Mab

Queen Mab was the original ruler of the Third Race.

History

Queen Mab held sway over the Fair Folk until her son Oberon overthrew her in a great war at some as yet unknown point in time, and imprisoned her. (The struggle seems to have arisen partly because of Mab's tyranny, and partly because she disapproved of her son's relationship with Titania). She is still imprisoned, although it is possible that she will escape at some point in the future.

Characteristics

Queen Mab is the most powerful of the Third Race, even stronger in magic than her son Oberon. She is also reportedly even more arrogant than he is. Her regular physical form is uncertain, although rumor has it that she looks basically humanoid, but with more than one pair of arms, and is quite small in stature.

Real-World Background

Queen Mab was the original "faerie queen" in English legend and literature, appearing in that role in such works as Michael Drayton's Nimphidia; in Elizabethan and Jacobean times, indeed, she held that title far more often in literature than did Titania. Her best-known literary appearance is in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, where she is described by Mercutio in a famous monologue as the "fairies' midwife", who is responsible for dreams, and is of tiny size. Some scholars of faerie mythology have equated her with Queen Maeve of Connacht, the nemesis of Cu Chullain in Irish legend, although not everyone agrees with this. Queen Mab still appears in works of fantasy even today, her most recent appearance of note being in the NBC mini-series Merlin (1998), where she is the Queen of the Old Ways, and first the creator, then the bitter enemy, of Merlin.

See also

• Mab at Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia