I always liked Medb/Maeve!

We really can't judge her by the moral standards that prevail today. Her world was much different. She is probably the woman most quoted in Celtic literature to demonstrate the role of women in Iron Age Ireland. In that society, women were equal to men in every way, even superior in many cases. They owned property, they could have the royal priveliges of "dividing gifts" and "giving counsel". They could ride to battle, fight and kill alongside any other warrior. When Medb married Ailell, she already had her own army which she brought with her to the marriage as well as her famous herd of cattle and other status symbols of the wealthy and powerful. As part of the equality women enjoyed during Medb's time, a woman's sexual needs were also included. She wed Ailell, chosing him from a long line of potential husbands, not only because he was generous and courageous like herself but because he wasn't a jealous man. She is quoted as saying "For I am never without one man being with me in the shadow of another." This doesn't really match up with our present society's social standards, and so we might tend to see her in a darker cast.

Certainly she was clever to the point of being devious. She was highly competitive, forceful, powerful, and bloodthirsty - and as breddelwyn pointed out, she started a virtual war because Ailell's bull was better than her own. She is far from role-model material in our world but in her own realm she was everything a queen should be and more.

What I find really interesting is the life of Medb's daughter, Findabair, in contrast to Medb's. Findabair was the only daughter among seven sons. Medb overshadows her, of course. It strikes me as strange that Medb does not see her daughter as having the right to the same powers as herself. One would think she would encourage her to follow in her mother's footsteps. Instead she dominates and restrains Findabair, using her for her own purposes, lying to her, deceiving her, and treating her cruelly until Findabair is driven to a tragic suicide. This is where Medb crosses the line, in my opinion, and truly becomes a villain.