diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index dfd9564..ce88f5a 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -31,7 +31,9 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
   once rather than only the first. Errors carry recovery hints (`expected <a>,
   <b>`) naming the element types accepted at the failure point, and distinguish
   unexpected elements, invalid or missing attributes, invalid text/datatype
-  content, and missing required content. `RelaxNG.validation()` exposes the schema
+  content, and missing required content. A datatype mismatch quotes the offending
+  value and names the expected type (`'abc' is not a valid integer`), and a value
+  mismatch quotes both the actual text and the required literal. `RelaxNG.validation()` exposes the schema
   as a `Validation<Node, Void>`, so RELAX NG composes with the same validation
   framework as the XSD, DTD, and Schematron rules. The boolean engine remains the
   authority on validity; the walk only places and explains the failures.
diff --git a/Sources/Schema/RelaxNGDiagnostics.swift b/Sources/Schema/RelaxNGDiagnostics.swift
index 42b044d..c93ed63 100644
--- a/Sources/Schema/RelaxNGDiagnostics.swift
+++ b/Sources/Schema/RelaxNGDiagnostics.swift
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ extension PureXML.Schema.RelaxNGEngine {
             case let .text(value), let .cdata(value):
                 let next = textDeriv(residual, value)
                 if isNotAllowed(next) {
-                    errors.append(.init(reason: "text content is not valid in <\(name)>", at: path))
+                    errors.append(.init(reason: "\(textDetail(residual, value)) in <\(name)>", at: path))
                     sequenceBroken = true
                 } else {
                     residual = next
@@ -115,6 +115,31 @@ extension PureXML.Schema.RelaxNGEngine {
         return (forceClose(opened), false)
     }
 
+    /// Explains why `value` does not satisfy the text/datatype `pattern`, quoting
+    /// the offending value and naming the datatype it failed (`'abc' is not a
+    /// valid integer`) or the literal it should have matched, falling back to a
+    /// generic message when the content admits no text at all.
+    private func textDetail(_ pattern: Pattern, _ value: String) -> String {
+        switch pattern {
+        case let .data(type):
+            type.validate(value) ?? "text content '\(value)' is not valid"
+        case let .value(type, literal):
+            type.valueMatches(value, literal: literal)
+                ? "text content '\(value)' is not valid"
+                : "text content '\(value)' must be '\(literal)'"
+        case let .list(inner):
+            textDetail(inner, value)
+        case let .choice(lhs, rhs):
+            textDetail(isNotAllowed(textDeriv(lhs, value)) ? rhs : lhs, value)
+        case let .group(lhs, _), let .after(lhs, _):
+            textDetail(lhs, value)
+        case let .ref(name):
+            textDetail(resolve(name), value)
+        default:
+            "text content is not allowed"
+        }
+    }
+
     /// The content (the `after` left side) an opened element's children must match.
     private func contentOf(_ pattern: Pattern) -> Pattern {
         switch pattern {
diff --git a/Tests/RelaxNGLocatedErrorTests.swift b/Tests/RelaxNGLocatedErrorTests.swift
index 35576e8..4c652e8 100644
--- a/Tests/RelaxNGLocatedErrorTests.swift
+++ b/Tests/RelaxNGLocatedErrorTests.swift
@@ -90,6 +90,19 @@ struct RelaxNGLocatedErrorTests {
         """
         let found = try reasons(rng, "<n>abc</n>")
         #expect(found.contains { $0.contains("<n>") })
+        // The message quotes the offending value and names the expected datatype.
+        #expect(found.contains { $0.contains("'abc'") && $0.contains("integer") })
+    }
+
+    @Test("A value mismatch quotes both the actual text and the required literal")
+    func test_valueMismatchDetail() throws {
+        let rng = """
+        <element name="flag" xmlns="http://relaxng.org/ns/structure/1.0">
+          <value>on</value>
+        </element>
+        """
+        let found = try reasons(rng, "<flag>off</flag>")
+        #expect(found.contains { $0.contains("'off'") && $0.contains("'on'") })
     }
 
     @Test("The validation() value composes with the framework like the other validators")