batch.motif.celtic-welsh-mabinogion-guest-gutenberg-l7301-l7377
---
record_id: batch.motif.celtic-welsh-mabinogion-guest-gutenberg-l7301-l7377
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 7301-7377
start: '7301'
end: '7377'
translation: The Mabinogion
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: Manawyddan watches a croft at midnight and sees an innumerable host of
mice cut and carry away ears of wheat. He catches one sluggish mouse, brings it
to the palace, and tells Kicva he will hang it as a thief. Kicva cautions that
such an act may be unseemly but does not prevent him. Manawyddan takes the mouse
to the Gorsedd of Narberth and prepares a gallows. A poor scholar and then a mounted
priest arrive separately, each urging him to release the mouse and offering payment;
Manawyddan refuses to sell or free it.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: At midnight, Manawyddan watches the croft and sees an innumerable host of
mice enter it.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The mice climb the straw, bend it down, cut off ears of wheat, and carry them
away, leaving stalks behind.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Manawyddan pursues the mice in anger but can catch only one sluggish mouse.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Manawyddan puts the captured mouse in his glove, ties the glove shut, and
returns to the palace.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: Kicva asks what Manawyddan has, and he identifies the captured creature as
a thief that robbed him.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Manawyddan says he intends to hang the captured mouse and would hang all the
mice if he had them.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: Kicva says it would be unseemly for a man of dignity to hang such a reptile
and advises letting it go, while also saying he may do as he wishes.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: Manawyddan takes the mouse to the Gorsedd of Narberth and sets up two forks
on its highest part.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: The passage states that Manawyddan had seen no man or beast in that place
for seven years except the remaining companions.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: A poor, tattered scholar arrives, greets Manawyddan, and says he comes from
singing in Lloegyr.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: The scholar urges Manawyddan to let the mouse go free and offers him a pound
in alms to release it.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:12
text: Manawyddan refuses to free or sell the mouse and insists that it will be hanged
as a thief.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:13
text: A priest on a horse with trappings arrives while Manawyddan is placing the
crossbeam on the two forks.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:14
text: The priest asks Manawyddan to release the mouse, offers three pounds for its
freedom, and Manawyddan refuses any price.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Manawyddan
description: The man who watches the croft, catches the mouse, calls it a thief,
and prepares to hang it.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Kicva
description: A woman in the hall who questions Manawyddan about the captured creature
and advises that hanging it would be unseemly.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: host of mice
description: An innumerable group of mice that enter the croft and carry away ears
of wheat.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: captured mouse
description: A less nimble mouse caught by Manawyddan, enclosed in his glove, and
treated as a thief to be hanged.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: scholar
description: A man in old, poor, and tattered garments who arrives at the Gorsedd
and offers a pound for the mouse's release.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: priest
description: A priest riding a horse covered with trappings who offers three pounds
for the mouse's release.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
roles:
- id: role:1
label: croft watcher and pursuer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He watches the croft, sees the mice, and pursues them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: would-be executioner of thief
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He declares the captured mouse a thief and sets up an apparatus to hang it.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: role:3
label: counselor against unseemly action
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Kicva advises that it would be unseemly for a dignified man to hang the creature.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: crop thieves
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:4
basis: The mice carry away wheat, and Manawyddan identifies the captured mouse as
one of the robbers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: captive condemned as thief
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The mouse is kept in a glove and Manawyddan repeatedly says he will hang
it as a thief.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: role:6
label: intercessor offering ransom
assigned_to:
- fig:5
- fig:6
basis: Both the scholar and priest urge release of the mouse and offer money for
its freedom.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:9
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: mice stealing wheat
literal_form: Innumerable mice cutting and carrying away ears of wheat from a croft.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: capturing glove
literal_form: A glove tied shut with a string, containing the captured mouse.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: makeshift gallows
literal_form: Two forks and a crossbeam set up on the highest part of the Gorsedd
of Narberth.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:8
- id: sym:4
label: Gorsedd of Narberth
literal_form: The place where Manawyddan takes the mouse and prepares the hanging;
described as deserted of man and beast for seven years apart from the companions.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: sym:5
label: ransom offers
literal_form: A pound offered by the scholar and three pounds offered by the priest
for the mouse's freedom.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:9
- id: sym:6
label: fire in the hall
literal_form: A fire lighted by Manawyddan in the hall where Kicva is present.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Midnight theft in the croft
summary: Manawyddan watches the croft at midnight and sees countless mice cut and
carry away the ears of wheat.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Capture and confinement of the mouse
summary: Manawyddan angrily pursues the mice, catches one sluggish mouse, confines
it in a tied glove, and brings it to the palace.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Kicva counsels release
summary: In the hall, Kicva questions Manawyddan and advises that hanging the small
creature would be beneath his dignity, while Manawyddan insists on destroying
it.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Gallows prepared at the Gorsedd
summary: Manawyddan takes the mouse to the Gorsedd of Narberth and sets up forks
on the highest part to hang it.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: Scholar's failed intercession
summary: A poor scholar arrives, urges Manawyddan to release the mouse, and offers
a pound, but Manawyddan refuses.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:6
label: Priest's failed intercession
summary: A priest on a richly trapped horse arrives, offers three pounds for the
mouse's freedom, and Manawyddan refuses to sell or free it.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: supernatural or anomalous crop theft by animal host
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: An innumerable host of mice appears at midnight and systematically cuts and
carries away the remaining wheat crop.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage itself presents the mice literally in this excerpt; any supernatural
identity beyond anomalous behavior is not established here.
- id: motif:2
label: captured animal treated as criminal culprit
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Manawyddan captures one mouse, calls it a thief, and plans to hang it under
the doom of a thief.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The passage does not yet reveal whether the mouse has another identity
or motive.
- id: motif:3
label: ransom attempts for condemned captive
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: Two successive visitors offer money for the mouse's freedom, but Manawyddan
refuses to accept payment or release it.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: The available taxonomy reference is broad; the passage shows negotiated
release rather than a completed exchange.
- id: motif:4
label: sequential intercessors test the captor's resolve
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Kicva, the scholar, and the priest each urge Manawyddan not to hang the mouse,
while he repeatedly refuses.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not explicitly call the encounters a test; the label
describes the repeated narrative structure only.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 7301-7310
quote_or_summary: At midnight Manawyddan sees an innumerable host of mice enter
the croft, climb the straw, cut off ears of wheat, and carry them away.
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: 7311-7318
quote_or_summary: Manawyddan pursues the mice, catches one sluggish mouse, puts
it in his glove, ties the glove shut, and returns to the palace.
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: 7318-7325
quote_or_summary: In the hall with Kicva, Manawyddan lights a fire, hangs up the
glove, and tells Kicva it contains a thief that he found robbing him.
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: 7325-7342
quote_or_summary: Manawyddan says he will hang the mouse and would hang all the
mice if he had them; Kicva says hanging such a creature would be unseemly for
a man of dignity and advises letting it go, though she tells him to do as he wishes.
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: 7343-7349
quote_or_summary: Manawyddan takes the mouse to the Gorsedd of Narberth and sets
up two forks on the highest part; the passage notes that for seven years he had
seen no man or beast there except the remaining companions.
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: 7350-7359
quote_or_summary: A scholar in old, poor, tattered garments arrives, greets Manawyddan,
and says he comes from singing in Lloegyr and is passing through the land.
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: 7359-7368
quote_or_summary: The scholar asks about the mouse, says it is unfit for a man of
Manawyddan's rank to touch such a reptile, offers a pound for its freedom, and
Manawyddan refuses to free or sell it.
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: 7369-7372
quote_or_summary: As Manawyddan places the crossbeam on the forks, a priest arrives
on a horse covered with trappings and greets him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-welsh/project-gutenberg/mabinogion-guest.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: 7372-7377
quote_or_summary: The priest asks what Manawyddan is doing, offers three pounds
to let the mouse go, and Manawyddan refuses to sell or free it, insisting it shall
be hanged.
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: uncertain
notes: Extraction is based only on the supplied English passage. Motif labels describe
local narrative patterns; broader comparative claims are withheld because the
excerpt itself does not support them.
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 support a comparison to another tradition or motif family beyond local pattern extraction.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:celtic-welsh-mabinogion-guest-gutenberg__l7301-l7377
passage_sha256=7fb05e84dfb9390368b24f0c630d9ef89de3de25944f626041a079fe661fe313