Ailill asks for more rowan clusters; at mid-current the dragon
guarding the rowan is roused and rushes at Fraech. Fraech asks for a sword; the
men withhold it, and Finnabar leaps into the river to bring it.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 9450-9458
quote_or_summary: Ailill hurls a five-barbed spear toward his daughter, cutting
two tresses; Fraech catches the spear, turns it, and throws it back while the
beast bites his side.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 9459-9468
quote_or_summary: Fraech takes the sword, strikes the monster's head, kills it,
and drags it to the bank; the place is thereafter called the Dark Water of Fraech.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 9469-9478
quote_or_summary: Ailill regrets Fraech's injury, threatens future punishment for
his daughter, and orders a healing bath of fresh bacon broth and minced heifer
flesh for Fraech.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 9479-9490
quote_or_summary: Fraech hears lamenting trumpets or keening and says the sound
comes from Boand's women and that his fairy mother is near.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 9491-9500 and footnote FN#11
quote_or_summary: Fraech is carried to his kin, passes from sight out of Croghan,
and spends the night with the Sid-Dwellers in the caverns of Croghan's Sid; the
note identifies Sid as the fairy mound.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: lines 9501-9526
quote_or_summary: The next morning Fraech returns healed, without blemish or scar,
accompanied by fifty fairies alike in age, grace, garments, and appearance; the
men who see them are filled with awe and fear.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Literal sequence and figures are explicit in the passage. Motif taxonomy
assignments are cautious because some categories, especially initiation and sacred_tree_axis,
are interpretive rather than stated.
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 comparison claims were added because the passage does not itself make an explicit comparison to another text or tradition.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:celtic-irish-heroic-romances-of-ireland-leahy-gutenberg__l9353-l9526
passage_sha256=ef3677301f041eb34c3b046eff003eb8e8c9704eb18e375124e5b2cbac8be3aa