batch.motif.celtic-irish-tain-bo-cualnge-dunn-gutenberg-l3491-l3590
---
record_id: batch.motif.celtic-irish-tain-bo-cualnge-dunn-gutenberg-l3491-l3590
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/tain-bo-cualnge-dunn.md
passage_locator:
label: THE PILLOW-TALK / THIS IS THE ROUTE OF THE TAIN / THE MARCH OF THE HOST /
THE YOUTHFUL EXPLOITS OF CUCHULAIN; lines 3491-3590
start: '3491'
end: '3590'
translation: The Ancient Irish Epic Tale Tain Bo Cualnge
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: At a guarded ford, Conall Cernach warns the armed boy Cuchulain that he
is too young for warrior deeds. Cuchulain asks to take over the provincial watch
and then heads south toward a border station. Conall follows to protect him, but
Cuchulain disables Conall's chariot with a stone cast, causing Conall to turn
back under an Ulster geis concerning damaged chariots. Cuchulain continues with
Ibar to Fertas Locha Echtrann and then asks about Sliab Moduirn and its white
cairn, directing Ibar to drive there.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Conall Cernach is stationed to guard the province at a ford, as Ulster champions
take turns guarding approaches so that arrivals are met before reaching Emain
unnoticed.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Conall identifies Cuchulain's arms and says he thinks it is too soon for the
boy to take arms or fight a warrior.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Cuchulain asks Conall to go home and leave him to keep the watch and guard
of the province.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Cuchulain says he will go south to Fertas Locha Echtrann, where champions
are accustomed to stand, and says he may redden his hands that day.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Conall follows Cuchulain to protect him from going alone into peril on the
border.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Cuchulain throws a hand-stone from his sling at Conall's chariot, breaks the
chariot-collar, and Conall falls with an injury.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: Cuchulain says he cast the stone to test whether his cast is straight and
whether he has warrior material in him.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: Cuchulain invokes a geis among the men of Ulster against proceeding after
a mishap to their chariots, and Conall turns back.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: Cuchulain remains at Fertas Locha Echtrann until the end of the day and finds
no one there before them.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: Ibar urges a return to Emain because food distribution has begun and Cuchulain
has an assigned place there between Conchobar's feet.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: Cuchulain asks about Sliab Moduirn and then about the white cairn on the mountain,
and orders Ibar to drive to the cairn.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Cuchulain / the little boy / the lad
description: A young armed boy who seeks to keep watch, go to border stations, test
his cast, and travel to the mountain cairn.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Conall Cernach
description: An Ulster champion guarding the province who warns Cuchulain, tries
to protect him, is stopped by damage to his chariot, and turns back.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Ibar
description: Cuchulain's charioteer, who answers questions, fetches horses, urges
return to Emain, and identifies Sliab Moduirn and the white cairn.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Conchobar
description: A ruler or household head at Emain whose feet are the assigned seating
place for Cuchulain and whose hostlers and tumblers are mentioned by Ibar.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: champions / men of Ulster
description: A collective group whose champions rotate guard duty and whose geis
about damaged chariots is invoked.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: provincial guardian
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Conall is keeping watch and ward of the province at the ford.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: youthful armed warrior-candidate
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Conall says the boy has taken arms but is not yet capable of deeds, while
the boy seeks opportunities for combat.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: protective elder champion
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Conall follows Cuchulain to prevent him from going alone into peril on the
border.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: weapon-tester
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Cuchulain casts a stone at the chariot and says he did it to test his aim
and warrior capacity.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: charioteer and guide
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Ibar answers Cuchulain's questions, fetches horses, and drives with him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:6
label: household ruler mentioned
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Ibar refers to Cuchulain's assigned place between Conchobar's feet and to
Conchobar's household.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:7
label: collective warrior order
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Ulster champions rotate guard duty, and the men of Ulster share a geis about
chariot mishaps.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: ford watchpoint
literal_form: ford where Conall guards the province
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: taken arms
literal_form: weapons taken by Cuchulain
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: border station
literal_form: Fertas Locha Echtrann, a place where champions take stand
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: sym:4
label: sling-stone cast
literal_form: hand-stone hurled from a sling
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: damaged chariot
literal_form: Conall's chariot with broken collar after the stone cast
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: sym:6
label: mountain
literal_form: Sliab Moduirn
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:7
label: white cairn
literal_form: Finncharn, the white cairn on the height of Sliab Moduirn
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Conall warns the armed boy at the ford
summary: At the provincial watch, Conall confirms Cuchulain has taken arms but warns
that he is too young for fighting and should not keep the guard alone.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Cuchulain seeks the border and rejects protection
summary: Cuchulain announces his intention to go south to Fertas Locha Echtrann,
while Conall insists on following to protect him from border peril.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Stone cast stops Conall's chariot
summary: Cuchulain uses a sling-stone to break Conall's chariot-collar, explains
the act as a test of his cast, and uses the Ulster geis about chariot mishaps
to make Conall turn back.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Journey from Fertas to the white cairn
summary: After waiting at Fertas without encounter, Ibar urges return to Emain,
but Cuchulain asks about Sliab Moduirn and its white cairn and directs Ibar to
proceed there.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: youthful warrior initiation by taking arms
taxonomy_refs:
- initiation
basis: The passage centers on a young boy who has taken arms despite elders' doubts
and seeks proof that he can perform warrior deeds.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents a stage in a martial initiation, but no formal rite
is described in this excerpt.
- id: motif:2
label: departure from protective supervision into peril
taxonomy_refs:
- departure
basis: Cuchulain repeatedly resists Conall's protection, goes toward border danger,
and engineers Conall's return so that he can continue independently.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The departure is local and martial rather than a full exile or long quest
in this excerpt.
- id: motif:3
label: heroic test of weapon skill
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Cuchulain casts a stone from his sling and explicitly says the act tests
whether his cast is straight and whether he has warrior material in him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The target is Conall's chariot rather than an enemy combatant.
- id: motif:4
label: boundary watch and threshold encounter
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The action begins at a guarded ford and moves toward a border station where
champions stand, emphasizing watched boundaries and controlled access to Emain.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: This is a setting-pattern rather than a developed narrative motif in the
excerpt.
- id: motif:5
label: journey toward mountain cairn
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Cuchulain asks about Sliab Moduirn and the white cairn on its height and
commands Ibar to drive there.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The symbolic or narrative function of the cairn is not revealed within
the supplied passage.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 3491-3500
quote_or_summary: Conall Cernach guards the province at a ford; Ulster champions
take turns on Sliab Fuait so that no one comes to Emain unperceived.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/tain-bo-cualnge-dunn.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 3500-3520
quote_or_summary: Conall says the boy has taken arms too soon and is not yet able
to fight a warrior; Cuchulain asks Conall to go home and leave him the provincial
watch.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/tain-bo-cualnge-dunn.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 3520-3537
quote_or_summary: Cuchulain proposes going south to Fertas Locha Echtrann, where
champions stand, and Conall says he will follow to keep the boy from going alone
into peril on the border.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/tain-bo-cualnge-dunn.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 3545-3562
quote_or_summary: Cuchulain casts a hand-stone from his sling at Conall's chariot,
breaks the chariot-collar, and says he did it to test his aim and warrior capacity.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/tain-bo-cualnge-dunn.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 3562-3572
quote_or_summary: Cuchulain tells Conall to go back, invoking an Ulster geis against
proceeding after a mishap to a chariot; Conall turns back to the Ford of Watching.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/tain-bo-cualnge-dunn.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 3573-3583
quote_or_summary: Cuchulain waits at Fertas Locha Echtrann until day's end; Ibar
urges return to Emain, where food distribution has begun and Cuchulain has an
assigned place between Conchobar's feet.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/tain-bo-cualnge-dunn.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: 3583-3590
quote_or_summary: Cuchulain asks Ibar about Sliab Moduirn and the white cairn called
Finncharn on the mountain height, then tells him to drive to the cairn.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/tain-bo-cualnge-dunn.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from supplied passage.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The literal sequence and figures are explicit in the passage. Motif labels
are candidate classifications based only on this excerpt; no comparison claims
are made because the passage does not itself compare traditions or motif families.
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: |-
Taxonomy references are limited to supplied available refs; only the mountain symbol uses an available symbol ref.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:celtic-irish-tain-bo-cualnge-dunn-gutenberg__l3491-l3590
passage_sha256=d8f1a96f819fbc316262c8d5aa03452f6b5f4c9cd0cc9e636e7bc53495437c91