Buile Shuibhne or Buile Suibne[a] (Irish pronunciation: [ˈbˠɪlʲə ˈhɪvʲnʲə], The Madness of Suibhne or Suibhne's Frenzy) is a medieval Irish tale about Suibhne mac Colmáin, king of the Dál nAraidi, who was driven insane by the curse of Saint Rónán Finn. The insanity makes Suibhne leave the Battle of Mag Rath and begin a life of wandering (which earns him the nickname Suibne Geilt or "Suibhne the Madman"). He dies under the refuge of St. Moling.
The tale is sometimes seen as an installment within a three-text cycle, continuing on from Fled Dúin na nGéd (The Feast of Dún na nGéd) and Cath Maige Rátha (The Battle of Mag Rath).
Suibhne's name appears as early as the ninth century in a law tract (Book of Aicill), but Buile Shuibhne did not take its current form until the twelfth century.[1] Ó Béarra (2014) includes a detailed analysis of the language and date of the text. He contends that the text in its final form is not as old as generally presumed but should be dated to the early thirteenth century.
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- ^ Sailor, Susan Shaw (1998). "Suibne Geilt: Puzzles, Problems, and Paradoxes". The Canadian Journal of Irish Studies. 24 (1): 115–131. doi:10.2307/25515239. JSTOR 25515239.