'''Queen Mab''' (perhaps derived from the Welsh mab, "a baby") was queen of the fairies, according to 15th-century English and Welsh folklore. That honor later went to [[Titania]]. Mab does not appear in person in Shakespeare's ''Romeo and Juliet,'' but she is described as the "fairies' midwife"--that is, she is used by the fairies as midwife to deliver man's brain of dreams. Rich descriptions of Mab are given by Shakespeare (''Romeo and Juliet'', i. 4), by Ben Jonson, by Herrick, and by Drayton in ''Nymphidia''.