History Main / FaerieCourt

Sub-trope of SupernaturalElite. Sister trope of DemonLordsAndArchdevils. Will usually preside over the LandOfFaerie.

* In ''ComicBook/SevenSoldiersOfVictory'', Gloriana Tenebrae ruled over the fairy-like Sheeda for centuries. Following her death, [[ComicBook/{{Klarion}} one of her husband's bastard great-grandchildren]] took over before he got bored and left. It's unclear who currently rules.

* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': The chaotic, malevolent, malicious Elves seen in ''Literature/LordsAndLadies'', ''Literature/TheWeeFreeMen'' and ''Literature/TheShepherdsCrown'' . The Elf Queen is vicious, imperious, capricious and not nice to meet. Her lieutenant, Lord Lankin, is a psychopath who commands and demands respect. The King of the Elves is loud, rumbustious, undeniably male, and slow to grasp current realities on the Disc. There is the increasingly TreacherousAdvisor Lord Peaseblossom. There are also the Wee Men themselves, the rioting, chaotic, Nac Mac Feegle, whose clans each have a Queen, called a Kelda, who is generally wise, motherly, thoughtful and somewhat regal, in her own way.

* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': The chaotic, malevolent, malicious Elves seen in ''Literature/LordsAndLadies'', ''Literature/TheWeeFreeMen'' and ''Literature/TheShepherdsCrown'' . The Elf Queen is vicious, imperious, capricious and not nice to meet. Her lieutenant, Lord Lankin, is a psychopath who commands and demands respect. The King of the Elves is loud, rumbustious, undeniably male, and slow to grasp current realities on the Disc. There is the increasingly TreacherousAdvisor CreatorsPet Lord Peaseblossom. There are also the Wee Men themselves, the rioting, chaotic, Nac Mac Feegle, whose clans each have a Queen, called a Kelda, who is generally wise, motherly, thoughtful and somewhat regal, in her own way.

The most common courts from traditional legends are the ''Seelie'' or Summer Court, and the ''Unseelie'' or Winter Court. The Seelie consists of more benevolent fairies, while the Unseelie consists of more malevolent, [[OurDemonsAreDifferent demon]] or [[OurGoblinsAreDifferent goblin]]-like figures. However, some folklore and many modern works depict the difference between the two as [[BeautyIsBad purely aesthetic]]. Due to the LighterAndSofter trend with depictions of fairies, modern depictions may depict members of the fairy court as PrincessClassic or {{Benevolent Mage Ruler}}s ruling TheGoodKingdom.

* ''Literature/OctoberDaye'':
** The Divided Courts rule the collective kingdoms of the Fae. The divided courts are ruled by a High king and Queen who are in charge of the Fae of North America. The various cities and locales have there own individual rulers who are in charge of the day to day affairs of the Fae that live there. The High king and Queen will sometimes organize a conference which invites the various rulers in order to create new rules or for decision making.
** The Court of Cats, consisting of the Cat Sidhe, is the only kingdom of Faerie that is excluded from the Divided Courts by decree of Oberon who was one of the progenitors of the Fae. There monarchs act independently from the others and are given more freedoms due to this.
* ''Literature/{{Poison}}'' has [[TheHeavy Lord Aelthar]] who rules the realm of Phaerie and the Phaeries that inhabit it. Aelthar plans to eventually war with humanity and to do so runs a scheme which involves kidnapping children from the human realm to be used as a way to create half human-Phaerie hybrids which would be used to usurp the position of creator, the Heirophant. The Heirophant position can only be taken by someone with at least some human blood within them.
* ''Literature/SecretHistories'' features the court of the elves. Once ruled by Queen Mab, she was overthrown by Titania and Oberon who cast her into hell and took over. Upon escaping from hell, she creates a civil war between the elves in order to reclaim her lost position as well as get revenge for her banishment.

* In ''ComicBook/TheSandman'', King Oberon and Queen Titania rule over the fairies. They are the in-universe inspirations for the Oberon and Titania from ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''.

** In later legends, Irish fairies are said to be ruled by a king named Finvarra, who had a wife named Oona ([[MyNaymeIs or Oonagh, etc.]]). Said to live in the hill of Knockmaa, Finvarra was a nice guy overall, helping humans with crops and related issues, though he ''did'' have an unfortunate tendency to [[DoubleStandardRapeSciFi magically seduce]] mortal women.

* ''Literature/{{Artems Fowl}}'' frequently mentions that the fairies used to have a line of [[OurElvesAreDifferent elfin]] kings (one of whom, San D'Klass, apparently inspired SantaClaus). The monarchy ended at some point in the past with King Frond; Holly's [[TheGhost unseen]] rival, Lili Frond, is apparently proud of being descended from him.

%%* ''Film/DarbyOGillAndTheLittlePeople'': King Brian is a humorous take on this. Most versions of noble fairies are more dignified.

%%* ''Literature/ThomasTheRhymer'': The Faerie Queene, who brings the title character to the LandOfFaerie and has an ambiguously romantic relationship with him. Overall she seems nice, though she ''also'' does the whole "tithe to Hell" thing, and warns Thomas to leave before he becomes the sacrifice.

* In Myth/CelticMythology, the line between gods and fairies is blurry and possibly nonexistent, and much of later fairy legend is based on the Irish gods, known as the Tuatha De Danann. Supposedly, they ruled Ireland before the Milesians (modern day Irish people) showed up, and several notable kings are listed, most notably the Dagda and Lugh.

* ''Myth/KingArthur'': Morgan le Fay actually had this role in the early stories, identified as the benevolent queen of Avalon. This gets muddied in the later legends, where she's now the [[AdaptationalVillainy evil]] [[AdaptationalSpeciesChange human]] sister of Arthur.

** There's a Kurdish fairytale about the "Shamaran", the Queen of a race of SnakePeople. She and her subjects are mostly benevolent, and she's said to be a wise and fair ruler but she's imprisoned by a group of human invaders. She's killed, but gets the last laugh and the ending implies her human lover (who survived the SecretTestOfCharacter) goes back to rule in her stead.

* ''Fanfic/{{Spellbound}}'': Unfortunately for Adrien's peace of mind and Marinette's safety, the Court of Paris is an ''Unseelie'' Court. Though most who know about the fae would agree that Seelie Courts are not to be trusted either. [[spoiler:Bridgette later plots with Tikki to bring the Court down.]]

!!Examples

* In CelticMythology, the line between gods and fairies is blurry and possibly nonexistent, and much of later fairy legend is based on the Irish gods, known as the Tuatha De Danann. Supposedly, they ruled Ireland before the Milesians (modern day Irish people) showed up, and several notable kings are listed, most notably the Dagda and Lugh.

* ''Literature/TheFaerieQueene'': The titular character. Generally thought to have been an allegory for UsefulNotes/ElizabethI; because, you know, even great authors ''do'' [[RealLifeWritesThePlot need promotions]] when they do civil service work.

%%* ''Literature/ThomasTheRhymer'': The Faerie Queene.%%Quotes are not context.
%%-->''True Thomas sat on Huntley Bank'''\\
%%''When he beheld a lady gay;''\\
%%''In manner she was brisk and bold,''\\
%%''Come riding oe'r the ferney brae;''\\
%%''Her skirt was of the grass-green silk,''\\
%%''Her mantle of the velvet fine;''\\
%%''At every lock of her horse's mane''\\
%%''Hung sixty silver bells and nine...''

%%* ''Myth/KingArthur'': The Lady of the Lake.
* ''Literature/TheFaerieQueene'': Queen Mab ''isn't'' this; the titular queen is Gloriana. However, since being referenced as such in a speech by Mercurio in ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'', Mab has been seen as a Faerie Queen.

* In ''Theatre/AMidsummerNightsDream'', Oberon and Titania are the King and Queen of the fairies.

* ''Literature/{{Poison}}'' has [[TheHeavy Lord Aelthar]] who rules the realm of Phaerie and the Phaeries that inhabit it. Aelthar plans to eventually war with humanity and to do so runs a scheme which involves kidnapping children from the human realm to be used as a way to create half human-Phaerie hybrids which would be used to usurp the position of creator, the Heirophant. The Heirophant position can only be taken by somone with at least some human blood within them.

* ''Literature/{{Pale}}'' (And its prequel series ''Literature/{{Pact}}'') has a variety of Fae characters, from a combination of Seasonal and Bright/Dark Courts. Spring is for Noble Fae (Bright being Royal Gentry, Dark being Modern Richesse). Summer is for Mythical Fae (Bright being the Heroes, Dark being the Monsters they fight). Fall is for Transformative Fae (Bright being transforming yourself, Dark transforming others). Winter is an exception, and entry to that Court signals the end of a particular Fae's story. [[spoiler: And all of them are artificial constructs, held together by glamour and consensus. Even Winter being called "Winter" is not necessarily a constant.]]