<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

A mundane in science fiction and fantasy-related fandom is the name for a non-fan. Additionally it is used a a term to signify a boring or obstinate person. Calling someone "a mundane" also is used in a derogatory manner to denote someone who is disruptive to or making fun of fan-type behavior.

Similarly, in fannish circles, a mundane name is one's "real word" (mundane world) name as it appears on one's birth certificate. This usage of the term originated among members of the Society for Creative Anachronism to refer to a members name when not in character.

Mundane more generally means normal or typical, and can be used to distinguish non-magical things from magical ones (a mundane sword versus a magical sword). In this use, the mundane item may be of a superior type, but is not magical.

Use in fiction

In a nod to fen, the writers of Babylon 5 used the term "mundane" in the TV series as a fictional term its telepathic characters used to refer to non-telepaths. In fantasy stories, such as the hit comic book Fables published under the Vertigo label, a mundane is sometimes a person without magical powers or does not come from, or is not part, of the magical world.

Related Terms and Articles

• Mainstream: a general term for majority interests and beliefs
• Muggle: a term from the Harry Potter series meaning a person from the non-magical world, roughly equivalent to the fantasy definition of mundane in the previous section.