Queen Medb - Sovereignty Personified
The warrior queen of Connacht who would not be subject to any man.
Medb of Connacht was a sovereign queen who took and discarded husbands as she chose. Her cattle raid against Ulster, her warriors, her lovers - all demonstrated that in Celtic society, sovereignty was not limited by gender. Power belonged to those who claimed it.
I will not be under a husband's thumb; he will be under mine.
Medb embodies the powerful queens common in Celtic literature and society.
Ulster Cycle
Written about in
- What Celtic tradition says about envy and comparison
Medb's raid begins as a comparison she loses by a single animal. The tradition's own epic shows that comparison between people who already have almost everything is the most dangerous kind, and it never lets her win cleanly.