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TheCycles of the Kings orKings' Cycles, sometimes called theHistorical Cycle, are a body ofOld andMiddleIrish literature. They compriselegends about historical and semi-historical kings of Ireland (such asBuile Shuibhne, "The Madness of King Suibhne"), stories about the origins of dynasties and peoples (such asThe Expulsion of the Déisi), accounts of significant battles (such asBattle 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 theMythological Cycle, theUlster Cycle and theFianna Cycle.[1]
The kings that are included range from the almost entirely fictionalLabraid Loingsech, who allegedly becameHigh King in the4th century BC, to the entirely historicalBrian Boru. Other kings includeCormac mac Airt,Niall of the Nine Hostages,Conall Corc,Diarmait mac Cerbaill,Lugaid mac Con,Conn of the Hundred Battles,Lóegaire mac Néill andCrimthann mac Fidaig. It was part of the duty of the medieval Irish bards, or courtpoets, 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 theBuile Shuibhne, a 12th-century tale told in verse and prose. Suibhne, king ofDál 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 byTrevor Joyce andSeamus Heaney.
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