Medb, also spelled Meadhbh, Méabh, and Méibh, is known in English as Maeve. She is a queen in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, a collection of ancient stories. Medb's husband in the most important stories is Ailill mac Máta, though she had other husbands who were also kings of Connacht. She ruled from a place called Cruachan, which is now known as Rathcroghan in County Roscommon. Medb was an enemy of Conchobar mac Nessa, the king of Ulster, and she is most famous for starting the Táin Bó Cúailnge, a story about stealing a special bull named Donn Cúailnge from Ulster.
Medb is described as strong, determined, clever, and having many romantic relationships. She is often seen as a typical example of a warrior queen. Some people believe she represents a goddess who symbolizes the land's fertility and power. Medb of Connacht is likely the same as Medb Lethderg, a goddess associated with Tara, an important ancient site in Ireland.
Name
In Old Irish, her name is Medb; in Middle Irish, Meḋḃ; in Early Modern Irish, Meadhbh or Meaḋḃ; and in modern Irish, Méabh (a) or Méibh. Her name is believed to come from the Proto-Celtic medu- ("mead") or medua ("intoxicating"), which may mean "mead-woman" or "she who intoxicates." This is thought to relate to her role as a sovereignty goddess. In ancient and medieval Ireland, drinking mead was an important part of a king's inauguration ceremony. In myths, a supernatural woman who represents the land's sovereignty chooses a king by offering him an alcoholic drink, giving him the right to rule. Some scholars also suggest her name may come from Proto-Celtic *medwa ("the ruler").
Her name has been written in English as Maeve, Maev, Mave, or Maiv. There are many place names in Ireland that include the name Medb. According to Kay Muhr of the Ulster Place-Name Society, some of these names suggest Medb was also an earth and fertility goddess. Examples include Ballypitmave (Baile Phite Méabha, "townland of Medb's vulva") in County Antrim and Sawel Pitmave (Samhail Phite Méabha, "likeness to Medb's vulva") in County Tyrone, both in northern Ulster. Other places include Maeve's Cairn in County Sligo, Barnavave (Bearna Mhéabha, "Medb's gap") in County Louth, Boveva (Boith Mhéabha, "Medb's huts") in County Londonderry, Knockmaa (Cnoc Meá, "Medb's hill") in County Galway, Meskanmave (Meascán Mhéabha, "Medb's lump") in County Donegal, Milleen Meva (Millín Mhéabha, "Medb's knoll") at Rathcroghan in County Roscommon, and Rath Meave at Tara in County Meath.
Description
Medb is described as a fair-haired wolf queen. Her appearance was so beautiful that it took away two-thirds of men's courage when they saw her.
Marriages and rise to power
The story of how Medb gained power in Connacht and married Ailill mac Máta is told in the tale Cath Bóinde ("The Battle of the Boyne"), also called Ferchuitred Medba ("Medb's man-share"). Her father, Eochaid Feidlech, the High King of Ireland, married her to Conchobar mac Nessa, king of Ulster, because Eochaid had killed Conchobar’s father, the former High King Fachtna Fáthach, in battle. They had a son named Glaisne, but their marriage was unhappy, and Medb left him. Eochaid later gave Conchobar another daughter, Eithne (or Clothru), but Medb killed her while she was pregnant. Her son, Furbaide, was born after a caesarean section performed after her death.
Eochaid removed the then-king of Connacht, Tinni mac Conri, from power and placed Medb in his place. However, Tinni later regained some authority when he and Medb became lovers. Conchobar raped Medb during an assembly at Tara, leading to war between the High King and Ulster. Tinni challenged Conchobar to a single combat and lost. Eochaid Dála of the Fir Domnann, who had been Tinni’s rival for the kingship, protected the Connacht army as it retreated and became Medb’s next husband and king of Connacht. Medb required her husband to be fearless, generous, and free of jealousy. The last condition was especially important because she had many lovers. While married to Eochaid Dála, she took Ailill mac Máta, chief of her bodyguard, as her lover. Eochaid discovered the affair, challenged Ailill to single combat, and lost. Ailill then married Medb and became king of Connacht.
Medb's seven sons
Medb and Ailill had seven sons, all named Maine. These sons originally had different names, but after Medb asked a druid which of her sons would kill Conchobar, the druid answered, "Maine." Since Medb did not have a son named Maine, she changed the names of all her sons to Maine.
The prophecy came true when Maine Andoe killed Conchobar, the son of Arthur, the son of Bruide. This was not the same Conchobar that Medb believed the druid was referring to, who was the son of Fachtna Fathach.
Medb's two daughters
Medb and Ailill had another daughter named Findabair. They also had a daughter called Cainnear or Cainnear Dearg (Red Cainnear), who was killed with a spear during the Tain Bo Flidais.
Cattle Raid of Cooley
Medb wanted to be as wealthy as her husband, Ailill, and began the Cattle Raid of Cooley when she learned that Ailill owned one more powerful bull than her. She found that the only bull that could rival Ailill’s prized bull, Finnbennach, was Donn Cúailnge, owned by Dáire mac Fiachna, a follower of Conchobar. Medb sent messengers to Dáire, offering wealth, land, and other rewards in exchange for borrowing the bull. Dáire first agreed, but after a messenger became drunk and said the bull would be taken by force if Dáire refused, Dáire changed his mind. Medb then prepared for war.
An army was gathered, including groups from across Ireland. One group was led by Cormac Cond Longas, Conchobar’s estranged son, and Fergus mac Róich, Conchobar’s former king and one of Medb’s lovers. It is said that Medb required many men to satisfy her desires, and Fergus once satisfied her alone. A poem from around 600 AD, Conailla Medb míchuru, mentions that Medb wrongly persuaded Fergus to betray Ulster because he preferred the company of women over his people.
Because of a divine curse on the Ulstermen, the invasion faced only one opponent: Cúchulainn, a young Ulster hero. He stopped the army’s progress by challenging warriors to single combat at river crossings. Medb and Ailill offered their daughter, Findabair, in marriage to several warriors as payment for fighting Cúchulainn, but all were defeated. Despite this, Medb eventually obtained the bull. However, after a final battle against Conchobar’s forces, she was forced to retreat. Donn Cúailnge was brought back to Cruachan, where it fought Finnbennach, killing it before dying from its wounds.
Throughout the Táin Bó Cúailnge, Medb has several encounters with Cúchulainn. He kills Medb’s pets or handmaidens, and the places where they die are named after them, showing how important the land is in the story. For example, Cúchulainn killed a pet stoat that was sitting on Medb’s shoulder near a river, and the place was named Meithe Togmaill, meaning "Stoat Neck." He also killed one of Medb’s handmaidens, and the spot where she died was named Reid Locha, or "Locha’s Level," in Cualinge. Medb’s actions also highlight the land’s importance. She altered the landscape permanently to show her dislike for Ulster, creating a path that would forever mark her contempt for the region as she crossed the mountain.
Later years
Because he was jealous of Medb's relationship with Ailill, Fergus was killed by Ailill. When he was old, after Conchobar died, the Ulster hero Conall Cernach lived with Ailill and Medb because they were the only ones able to take care of him. Medb told Conall to watch Ailill, who was having relationships with other women. When Conall found Ailill caught in the act, Medb ordered him to kill Ailill, which Conall was glad to do to get revenge for Fergus. However, before dying, Ailill sent his men after Conall, and Conall was killed while trying to escape.
Death
In her later years, Medb frequently bathed in a pool on Inchcleraun (Inis Cloithreann), an island located on Lough Ree near Knockcroghery. Furbaide tried to get revenge for the death of his mother. He used a rope to measure the distance between the pool and the shore, and practiced using a sling until he could hit an apple placed on a stake as tall as Medb from that distance. The next time he saw Medb bathing, he used his practice and killed her by throwing a piece of cheese. She was succeeded by her son Maine Athramail as the ruler of Connacht.
According to legend, Medb is buried in Miosgán Médhbh, a 40-foot-tall (12 meters) stone pile on the top of Knocknarea (Cnoc na Ré in Irish) in County Sligo. It is said she is buried upright, facing her enemies in Ulster. Her home in Rathcroghan, County Roscommon, is also considered a possible burial site. A long, low stone slab named "Misgaun Medb" is believed to be the most likely location.
Interpretations
Tomás Ó Máille first proposed in 1928 that Medb likely represents the sovereignty of Connacht, a symbolic figure a king would marry in a special ceremony during his coronation. Medb Lethderg, who plays a similar role in Tara, may be the same as or inspired by this Medb. Her name, meaning "she who intoxicates," is related to the English word "mead." It is likely that the sacred marriage ceremony between the king and the goddess involved sharing a drink. Medb's "pillow talk" argument with her husband suggests a tradition of tracing lineage through the mother, as does Ailill's use of his mother Máta Muirisc's name. In recent years, Irish and Irish-American poets have explored Medb as a symbol of women's power, including their sexuality, as seen in works like "Labhrann Medb" by Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill and "Intoxication" by Patricia Monaghan.
The name "Connacht" appears to be a time-related issue: the Ulster Cycle stories are traditionally set around the time of Christ, but the Connachta, after whom the province is named, were said to be descendants of Conn Cétchathach, who lived centuries later. Later stories used the older name "Cóiced Ol nEchmacht" for the province to resolve this problem. However, the timeline of early Irish history was likely shaped by Christian monks who tried to align native traditions with classical and biblical history. It is possible that the stories were placed in the wrong time period.