Oberon

Oberon (/ˈoʊbərɒn/) is a king of the fairies in medieval and Renaissance literature. He is best known as a character in William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream, in which he is King of the Fairies and spouse of Titania, Queen of the Fairies.^[1]

Not to be confused with Operon.

Etymology[edit]

Oberon is a variant spelling of Auberon, the origin of which is uncertain, though it may be connected with Alberich and Aubrey, or might else be derived from the Old High German elements adal ‘noble’ + ber(n) ‘bear’.^[2]

French heroic song[edit]

Oberon is first attested as the name of a fairy king in the early 13th century chanson de geste entitled Les Prouesses et faitz du noble Huon de Bordeaux, wherein the eponymous hero encounters King Oberon of the fairies as he passes through a forest. Huon is forewarned by a hermit not to speak to Oberon, but his courtesy causes him to answer the fairy king's greetings and so wins his friendship and aid.

The fairy king is dwarfish in height, though very handsome. He explains that, at his birth, an offended fairy cursed him not to grow past three years of age (one of the earliest examples of the wicked fairy godmother folklore motif) but relented and gave him great beauty as compensation.^[3]^[4] In this story, he is said to be the child of Morgan le Fay and Julius Caesar.^[5]

A manuscript of the romance in the city of Turin contains a prologue to the story of Huon de Bordeaux in the shape of a separate romance of Auberon and four sequels and there are later French versions as well.

He is given some Celtic trappings, such as a magical cup (similar to the Holy Grail or the cornucopia) that is ever full. "The magic cup supplied their evening meal; for such was its virtue that it afforded not only wine, but more solid fare when desired", according to Thomas Bulfinch.^[6]

Shakespeare saw or heard of the French heroic song through the c. 1540 translation by John Bourchier, Lord Berners, called Huon of Burdeuxe.^[7] In Philip Henslowe's diary, there is a note of a performance of a play Hewen of Burdoche on 28 December 1593.^[8]

Oberon is a character in The Scottish History of James IV, a play written c. 1590 by .

Robert Greene

In 1610, wrote a masque of Oberon, the Faery Prince. It was performed by Henry Frederick Stuart, the Prince of Wales, at the English court on New Year's Day, 1611.

Ben Jonson

Oberon is a main character in 's narrative poem Nimphidia (1627) about the fairy Pigwiggin's love for Queen Mab and the jealousy of King Oberon.

Michael Drayton

In the anonymous book Robin Goodfellow, His Mad Pranks and Merry Jests (1628) Oberon is known as "Obreon" and is the father of the half-fairy by a human woman.

Robin Goodfellow

first published his epic poem Oberon in 1780; it in turn became the basis (as indicated on the title page) for the German opera Huon and Amanda (Hüon und Amande in German), later known as Oberon, by Sophie Seyler. A plagiarized version of Seyler's opera^[11] called Oberon by Karl Ludwig Giesecke with music by Paul Wranitzky debuted in Vienna shortly afterwards. Both operas enjoyed popularity. After extensive performances of the Giesecke version at the coronation of Leopold II in Frankfurt in 1791, it was much performed in Europe until it was surpassed in popularity by Weber's opera Oberon.

Christoph Martin Wieland

Oberon and Titania are main characters in the 1789 Danish opera , with music by F.L.Æ. Kunzen and libretto by Jens Baggesen.

Holger Danske

included the figures from Shakespeare's work in Faust I. Oberon is married to Titania, and the couple are celebrating their golden wedding anniversary in Faust I.

Johann Wolfgang Goethe

In 1826, 's opera, Oberon, (written after a poem by Christoph Martin Wieland translated to an English libretto by James Robinson Planche) debuted at Covent Garden in London, England.

Carl Maria von Weber

Oberon appears with Titania in 's unfinished painting, The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke, displayed in the Tate Museum.^[12]

Richard Dadd

Two main characters in ’s Little, Big, a 1981 multi-generational novel about a family’s interaction with the fae, are named Auberon.

John Crowley

A fanciful etymology was given for the name Oberon by Charles Mackay in his book The Gaelic Etymology of the Languages of Western Europe along with many other theories on words found in the English language that have not found mainstream acceptance.^[13]^[14]

On 11 January 1787 discovered both the outermost major satellite of Uranus, along with its overall two largest moons. In 1852, his son John Herschel named the two moons Oberon and Titania, respectively.

William Herschel

In 1830, botanist named a flowering plant in the family Orchidaceae, Oberonia after the fairy king.^[15]

John Lindley

Oberon is mentioned in the lyrics of "" on Pink Floyd's 1967 debut album, Piper at the Gates of Dawn in 1967, though as a reference to the Uranian moons.

Astronomy Domine

Oberon is referenced in the song "" on the rock band Queen's 1974 album, Queen II.

The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke

recorded the track "Thus Spoke Oberon" for the 1974 album Banquet.

Lucifer's Friend

In 1984, the thrash metal band released the album Metal Church, containing the song "Metal Church". In the song, Oberon is alluded to as the god of heavy metal music.

Metal Church

Oberon, usually accompanied by Titania, appears regularly in the series.

Megami Tensei

In the animated series , Oberon appears as king of the "Third Race," who are also called "Oberon's Children." He forbids his subjects to interfere with mortal affairs, but becomes antagonistic himself when the protagonists disobey him.

Gargoyles

Chronicles of Amber begins with Oberon as the missing father of Corwin, the main character.

Roger Zelazny's

Oberon Ale is a flagship American wheat ale brewed by in Michigan.

Bell's Brewery

In book series The Witcher, Auberon is an Elven-king and carries the title "The King of Alders".

Andrzej Sapkowski

Oberon has appeared as a Pretender-class servant in the video game , where he is designed by Chica Umino and voiced by Toshiyuki Toyonaga.

Fate/Grand Order

In the video game , the protagonist, Alucard, can obtain and use a sword called the Firebrand. The description for the sword reads "Fire Sword of Oberon".

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

In the , Oberon was involved in a love triangle between Mab and Titiana, the Winter and Summer Queens.

Dresden Files

In the manga and anime , which aired from October 2017 to March 2018, the King of the Fairies is named Oberon and his wife, the Queen of the Fairies, is named Titania.^[16]

The Ancient Magus' Bride

In the Book Series by author , The Iron Druid Chronicles Oberon is the Irish Wolff Hound companion to the present-day version of ancient druid Atticus O'Sullivan and they share clever and fun conversations as well as adventures together.

Kevin Hearne

In the game , both Oberon and Titania appear as equippable Warframes.

Warframe

In both the and God of War: Ragnarok series of video games, Oberon is mentioned in passing by Mimir as a former master before working for Odin.