Do Drúthaibh Ocus Meraibh Ocus Dásachtaib. Of Fools Madmen And Lunatics

This paper will examine attitudes towards the mad and insane in early Irish society and explore the rationale for both their inclusion in and their exclusion from mainstream society. It will attempt to interpret a range of terms, now defunct, that indicated the characteristics of their illness. As no individual case history survives, and since the mad were seldom afforded a significant role in the early literature, the investigation of the topic has to proceed obliquely.…