Queen Mab - the historical person

Although she is presented as “the Goddess of Magic and Poets, one of the Tuatha De Danaan and the Queen of the Faeries,” I found that Queen Mab is in fact a historical person:

Prince Eochaidh Feidhlech divided Ireland into five provinces and appointed a provincial king under his obedience to each province. The famous Meadhbh (Méav) or Mab, was his daughter; and though unquestionably a lady of rather strong physical and mental capabilities, the lapse of ages has thrown an obscuring halo of romance round her belligerent qualifications, and metamorphosed her into the gentle “Faery Queen” of the poet Spenser.

One of Méav ‘s exploits is recorded in the famous Táin bó Chuailgné. Méav was married first to Conor, the celebrated provincial king of Ulster; but the marriage was not a happy one, and was dissolved on the ground of incompatibility. At the same time, Méav ‘s three brothers had rebelled against their father; and though his arms were victorious, the victory did not secure peace. The men of Connacht revolted against him as well, and to retain their allegiance the king made his daughter Queen of Connacht by giving her in marriage to Ailill, a powerful chief of that province. This prince, however, died soon after; and Méav , determined for once to choose a husband for herself, made a royal progress to Leinster, where Ross Ruadh held his court at Naas, She selected the younger son of this monarch, who bore the same name as her former husband, and they lived together happily as queen and king consort for many years.

In spite if these historical facts, Queen Mab has somehow changed into a Fairy Queen, starting with Shakespeare (in Romeo and Juliet) and with Spenser (in The Faerie Queene). As the Fairy Queen she is also associated with the Morrigan (the Irish threefold Goddess of War) or Morgan Le Fey (Morgan of the Faeries). And because in Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream the Fairy Queen’s name is Titania, Queen Mab and Titania have also been thought to be the same person. 

There are variations to her name, some think they are not the same, some say they are:)

tagged → #mythology #faeries #Mab #legends