batch.motif.celtic-welsh-mabinogion-guest-gutenberg-l1858-l1941
---
record_id: batch.motif.celtic-welsh-mabinogion-guest-gutenberg-l1858-l1941
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-welsh/project-gutenberg/mabinogion-guest.md
passage_locator:
label: INTRODUCTION / C. E. G. / THE LADY OF THE FOUNTAIN / PEREDUR THE SON OF EVRAWC;
lines 1858-1941
start: '1858'
end: '1941'
translation: The Mabinogion
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: Peredur travels along a mountain ridge into a circular valley, passes a
chained lion above a bone-filled pit, enters a castle ruled by a huge grey man,
and is warned by the grey man’s daughter that the valley’s giant vassals will
attack him. After arranging to keep his horse and arms with him overnight, Peredur
fights the host, kills many of them and the grey man’s two sons, then grants mercy
on condition that the grey man and his people do homage to Arthur and receive
baptism. They go to Arthur’s court, are baptized, and receive the valley from
Arthur to hold under him.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Peredur travels by a high road along a mountain ridge and sees a circular
valley with rocky and wooded confines.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Within the wood, Peredur sees black houses, a rocky ledge carrying the road,
a chained sleeping lion on the ledge, and a large pit beneath it full of human
and animal bones.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Peredur strikes the lion, breaks its chain with a second blow, and the lion
falls into the pit.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: The grey man identifies the lion as his porter after Peredur reaches the castle.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: At the castle, Peredur is seated with a maiden who says she loves him and
warns that her father’s giant vassals will attack and kill him the next day.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: The maiden arranges for Peredur’s horse and arms to be lodged with him overnight.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: In the morning, the aged woman and maiden ask the grey man to accept Peredur’s
word that he will not disclose what he has seen, but the grey man refuses.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:8
text: Peredur fights the host and by evening has slain one third of them without
being hurt.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:9
text: After the grey man refuses mercy, Peredur kills the yellow-haired youth and
the auburn-haired youth, described as the grey man’s two sons.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:10
text: The grey man yields, and the maiden asks Peredur for mercy for her father
and surviving vassals.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:11
text: Peredur grants mercy on condition that the grey man and his people render
homage to Arthur and receive baptism.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:12
text: The grey man and his company go to Arthur’s court, do homage, are baptized,
and receive the Round Valley from Arthur to hold under him.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Peredur
description: The travelling youth who enters the Round Valley, defeats the lion,
fights the host, and imposes conditions of homage and baptism.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Chained lion
description: A sleeping lion bound by a chain on the rocky ledge above a pit; later
identified by the grey man as his porter.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Grey man
description: A huge grey man, larger than any man Peredur had seen, father of the
maiden and ruler over giant vassals in the Round Valley.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Maiden
description: The grey man’s daughter, seated with Peredur at the meal; she warns
him, arranges his horse and arms, and later asks mercy for her father and surviving
vassals.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Aged woman / tall woman
description: An aged woman, later called a tall woman, who sits by the grey man
and joins the maiden in asking that Peredur be spared.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Two young pages / two sons
description: Two youths first serving as pages, one described as red-haired and
the other auburn; later Peredur kills the yellow-haired youth and the auburn-haired
youth, identified as the grey man’s two sons.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Giant vassals / host
description: The inhabitants of the black houses belonging to the grey man; the
maiden says they are all giants and will attack Peredur.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Arthur
description: The ruler to whom Peredur requires the defeated grey man and company
to render homage; Arthur has them baptized and grants them the valley.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: travelling combatant
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Peredur enters the valley, arms himself, and fights the host.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: role:2
label: porter or threshold guardian
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The lion is chained on the road-bearing ledge above the pit and is called
the grey man’s porter.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: valley lord and father
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The maiden identifies the grey man as her father, and the black houses belong
to his vassals.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: intercessor
assigned_to:
- fig:4
- fig:5
basis: The maiden and aged woman ask for mercy or safety at several points in the
episode.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: opposing giant ruler and host
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:7
basis: The grey man refuses to spare Peredur while his giant vassals fight him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:6
label: victor granting conditional mercy
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Peredur accepts the surrender on conditions of homage to Arthur and baptism.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:7
label: sons of the defeated ruler
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: After Peredur kills the two youths, the maiden says the grey man’s two sons
have been slain.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:8
label: overlord receiving homage
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The grey man and company render homage to Arthur, who has them baptized and
grants them the valley.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: mountain ridge
literal_form: high road along a mountain-ridge
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: Round Valley
literal_form: circular valley later named the Round Valley
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:5
- id: sym:3
label: chained lion
literal_form: lion bound by a chain and sleeping on a rocky ledge
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: pit of bones
literal_form: deep pit of immense size full of bones of men and animals
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:5
label: central castle
literal_form: fair castle in the centre of the valley
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:6
label: baptism
literal_form: the grey man and his company embrace the faith and are baptized
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:7
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Approach to the Round Valley and defeat of the chained lion
summary: Peredur enters a rocky, wooded circular valley by a road on a ledge, strikes
down a chained lion above a bone-filled pit, and passes onward.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Castle meal and warning
summary: Peredur is received at the grey man’s castle; the maiden warns him that
the grey man’s giant vassals will attack him the next day and identifies the place
as the Round Valley.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Night preparation and morning battle
summary: The maiden ensures that Peredur’s horse and arms are lodged with him; in
the morning, pleas for a non-disclosure promise are refused, and Peredur fights
the host.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Killing of the sons and surrender
summary: Peredur kills the grey man’s two sons, after which the grey man yields
and the maiden asks mercy for him and the surviving vassals.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: Homage, baptism, and Arthurian grant
summary: Peredur makes mercy conditional on homage to Arthur and baptism; the grey
man and company go to Arthur’s court, are baptized, and receive the valley from
Arthur to hold under him.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Hero passes a dangerous guarded threshold
taxonomy_refs:
- initiation
basis: Peredur must pass a chained lion on a narrow ledge above a pit of bones before
entering the valley and castle.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage presents the event literally as combat with a chained porter;
an initiatory reading is a motif-family classification rather than an explicit
statement.
- id: motif:2
label: Single hero subdues a giant lord’s realm
taxonomy_refs:
- culture_hero
basis: Peredur fights the giant host without injury, kills many opponents and the
lord’s sons, and brings about the surrender of the grey man and his surviving
vassals.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not call Peredur a culture hero; the label is based on
the social result of defeating and reorganizing the hostile valley.
- id: motif:3
label: Conditional mercy exchanged for homage and baptism
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
- royal_legitimacy
basis: Peredur grants mercy only if the defeated group renders homage to Arthur
and receives baptism; Arthur then grants them the valley to hold under him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The exchange and political-religious incorporation are explicit, but broader
historical or theological interpretation is not established by this passage alone.
- id: motif:4
label: Non-disclosure condition around a perilous place
taxonomy_refs:
- forbidden_knowledge
basis: The aged woman and maiden propose that Peredur promise never to disclose
what he has seen in the place; Peredur later thanks Heaven that he did not break
his vow not to speak to any Christian.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage includes secrecy and a speech vow, but it does not frame the
seen material as forbidden knowledge in explicit terms.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: 'The episode functions within the passage as an Arthurian incorporation pattern:
a hostile valley is defeated through Peredur, its ruler and people do homage to
Arthur, and Arthur grants the valley back under his authority.'
claim_level: same_function
target: royal_legitimacy motif family / Arthurian homage-and-grant pattern
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: This claim is limited to functional patterning inside the provided
passage; it does not assert a historical source relationship or external parallel.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 1858-1873
quote_or_summary: Peredur travels along a mountain ridge into a circular rocky and
wooded valley, sees black houses, a ledge-road, a chained sleeping lion, and a
deep pit full of bones; he strikes the lion and breaks its chain so it falls into
the pit.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-welsh/project-gutenberg/mabinogion-guest.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 1874-1894
quote_or_summary: Peredur reaches a central castle, meets a huge grey man, two pages,
an aged woman, and a maiden; the grey man calls the lion his porter, and the maiden
warns Peredur that her father’s giant vassals in the black houses will attack
him in the Round Valley.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-welsh/project-gutenberg/mabinogion-guest.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 1895-1908
quote_or_summary: The maiden places Peredur’s horse and arms in his lodging; in
the morning the women ask the grey man to accept Peredur’s promise of secrecy,
he refuses, and Peredur fights the host, killing one third without injury.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-welsh/project-gutenberg/mabinogion-guest.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 1909-1925
quote_or_summary: After further refusals of mercy, Peredur kills the grey man’s
two sons; the grey man yields, and Peredur grants mercy on condition of homage
to Arthur and baptism, then gives thanks for not breaking his speech vow.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-welsh/project-gutenberg/mabinogion-guest.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 1926-1941
quote_or_summary: The grey man and company go to Arthur’s court, do homage, are
baptized, tell Arthur that Peredur vanquished them, and receive the valley from
Arthur to hold under him before returning.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-welsh/project-gutenberg/mabinogion-guest.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: Narrative actions, figures, and settings are explicit in the supplied passage.
Motif-family assignments are cautious and based only on the passage and supplied
taxonomy labels.
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 external comparisons or taxonomy IDs beyond the supplied available references were introduced.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:celtic-welsh-mabinogion-guest-gutenberg__l1858-l1941
passage_sha256=5951f321e6b4c831bfaa171b0fe402208c5fea05df8c5ec7b6748ee8e5c8c9c4