The Cycles of the Kings or Kings' Cycles, sometimes called the Historical Cycle, are a body of Old and MiddleIrish literature. They comprise legends about historical and semi-historical kings of Ireland (such as Buile Shuibhne, "The Madness of King Suibhne"), stories about the origins of dynasties and peoples (such as The Expulsion of the Déisi), accounts of significant battles (such as Battle of Mag Mucrama), as well as anecdotes that explain rites and customs.[1] It is one of the four main groupings of early Irish sagas, along with the Mythological Cycle, the Ulster Cycle and the Fianna Cycle.[1]
One of the most famous legends is the Buile Shuibhne, a 12th-century tale told in verse and prose. Suibhne, king of Dál nAraidi, was cursed by St Ronan Finn and became a kind of half-man, half-bird, condemned to live out his life in the woods, fleeing from his human companions. The story has captured the imaginations of contemporary Irish poets and has been translated by Trevor Joyce and Seamus Heaney.
Referencesedit
^ abKoch, John (2006). Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 995.
Further readingedit
Mac Eoin, Gearóid (1989). "Orality and Literacy in some Middle-Irish King-Tales". In Stephen Tranter; et al. (eds.). Mündlichkeit und Schriftlichkeit in der frühen irischen Literatur. Tübingen. pp. 149–83.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Poppe, Erich (2008). Of cycles and other critical matters : some issues in Medieval Irish literary history and criticism. Cambridge: Dept. of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic, University of Cambridge. ISBN978-0-9554568-5-5.
Wiley, Dan M. (2008). Essays on the Early Irish King Tales. Dublin: Four Courts Press.
External linksedit
Dan M. Wiley's "The Cycles of the Kings Web Project"
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cycles, kings, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, march, 2018,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Cycles of the Kings news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Cycles of the Kings or Kings Cycles sometimes called the Historical Cycle are a body of Old and Middle Irish literature They comprise legends about historical and semi historical kings of Ireland such as Buile Shuibhne The Madness of King Suibhne stories about the origins of dynasties and peoples such as The Expulsion of the Deisi accounts of significant battles such as Battle of Mag Mucrama as well as anecdotes that explain rites and customs 1 It is one of the four main groupings of early Irish sagas along with the Mythological Cycle the Ulster Cycle and the Fianna Cycle 1 The kings that are included range from the almost entirely fictional Labraid Loingsech who allegedly became High King in the 4th century BC to the entirely historical Brian Boru Other kings include Cormac mac Airt Niall of the Nine Hostages Conall Corc Diarmait mac Cerbaill Lugaid mac Con Conn of the Hundred Battles Loegaire mac Neill and Crimthann mac Fidaig It was part of the duty of the medieval Irish bards or court poets to record the history of the family and the genealogy of the king they served This they did in poems that blended the mythological and the historical to a greater or lesser degree One of the most famous legends is the Buile Shuibhne a 12th century tale told in verse and prose Suibhne king of Dal nAraidi was cursed by St Ronan Finn and became a kind of half man half bird condemned to live out his life in the woods fleeing from his human companions The story has captured the imaginations of contemporary Irish poets and has been translated by Trevor Joyce and Seamus Heaney References edit a b Koch John 2006 Celtic Culture A Historical Encyclopedia ABC CLIO p 995 Further reading editMac Eoin Gearoid 1989 Orality and Literacy in some Middle Irish King Tales In Stephen Tranter et al eds Mundlichkeit und Schriftlichkeit in der fruhen irischen Literatur Tubingen pp 149 83 a href Template Cite encyclopedia html title Template Cite encyclopedia cite encyclopedia a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Poppe Erich 2008 Of cycles and other critical matters some issues in Medieval Irish literary history and criticism Cambridge Dept of Anglo Saxon Norse and Celtic University of Cambridge ISBN 978 0 9554568 5 5 Wiley Dan M 2008 Essays on the Early Irish King Tales Dublin Four Courts Press External links editDan M Wiley s The Cycles of the Kings Web Project https web archive org web 20081227214217 http www hastings edu academic english Kings Home html nbsp nbsp This article about a non fiction book on Irish history is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Cycles of the Kings amp oldid 1082661735, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
