batch.motif.celtic-irish-tain-bo-cualnge-dunn-gutenberg-l7842-l8043
---
record_id: batch.motif.celtic-irish-tain-bo-cualnge-dunn-gutenberg-l7842-l8043
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/tain-bo-cualnge-dunn.md
passage_locator:
label: THE YOUTHFUL EXPLOITS OF CUCHULAIN / THE SLAYING OF ORLAM / THE PROPOSALS
/ THE DEATH OF FORGEMEN; lines 7842-8043
start: '7842'
end: '8043'
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: Cuchulain laments that he is wounded, alone, and guarding the cattle without
adequate aid. He recounts fighting Loch and animal attackers, killing Loch with
a spear. Although weakened, he later faces multiple attackers sent against him.
After the terms of single combat are broken, he uses his sling against the host
from Delga, killing many warriors.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Cuchulain describes himself as wounded on both sides, bathed in blood, guarding
the cattle alone, and lacking help except for his charioteer.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Cuchulain asks that word be brought to Conchobar and says the Ulster chiefs
should come to guard their drove.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Cuchulain uses proverbial images about a single log, firebrands, a single
mill-stone, and one person being duped to express the difficulty of fighting alone.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: Cuchulain recounts that Loch wounded his thighs and sides, while a grey-red
wolf bit him and an eel dragged him down.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: Cuchulain says he kept a female attacker off with his spear, put out the she-wolf's
eye, broke her lower leg, and then killed Loch with Aife's spear after Laeg sent
it downstream.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: After Cuchulain's speech, he is said to have had no strength for Laeg to leave
him.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: Five men were sent against Cuchulain on the following day, and he killed them.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: Medb sent six attackers at once, three druid-men and three druid-women, and
Cuchulain struck off their heads.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:9
text: Fergus demanded that fair-dealing should not be broken with Cuchulain.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:10
text: The passage states that covenant and terms of single combat had been broken
with Cuchulain.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:11
text: After the breaking of the agreement, Cuchulain took his sling and shot at
the host from Delga; none dared face southward toward him, and he slew a hundred
warriors before sunrise.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:12
text: Several men are said to have been killed in specific places, and the places
are named after where each man fell.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Cuchulain
description: A wounded warrior guarding the cattle alone, fighting attackers, and
later shooting at the host with a sling.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Laeg
description: Cuchulain's charioteer, named as his only helper and as the one who
sends Aife's spear downstream.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Conchobar
description: The addressee to whom Cuchulain asks that word be brought; he is also
described as not coming out with help.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Loch Mor son of Mofemis
description: An opponent who wounded Cuchulain and was killed by Cuchulain with
a spear.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Badb
description: Named by Cuchulain among those who came against him; the same speech
describes attacks by a grey-red wolf and an eel.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Medb
description: The queen who despatches six attackers at one time against Cuchulain.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Fergus
description: The figure who demands from his sureties that fair-dealing should not
be broken with Cuchulain.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: The Five of Cenn Cursighi
description: Five men sent against Cuchulain and killed by him.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Six druid-men and druid-women
description: Six attackers named as Traig, Dorn, Dernu, Col, Accuis, and Eraise,
three druid-men and three druid-women, sent together against Cuchulain and beheaded
by him.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Ulster chiefs
description: The chiefs whom Cuchulain says should come to guard their drove.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
roles:
- id: role:1
label: wounded solitary cattle-guardian
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Cuchulain says he alone guards the cattle while wounded and without help
except his charioteer.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: single-handed slayer of attackers
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Cuchulain kills Loch, five men, six attackers, and later a hundred warriors
with his sling.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: role:3
label: charioteer and sole helper
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Laeg is identified as Cuchulain's charioteer and is involved in sending the
spear.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: absent or summoned allies
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:10
basis: Cuchulain asks for word to be brought to Conchobar and says Ulster chiefs
should guard their drove, while also noting Conchobar has not brought help.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:5
label: opponents sent or coming against Cuchulain
assigned_to:
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:8
- fig:9
basis: These figures or groups are named among those fighting, coming against, or
being sent against Cuchulain.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: role:6
label: dispatcher of multiple attackers
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Medb despatches six people at one time to attack Cuchulain.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:7
label: advocate of fair-dealing
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Fergus demands that fair-dealing should not be broken with Cuchulain.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: cattle or drove
literal_form: cattle, drove, kine
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: ford battle setting
literal_form: fords, including Ath Tire Moire and the ford at which Cuchulain fights
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
- id: sym:3
label: single log and firebrands proverb
literal_form: single log, flame, firebrands
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- symbols:fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: wolf and eel attackers
literal_form: grey-red wolf and eel
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: Aife's spear
literal_form: sharp deadly spear sent downstream by Laeg and hurled by Cuchulain
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:6
label: sling
literal_form: Cuchulain's sling used to shoot at the host from Delga
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Cuchulain's wounded lament
summary: Cuchulain speaks of his wounds, isolation, need for allies, and the burden
of guarding the cattle alone.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:10
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:2
label: Recollection of the combat with Loch and animal attackers
summary: Cuchulain recounts injuries from Loch, a wolf, and an eel, and says he
killed Loch with Aife's spear sent by Laeg.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Multiple attackers sent against Cuchulain
summary: Five men and then six druid-men and druid-women are sent against Cuchulain,
and he kills them.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:6
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:4
label: Broken fair-dealing and sling attack from Delga
summary: After fair-dealing and the terms of single combat are said to have been
broken, Cuchulain takes his sling and attacks the host, killing a hundred warriors
by sunrise.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: scene:5
label: Place names from deaths
summary: The passage lists several men killed in particular locations and states
that the names of those lands remain from where each man fell.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: wounded hero defending cattle alone
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Cuchulain repeatedly describes himself as wounded, alone, and still guarding
the cattle against the host.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: This is a passage-level motif description; no broader mythic taxonomy
is explicitly named for it in the supplied taxonomy.
- id: motif:2
label: broken covenant of single combat
taxonomy_refs:
- motif_families:covenant
basis: The passage explicitly states that covenant and terms of single combat had
been broken with Cuchulain.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The passage gives the breach and its consequence but does not fully narrate
the original agreement in this excerpt.
- id: motif:3
label: many attackers against the single champion
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Five men and then six attackers are sent against Cuchulain, contrasting with
his prior complaint that he is forced to fight alone.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: This overlaps with the broken single-combat motif but is recorded separately
as an action pattern.
- id: motif:4
label: animal attackers in heroic combat
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Cuchulain's speech describes a grey-red wolf biting him and an eel dragging
him down during the conflict involving Loch and Badb.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The excerpt does not explicitly state transformation; therefore no shapeshifter
taxonomy is assigned.
- id: motif:5
label: proverbial image of the solitary log
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Cuchulain uses the proverb that a single log gives forth no flame and related
images to explain the weakness of acting alone.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: This is a rhetorical image inside a speech rather than an event in the
plot.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage supports comparison with covenant or agreement-breach motifs
because it explicitly names a covenant and terms of single combat that were broken.
claim_level: same_motif
target: motif_families:covenant
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The comparison is limited to the passage's explicit language of covenant
and broken single-combat terms; no wider historical or cross-cultural claim is
made.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 7842-7890
quote_or_summary: Cuchulain says his sides are wounded, that he alone guards the
cattle, that no friend comes to help him except his charioteer, and asks that
word be brought to Conchobar.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/tain-bo-cualnge-dunn.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 7920-7950
quote_or_summary: Cuchulain tells the Ulster chiefs to come guard their drove and
says Conchobar has not come out with help.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/tain-bo-cualnge-dunn.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: lines 7891-7915
quote_or_summary: "“Single log gives forth no flame”; “Single mill-stone doth not
grind”; “One is duped.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/tain-bo-cualnge-dunn.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt quoted.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 7916-7935
quote_or_summary: Cuchulain says Loch mangled his thighs and wounded his sides;
a grey-red wolf bit him and an eel dragged him down; Laeg sent Aife's spear downstream,
and Cuchulain hurled it so that Loch fell.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/tain-bo-cualnge-dunn.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: quote
locator: after Cuchulain's speech, before 'The Combat of Loch Mor' colophon
quote_or_summary: "“Although Cuchulain spoke thus, he had no strength for Laeg to
leave him.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/tain-bo-cualnge-dunn.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt quoted.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: THE VIOLATION OF THE AGREEMENT, opening paragraph
quote_or_summary: Five men are sent against Cuchulain and killed; Medb then sends
six attackers at once, three druid-men and three druid-women, and Cuchulain strikes
off their six heads.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/tain-bo-cualnge-dunn.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: quote
locator: THE VIOLATION OF THE AGREEMENT, paragraph on Fergus
quote_or_summary: "“Fergus demanded of his sureties that fair-dealing should not
be broken with Cuchulain.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/tain-bo-cualnge-dunn.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt quoted.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: THE VIOLATION OF THE AGREEMENT, final paragraph
quote_or_summary: Because covenant and terms of single combat had been broken, Cuchulain
takes his sling and shoots at the host from Delga; none dare face toward him,
and he kills a hundred warriors before sunrise.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/tain-bo-cualnge-dunn.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: THE VIOLATION OF THE AGREEMENT, place-name paragraph
quote_or_summary: Cuchulain kills named men in specific places, and the passage
states that these lands keep the names of the places where each man fell.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/celtic-irish/project-gutenberg/tain-bo-cualnge-dunn.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: Literal action and speech are explicit. Motif labels are conservative; no
transformation claim is made for the wolf and eel because the excerpt does not
explicitly state shapeshifting.
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: |-
Only the supplied passage and metadata were used. Available taxonomy refs were used only where directly supported by passage language.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:celtic-irish-tain-bo-cualnge-dunn-gutenberg__l7842-l8043
passage_sha256=e9291c8348bf2a753ea98a0a88f5ef04e59af14e82244a18477c93da032b1f8d