batch.motif.celtic-irish-tain-bo-cualnge-dunn-gutenberg-l6156-l6289
---
record_id: batch.motif.celtic-irish-tain-bo-cualnge-dunn-gutenberg-l6156-l6289
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/tain-bo-cualnge-dunn.md
passage_locator:
label: THE MARCH OF THE HOST / THE YOUTHFUL EXPLOITS OF CUCHULAIN / THE SLAYING
OF ORLAM / THE PROPOSALS; lines 6156-6289
start: '6156'
end: '6289'
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: Nathcrantail is bound to meet Cuchulain in combat. Cuchulain, enraged after
a vigil, accidentally breaks a pillar-stone with his cloak. Nathcrantail first
refuses to fight a beardless boy, so Cuchulain has Laeg apply a false beard. In
combat Cuchulain leaps upward to evade a cast and throws a spear down through
Nathcrantail's head. Nathcrantail returns to camp to tell his sons of hidden treasure,
then comes back; after Nathcrantail's sword breaks on the pillar-stone, Cuchulain
kills and dismembers him. The passage then reports Medb proceeding with part of
the host to seek the bull, pursued by Cuchulain, and lists several persons Cuchulain
kills with place-name explanations before he returns to defend his own land.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Fiachu returns to the camp and binds Nathcrantail to go to the ford of combat
on the following day.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Cuchulain rises early for the meeting, remains angry after a night's vigil,
and with his cloak breaks a nearby pillar-stone from the ground.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Nathcrantail arrives with his arms brought on a wagon and asks where Cuchulain
is.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: Nathcrantail refuses to take the head of a beardless boy, so Cuchulain asks
Laeg to rub a false beard on him.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: Cuchulain leaps upward to avoid Nathcrantail's cast and then casts a spear
from above that passes through Nathcrantail's head to the ground.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: Nathcrantail says Cuchulain is the best warrior in Erin and asks to return
to camp to tell his twenty-four sons about hidden treasure before being beheaded.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: Nathcrantail returns, makes a wide sweep with his sword, and Cuchulain leaps
so that the sword strikes the pillar-stone and breaks.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:8
text: Cuchulain, filled with rage, lands on Nathcrantail's shield-boss, cuts off
his head, strikes the trunk, and leaves four severed parts on the ground.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:9
text: Cuchulain speaks a verse saying Nathcrantail has fallen and that there will
be increase of strife.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:10
text: Medb proceeds with a third of the host by the highroad of Midluachair toward
Dun Sobairche and Cuib to seek the bull, while Cuchulain pursues her.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:11
text: The passage lists several named persons slain by Cuchulain and connects their
deaths with local place-names.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: obs:12
text: Cuchulain turns back to Mag Murthemni to protect and defend his own borders
and land.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Cuchulain
description: Warrior who meets Nathcrantail, uses a false beard to secure combat,
leaps in battle, kills Nathcrantail, pursues Medb, kills several named figures,
and returns to defend his land.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:5
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:8
- ev:10
- ev:11
- ev:12
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Nathcrantail
description: Warrior bound to fight Cuchulain; he initially refuses to fight a beardless
boy, is wounded by Cuchulain's spear, returns to his sons, and is later killed
by Cuchulain.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Fiachu
description: Person who returns to camp and binds Nathcrantail to go to the ford
of combat.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Cormac Conlongas son of Conchobar
description: Person who answers Nathcrantail's question about where Cuchulain is
and advises him to repel the warrior before him.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Laeg
description: Cuchulain's helper who applies a false beard at Cuchulain's request.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Medb
description: Leader proceeding with a third of the host to seek the bull while pursued
by Cuchulain.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Men of Erin / host
description: The camp and host with whom Fiachu, Nathcrantail, and Medb are associated;
a third of the host accompanies Medb.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:10
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Nathcrantail's twenty-four sons
description: Sons in the camp whom Nathcrantail wants to tell about hidden treasure
before his death.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Named persons slain on the route
description: Fer Taidle, the macBuachalla, Luasce, Bobulge, Murthemne, Nathcoirpthe,
Cruthen, Marc, Meille, and Bodb are named as persons slain by Cuchulain in association
with places.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
roles:
- id: role:1
label: combatant and slayer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Cuchulain fights Nathcrantail and kills him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:8
- id: role:2
label: challenging warrior
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Nathcrantail goes to the ford of combat and attacks Cuchulain.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:7
- id: role:3
label: binder to combat
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Fiachu binds Nathcrantail to go to the ford of combat.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: identifier of Cuchulain
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Cormac points out the warrior near the pillar-stone when Nathcrantail asks
where Cuchulain is.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: enraged warrior
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage says Cuchulain's wrath remains with him and later that he becomes
filled with rage before killing Nathcrantail.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:8
- id: role:6
label: wounded warrior seeking final leave
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: After the spear enters his head, Nathcrantail asks to return to camp to speak
with his sons before being beheaded.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:7
label: defender of own land
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Cuchulain turns back to Mag Murthemni to protect and defend his own borders
and land.
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: role:8
label: helper in disguise preparation
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Laeg rubs a false beard on Cuchulain so Nathcrantail will fight him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:9
label: leader seeking the bull
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Medb proceeds with a third of the host to seek the bull.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: role:10
label: army or camp collective
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The passage locates events at the camp of the men of Erin and describes a
third of the host accompanying Medb.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:10
- id: role:11
label: recipients of deathbed information
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Nathcrantail wants to tell his sons about hidden treasure before returning
to be beheaded.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:12
label: slain figures in place-name catalogue
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The passage names these figures as killed by Cuchulain and links them to
local place-names.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: pillar-stone
literal_form: A stone pillar near Cuchulain, the size of himself, broken from the
ground by his cloak and later struck by Nathcrantail's sword.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:7
- id: sym:2
label: false beard
literal_form: A beard rubbed onto Cuchulain so that Nathcrantail will fight him
despite his youth.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:3
label: spear cast from above
literal_form: Cuchulain's spear that alights on Nathcrantail's crown and passes
through him to the ground.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:4
label: shield-boss
literal_form: The boss of Nathcrantail's shield on which Cuchulain lands before
striking him.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:5
label: bull sought by Medb
literal_form: The bull that Medb goes to Cuib to seek.
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: sym:6
label: named landscape features
literal_form: Cairn, slopes, marsh, hill, trees, ford, mound, and tower associated
with the named deaths and place-name explanations.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: sym:7
label: own borders and land
literal_form: Mag Murthemni and Cuchulain's own land and inheritance, which he returns
to defend.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Appointment to the ford of combat
summary: Fiachu returns to the camp and binds Nathcrantail to meet Cuchulain at
the ford of combat on the next day.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:7
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Cuchulain's anger and the pillar-stone
summary: Cuchulain rises after a vigil, remains in great anger, and breaks a pillar-stone
from the ground when throwing on his cloak.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: False beard before combat
summary: Nathcrantail refuses to fight a beardless boy; Cuchulain denies being Cuchulain
and has Laeg give him a false beard before returning to fight.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: First exchange and spear wound
summary: Nathcrantail casts at Cuchulain, Cuchulain leaps upward, and Cuchulain's
spear descends through Nathcrantail's head; Nathcrantail asks leave to speak with
his sons.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:5
label: Return and death of Nathcrantail
summary: Nathcrantail returns, his sword breaks against the pillar-stone, and Cuchulain
kills and dismembers him while enraged.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: scene:6
label: Medb seeks the bull and is pursued
summary: Medb travels with a third of the host by Midluachair and toward Cuib to
seek the bull while Cuchulain presses and pursues her.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: scene:7
label: Slayings and place-name explanations
summary: Cuchulain kills a series of named persons, and the passage links those
killings with named places such as cairns, slopes, marsh, hill, trees, ford, mound,
and tower.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: scene:8
label: Return to defend Mag Murthemni
summary: Cuchulain turns back from the north to Mag Murthemni because his own land
and inheritance are dearer to him than another's land.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: heroic single combat at a ford
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Nathcrantail is bound to go to the ford of combat, meets Cuchulain, and is
killed after formal exchanges.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The passage supports the combat pattern but does not explicitly generalize
it as a motif.
- id: motif:2
label: youth disguised as adult to compel combat
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Nathcrantail refuses to fight a beardless boy, and Cuchulain has a false
beard applied so the warrior will fight him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The disguise is limited to a false beard and is pragmatic rather than
elaborated as a full identity transformation.
- id: motif:3
label: heroic rage with extraordinary strength
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Cuchulain's anger is associated with breaking a pillar-stone by accident
and later with his violent killing of Nathcrantail.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: No supernatural explanation is given in this passage beyond the described
anger and feats.
- id: motif:4
label: leap above a weapon attack
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Cuchulain repeatedly leaps upward to avoid attacks and turns the vertical
movement into a successful counterattack.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: This is a combat action pattern within the passage, not linked to an explicit
named taxonomy item.
- id: motif:5
label: slaying as place-name origin
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage connects multiple killings by Cuchulain with the origins or explanations
of named local places.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
confidence: high
cautions: The text provides terse etiological notices rather than full separate
origin narratives.
- id: motif:6
label: warrior returns to defend inherited land
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Cuchulain stops pursuing in the north and returns to Mag Murthemni to protect
his own borders and inheritance.
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage states the motive directly but does not develop it into a
broader return narrative.
- id: motif:7
label: 'quest or raid objective: seeking the bull'
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Medb proceeds with a third of the host to seek the bull, while Cuchulain
pursues her.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
confidence: medium
cautions: This passage only briefly mentions the search for the bull and does not
narrate its finding in detail.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 6156-6160
quote_or_summary: Fiachu returns to the camp and binds Nathcrantail to go to the
ford of combat on the following day.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/tain-bo-cualnge-dunn.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 6160-6168
quote_or_summary: Cuchulain comes early to the meeting after a night's vigil, remains
angry, throws his cloak around him, and breaks a nearby pillar-stone from the
ground without awareness because of his anger.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/tain-bo-cualnge-dunn.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 6168-6176
quote_or_summary: Nathcrantail arrives with his arms on a wagon, asks where Cuchulain
is, and Cormac identifies the warrior near the pillar-stone.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/tain-bo-cualnge-dunn.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 6176-6185
quote_or_summary: Nathcrantail says he will not take the head of a beardless boy;
Cuchulain sends him away and asks Laeg to rub a false beard on him so the warrior
will fight.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/tain-bo-cualnge-dunn.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 6185-6194
quote_or_summary: Nathcrantail casts at Cuchulain; Cuchulain springs upward to avoid
it, then casts a spear that descends onto Nathcrantail's crown and passes through
him to the ground.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/tain-bo-cualnge-dunn.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 6194-6204
quote_or_summary: Nathcrantail acknowledges Cuchulain as the best warrior in Erin,
says he has twenty-four sons in camp, and asks leave to tell them of hidden treasure
before returning to be beheaded.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/tain-bo-cualnge-dunn.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 6205-6212
quote_or_summary: Nathcrantail returns seeking Cuchulain and makes a wide sweep
with his sword; Cuchulain leaps upward so the sword hits the stone pillar and
breaks.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/tain-bo-cualnge-dunn.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 6212-6220
quote_or_summary: Cuchulain becomes filled with rage, lands on Nathcrantail's shield-boss,
cuts off his head, cleaves the trunk, and Nathcrantail's four severed parts fall
to the ground.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/tain-bo-cualnge-dunn.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:9
type: quote
locator: lines 6220-6227
quote_or_summary: '"Now that Nathcrantail has fallen... There will be increase of
strife!"'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/tain-bo-cualnge-dunn.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 6249-6258
quote_or_summary: Medb proceeds on the morrow with a third of the host by the highroad
of Midluachair to Dun Sobairche and Cuib to seek the bull, while Cuchulain presses
and pursues her.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/tain-bo-cualnge-dunn.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: lines 6258-6274
quote_or_summary: Cuchulain is said to have slain Fer Taidle, the macBuachalla,
Luasce, Bobulge, Murthemne, Nathcoirpthe, Cruthen, Marc, Meille, and Bodb, with
their deaths connected to named locations.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/tain-bo-cualnge-dunn.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:12
type: summary
locator: lines 6274-6280
quote_or_summary: Cuchulain turns back from the north to Mag Murthemni to protect
and defend his own borders, land, inheritance, and belongings.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/tain-bo-cualnge-dunn.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The main actions, figures, and objects are explicit in the provided passage.
Motif labels are descriptive and not tied to external comparison claims. No comparison
claims were added because the passage itself does not make a comparative statement.
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: |-
Used only the supplied passage and metadata. Taxonomy references were left empty where the available taxonomy did not directly match the passage-level motif.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:celtic-irish-tain-bo-cualnge-dunn-gutenberg__l6156-l6289
passage_sha256=35dd192027e0abf8ff18304aad9f4879c80430b971d17920f678106bde42faa1