Meabh

Medb
Ulster Cycle character
Queen Maev by J. C. Leyendecker
Information
Aliases	Meḋḃ
Occupation	Queen
Spouse(s)	Ailill mac Máta
Nationality	Irish

Medb (pronounced [mɛðv])—later spelled Meadhbh ([mɛɣv]) and Méabh ([mʲeːv])—is queen of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Her husband in the core stories of the cycle is Ailill mac Máta, although she had several husbands before him who were also kings of Connacht. She rules from Cruachan (now Rathcroghan, County Roscommon). She is the enemy (and former wife) of Conchobar mac Nessa, king of Ulster, and is best known for starting the Táin Bó Cúailnge ("The Cattle Raid of Cooley") to steal Ulster's prize stud bull. Medb is strong-willed, ambitious, cunning and promiscuous, and is an archetypal warrior queen. She is believed to be a manifestation of the sovereignty goddess. Medb of Connacht is probably identical with Medb Lethderg, the sovereignty goddess of Tara, and may also be linked with the Morrígan.

In Old Irish and Middle Irish her name is Medb (pronounced [mɛðv]), in early modern Irish Meadhbh or Meaḋḃ (pronounced [mɛɣv]), and in modern Irish Méabh (pronounced [mʲeːv]). This is generally believed to come from the Proto-Celtic *medu- ("mead") or *medua ("intoxicating"), and the meaning of her name has thus been interpreted as "mead-woman" or "she who intoxicates". This is thought to reflect her role as sovereignty goddess. In ancient and medieval Ireland, the drinking of mead was a key part of a king's inauguration ceremony. In myth, a supernatural woman representing the sovereignty of the land chooses a king by offering him an alcoholic drink, thus bestowing sovereignty upon him. However, it is also suggested that the name comes from Proto-Celtic *medwa ("the ruler").