batch.motif.celtic-welsh-mabinogion-guest-gutenberg-l6307-l6392
---
record_id: batch.motif.celtic-welsh-mabinogion-guest-gutenberg-l6307-l6392
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-welsh/project-gutenberg/mabinogion-guest.md
passage_locator:
label: PEREDUR THE SON OF EVRAWC / GERAINT THE SON OF ERBIN / THE DREAM OF RHONABWY
/ PWYLL PRINCE OF DYVED; lines 6307-6392
start: '6307'
end: '6392'
translation: The Mabinogion
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: The nobles urge Pwyll to seek an heir, and Rhiannon bears a son. Six women
assigned to watch mother and child fall asleep; the child disappears, and the
women frame Rhiannon by using blood and bones from hound pups and accusing her
of devouring her son. Pwyll refuses to put Rhiannon away, but she accepts a seven-year
public penance at Narberth, telling the story and offering to carry visitors on
her back. Meanwhile Teirnyon watches his mare on May night because her foals vanish
yearly; he sees a claw seize the new colt, cuts off the arm, pursues the noise,
and returns to find a strong infant boy wrapped in satin at the door.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The nobles are sorrowful because Pwyll, their lord and foster-brother, has
no heir and urge him to take another wife.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Pwyll asks for one more year before acting according to the nobles' wishes.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Before the year ends, a son is born to Pwyll at Narberth.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Six women are brought to watch Rhiannon and the newborn boy; all fall asleep
before midnight.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: At daybreak the women awaken and find that the boy is no longer where they
had put him.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: The women fear punishment and agree to kill some hound pups, put blood on
Rhiannon's face and hands, place bones before her, and accuse her of devouring
her son.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: Rhiannon asks where her son is and denies the accusation, appealing to God
and Heaven and offering to defend the women if fear is causing them to lie.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:8
text: The nobles ask Pwyll to put away Rhiannon because of the alleged crime.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: Pwyll refuses to put away Rhiannon and says that if she has done wrong she
should do penance.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:10
text: Rhiannon accepts a penance rather than contending with the women.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:11
text: Rhiannon's penance is to remain at the palace of Narberth for seven years,
sit daily near a horseblock outside the gate, tell the story to those who do not
know it, and offer to carry guests and strangers on her back into the palace.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:12
text: Teirnyon owns a notably beautiful mare whose foal vanishes every first of
May night.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:13
text: Teirnyon arms himself and watches the mare on the first of May night.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:14
text: The mare foals a large and beautiful colt.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:15
text: A claw comes through the window and seizes the colt by the mane.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:16
text: Teirnyon strikes off the intruding arm at the elbow with his sword.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:17
text: Teirnyon hears tumult and wailing, pursues the noise into the darkness, then
returns when he remembers he left the door open.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: obs:18
text: At the door Teirnyon finds an infant boy in swaddling-clothes wrapped in a
satin mantle; the boy is very strong for his age.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Pwyll
description: Lord loved by the nobles, foster-brother to them, husband of Rhiannon,
and called chief of Annwvyn.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Rhiannon
description: Mother of the newborn boy, accused by the watching women of devouring
her son, and later subject to a public penance.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Pwyll and Rhiannon's son
description: A son born to Pwyll at Narberth who disappears while the watchers sleep.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: six watching women
description: Women brought into the chamber to watch Rhiannon and the boy; they
fall asleep and later accuse Rhiannon after arranging false evidence.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: nobles of the land
description: Nobles who urge Pwyll to seek heirs and later ask him to put away Rhiannon.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: stag-hound bitch and whelps
description: A hound with a litter of pups; some pups are killed by the women for
blood and bones used in the accusation against Rhiannon.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Teirnyon Twryv Vliant
description: Lord of Gwent Is Coed, described as the best man in the world; he watches
his mare, wounds the clawed intruder, and finds an infant boy.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Teirnyon's wife
description: Teirnyon's wife, present in conversation when he resolves to discover
what takes the colts.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Teirnyon's mare
description: A very beautiful mare belonging to Teirnyon's house; each first of
May night she foals and the colt disappears until Teirnyon watches her.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: clawed intruder
description: An unseen being or force represented in the passage by a claw and arm
that enters through the window and seizes the colt.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: infant boy at Teirnyon's door
description: An infant boy in swaddling-clothes and a satin mantle, found at Teirnyon's
door after the attack on the colt; he is very strong for his age.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: large and beautiful colt
description: The newborn colt seized by the claw through the window and left in
the house with the severed arm portion.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: lord under succession pressure
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The nobles worry that Pwyll has no heir and urge him to take another wife.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: husband who refuses dismissal of wife
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Pwyll refuses the nobles' request to put Rhiannon away.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: mother of missing child
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Rhiannon is named as the mother of the boy who disappears.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: falsely accused penitent
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Rhiannon denies the charge and later accepts a public penance rather than
contest the women.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: role:5
label: missing royal infant
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The newborn son born to Pwyll at Narberth is absent when the women awake.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:6
label: false accusers
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The women arrange blood and bones and say Rhiannon devoured her son.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:7
label: counseling nobles
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The nobles advise Pwyll first about heirs and later about putting away Rhiannon.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: role:8
label: armed watcher and defender
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Teirnyon arms himself, watches the mare, cuts off the intruding arm, and
returns to find the infant.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:9
label: mare whose offspring are stolen
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The mare foals every first of May night, and no one knows what becomes of
the colt.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:10
label: unknown colt-seizer
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: A claw enters through the window and seizes the colt by the mane.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:11
label: mysteriously discovered strong infant
assigned_to:
- fig:11
basis: The infant is found at the door after the supernatural-seeming tumult and
is described as very strong for his age.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:12
label: seized newborn animal
assigned_to:
- fig:12
basis: The newborn colt is seized by the claw and remains in the house with the
severed arm portion.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: blood and bones used as false evidence
literal_form: blood on Rhiannon's face and hands, with bones laid before her
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: horseblock at the gate
literal_form: horseblock outside the palace gate where Rhiannon must sit during
penance
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:3
label: carrying strangers on the back
literal_form: Rhiannon's offer to carry guests and strangers on her back into the
palace
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:4
label: first of May night
literal_form: the night on which Teirnyon's mare foals and the colts vanish
associated_figures:
- fig:7
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:5
label: claw through the window
literal_form: a claw entering through the window and seizing the colt by the mane
associated_figures:
- fig:10
- fig:12
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:6
label: severed arm
literal_form: the arm struck off at the elbow, remaining in the house with the colt
associated_figures:
- fig:7
- fig:10
- fig:12
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:7
label: swaddling-clothes and satin mantle
literal_form: infant boy in swaddling-clothes wrapped in a satin mantle
associated_figures:
- fig:11
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:8
label: annual vanished colts
literal_form: colts born to the mare each first of May night and then disappearing
associated_figures:
- fig:9
- fig:12
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Nobles urge Pwyll to secure an heir
summary: At Preseleu in Dyved, the nobles tell Pwyll he may not have an heir by
his current wife and urge him to take another wife; Pwyll asks for a year's delay.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Birth and disappearance at Narberth
summary: A son is born to Pwyll at Narberth. Six women watch Rhiannon and the boy,
but all fall asleep, and the boy is missing at daybreak.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Framing of Rhiannon
summary: The women fear punishment, kill some hound pups, use blood and bones as
staged evidence, and accuse Rhiannon of devouring her son; Rhiannon denies the
charge.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Public accusation and penance
summary: The nobles ask Pwyll to dismiss Rhiannon, but he refuses. Rhiannon accepts
a seven-year penance requiring public storytelling and offers to carry visitors
on her back.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: Teirnyon watches the May-night foaling
summary: Teirnyon, troubled by the yearly disappearance of his mare's colts, arms
himself and watches as the mare foals on the first of May night.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:12
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:6
label: Claw seizes the colt and Teirnyon cuts off the arm
summary: A claw comes through the window and seizes the colt; Teirnyon cuts off
the arm at the elbow, hears tumult and wailing, and pursues the noise into the
dark.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
- fig:10
- fig:12
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: scene:7
label: Infant found at the door
summary: After returning to the open door, Teirnyon finds a strong infant boy in
swaddling-clothes and a satin mantle.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
- fig:11
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: royal heir anxiety and delayed succession resolution
taxonomy_refs:
- royal_legitimacy
basis: The nobles press Pwyll to obtain an heir, and the birth of a son occurs before
the year of delay ends.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: The passage emphasizes succession concern but does not frame the birth
as a coronation or formal legitimacy ritual.
- id: motif:2
label: missing newborn and false maternal accusation
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The newborn disappears while assigned watchers sleep, and the watchers fabricate
evidence that the mother devoured the child.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: The passage does not yet explain how the child disappeared.
- id: motif:3
label: public humiliation penance after alleged child-killing
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Rhiannon accepts a seven-year penance to sit by a horseblock, tell the story,
and offer to carry strangers on her back.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents the penance as accepted by Rhiannon, not as proof
of guilt.
- id: motif:4
label: annual night theft of newborn animals
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Teirnyon's mare foals every first of May night, and the colt disappears each
year until he watches.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The thief's identity and nature are not disclosed in this passage.
- id: motif:5
label: armed watcher defeats supernatural-seeming intruder
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Teirnyon arms himself, waits for the foaling, sees a claw seize the colt
through the window, and cuts off the arm.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage shows an abnormal claw and darkness but does not explicitly
identify the intruder as supernatural.
- id: motif:6
label: mysteriously discovered strong infant
taxonomy_refs:
- miraculous_child
basis: After the clawed attack and tumult, Teirnyon finds an infant boy at his door,
wrapped in satin and unusually strong for his age.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not identify the infant's origin or explicitly call the
child miraculous.
- id: motif:7
label: child and animal theft juxtaposed in one sequence
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage first recounts a vanished newborn boy and then a separate account
of yearly vanished colts, culminating in the discovery of an infant after the
colt is saved.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage juxtaposes the events but does not explicitly state the relationship
between the vanished child and the found infant.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 6307-6317
quote_or_summary: At Preseleu in Dyved, nobles sorrow over Pwyll's lack of an heir
and urge him to take another wife; Pwyll requests a year's delay.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-welsh/project-gutenberg/mabinogion-guest.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 6318-6327
quote_or_summary: Before the year ends, a son is born to Pwyll at Narberth. Six
women watch Rhiannon and the boy, fall asleep before midnight, and find the boy
missing at daybreak.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-welsh/project-gutenberg/mabinogion-guest.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 6328-6345
quote_or_summary: The women fear punishment, decide to use blood and bones from
hound pups to implicate Rhiannon, accuse her of devouring her son, and refuse
her pleas to tell the truth.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-welsh/project-gutenberg/mabinogion-guest.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 6346-6355
quote_or_summary: The story spreads; nobles ask Pwyll to put away Rhiannon, but
he refuses and says that if she has done wrong she should do penance.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-welsh/project-gutenberg/mabinogion-guest.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 6356-6365
quote_or_summary: 'Rhiannon consults teachers and wise men and accepts penance:
seven years at Narberth, sitting by a horseblock, telling the story, and offering
to carry guests on her back.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-welsh/project-gutenberg/mabinogion-guest.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 6366-6375
quote_or_summary: Teirnyon Twryv Vliant, lord of Gwent Is Coed, has a beautiful
mare whose colts vanish every first of May night; he resolves to watch armed.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-welsh/project-gutenberg/mabinogion-guest.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: 6376-6385
quote_or_summary: The mare foals a large beautiful colt; a claw enters through the
window and seizes the colt by the mane; Teirnyon cuts off the arm at the elbow.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-welsh/project-gutenberg/mabinogion-guest.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: 6386-6392
quote_or_summary: Teirnyon hears tumult and wailing, pursues it in the dark, returns
to the open door, and finds a strong infant boy in swaddling-clothes wrapped in
satin.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-welsh/project-gutenberg/mabinogion-guest.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: Literal extraction is direct from the supplied passage. Motif labels involving
the infant and claw remain cautious because the passage does not identify the
intruder or explicitly connect the missing child with the infant found by Teirnyon.
No 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: |-
No external material was used; taxonomy references are limited to supplied available taxonomy where directly supportable.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:celtic-welsh-mabinogion-guest-gutenberg__l6307-l6392
passage_sha256=e69c3979f39c0043344f593289ec73fc7cdb989214e8454b36526b8a8fa88e5b