Is Shakespeare's "Mab, Queen of the Fairies" the same figure as Queen Maeve of Irish legend?

by Vladith
texpeare

Maybe. Shakespeare never reveals his inspiration for Queen Mab (Romeo and Juliet Act 1, Scene 4, Lines 53-94) but there have been many people over the last 150 years to make the connection.

English folklorist/antiquary William John Thoms is often credited with having coined the word "folklore". In his 1865 book Three Notelets On Shakespeare, Part 2, he became the first to suggest that Queen Mab was indeed the Irish faerie Maeve, a.k.a.: "She Who Intoxicates".

Thoms' suggestion is lent support by a note in the 1841 book Observations on the Popular Antiquities of Great Britain. In this book, Sir Henry Ellis, then the principal librarian of the British Museum, reports of an old Warwickshire phrase "mab-led" meaning to be misled by a will o' the wisp.

This information can be found in the notes of The Arden Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet, 2nd Edition. Mostly pages 109-112 though Mab is discussed in the introduction as well.