In European literature, the name of the king of the fairies, as in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and Wieland's Oberon.
Oberon, also Auberon, King of the Fairies, is most famous as a character in William Shakespeare's play, A Midsummer Night's Dream, written in the mid-1590s. Oberon gives his wife, Titania, a potion that causes her to fall in love with Bottom in order to get the changeling, who was given to Titania by her dying maid.
The medieval concept of the character Oberon arose from a multitude of earlier sources.
Merovingian legend
Oberon's status as king of the elves comes from the character of Alberich (elbe "elves" reix, rex "king"), a sorcerer in the legendary history of the Merovingian dynasty.
French heroic song
The name Oberon got its literary start in the first half of the 13th century from the fairy dwarf Oberon (from Midsummer Night's dream) that helps the hero in the chanson de geste, titled Les Prouesses et faitz du noble Huon de Bordeaux.
The real Seguin was count of Bordeaux under Louis the Pious in 839, and died fighting against the Normans in 845.
Thus Oberon appears in a 13th century French courtly fantasy that is based on a shred of 9th century fact.
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.
Shakespeare saw or heard of the French heroic song, through the ca 1540 translation of John Bourchier, Lord Berners, called Huon of Burdeuxe.
Other historical references
In 1610, Ben Jonson wrote a masque of Oberon, the Fairy Prince.
In 1826, Carl Maria von Weber's opera, Oberon, or the Elf-King's Oath (written after a poem by Christoph Martin Wieland) debuted at Covent Garden in London.
In the four operas of 1854 to 1874 by Richard Wagner, The Ring of the Nibelung, his role evolves in the opposite direction and he winds up stealing the Rhinemaidens' gold.
Notably, the name Oberon was also chosen for Uranus outernmost natural satellite in 1847, as an homage to William Shakespeare and his literary character. In 2000, the series Lexx portrayed Oberon in the episode 4.11: A Midsummer's Nightmare. Oberon was also a guest character in an episode of Pokey the Penguin. In The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny, Oberon is the King of Amber and the father of all of the princes in the series In the Warlock series of Christopher Stasheff, Oberon (alias Brom O'Berin) is the half-human King of Elves on the planet Gramarye, but poses as the Royal Fool to influence the human kingdom. Lewis, Oberon appears in the title role of the all-powerful and malevolent king of the Land of Faerie. References to Oberon & Oberon was a character appearing in Disney's Gargoyles as the ruler of the mystical Avalon and "king" of the Third Race. Oberon has appeared in the comic books Sandman, Hellboy, and The Books of Magic. Oberon, along with his wife Titania, appears in the Nickelodeon show Fairly OddParents Oberon appears in Nickelodeon Fairly OddParents video games The sword Firebrand in the video game Castlevania:Symphony of the Night's information is 'Fire sword of Oberon' Oberon has also appeared in the novel Magic Street by Orson Scott Card. In David A McIntee's 1999 Doctor Who novel Autumn Mist, Oberon, the King of the fairie-like Sidhe, takes his name from the Shakespearean character In the Playstation 2 title Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne by Atlus, one of the attainable demons is Oberon. Kalamazoo Brewing Company (Bell's Brewery, Inc.)'s most popular brew,an American wheat ale, is named Oberon. Oberon is mentioned by name in the song "Hollow Hills" by Bauhaus.
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