Modron ("mother") is a figure in Welsh tradition, known as the mother of the hero Mabon ap Modron. Both characters may have derived from earlier divine figures, in her case the

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

ish goddess Matrona. She may have been a prototype for

Morgan le Fay Morgan le Fay (; Welsh language, Welsh and Cornish language, Cornish: Morgen; with ''le Fay'' being garbled French language, French ''la Fée'', thus meaning 'Morgan the Fairy'), alternatively known as Morgan , Morgain /e Morgant Mor ...

from the

Arthurian legend The Matter of Britain (; ; ; ) is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. The 12th-century writer Geoffr ...

Origin

Modron largely features in the Welsh tradition as a supernatural mother figure. She likely derives from the Celtic goddess Matrona, known to have been worshiped in

. Similarly, Modron's son, Mabon ("youth"), appears to derive from the youth god Maponos.Koch, p. 1299. Both Matrona and Maponos were worshiped in the area around

Hadrian's Wall Hadrian's Wall (, also known as the ''Roman Wall'', Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Aelium'' in Latin) is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Roman Britain, Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. Ru ...

, which may account for the prominence of Modron and Mabon in literature connected to the Brittonic ''

Hen Ogledd Hen Ogledd (), meaning the Old North, is the historical region that was inhabited by the Celtic Britons, Brittonic people of sub-Roman Britain in the Early Middle Ages, now Northern England and the southern Scottish Lowlands, alongside the fello ...

'' (Old North) of Britain.Koch, p. 1209. Certain elements of Modron's story – specifically that her son Mabon was stolen from her in the night as a baby – suggest a connection with

Rhiannon Rhiannon () is a protagonist (main character) of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi, Mabinogi, in its First and Third Branches. She originates only in these prose tales, with just a couple of references in 14thC mediaeval Welsh poetry, and none ...

in the

First Branch of the Mabinogi , "Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed," is a legendary tale from medieval Welsh literature and the first of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi. It tells of the friendship between Pwyll, prince of Dyfed, and Arawn, lord of Annwn (the Otherworld), of the cour ...

, whose son Pryderi was similarly stolen. William John Gruffydd suggested that Modron and Rhiannon were the same in origin. John T. Koch suggests that Saint Madrun, a daughter of

Vortimer Vortimer (Old Welsh Guorthemir, ), also known as Saint Vortimer (, "Vortimer the Blessed"), is a figure in Matter of Britain, British tradition, a son of the 5th-century Britons (historical), Britonnic ruler Vortigern. He is remembered for ...

, may also be connected, based on the similarity of the names and some elements of their stories. Other scholars believe the names ''Modron'' and ''Madrun'' are likely to be etymologically distinct; Madrun comes from the Vulgar Latin name Matrōna (also a common noun ''matrōna'' "matron", from Classical Latin ''mātrōna''), while Modron is from the Gallo-Brittonic theonym ''*Mātronā'' "Mother (goddess)".

Appearances

The first reference to the name Modron may be in the poem '' Pa Gur yv y Porthaur'', in which "Mabon am Mydron", a "servant of Uthr Bendragon", is listed as one of

King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...

's warriors. A "Mabon am Melld" or "Mabon fab Mellt" (Mabon son of Lightning) also appears in ''Pa Gur'' and elsewhere; this may be a different character, but it is also possible that "Mellt" is Mabon's father (perhaps related to "Meldos", an epithet of the lightning god Loucetios). Modron's most substantial appearance in Welsh literature is in the prose tale '' Culhwch and Olwen''. The text states that Mabon was stolen from between her and the wall by unknown forces when he was only three days old, and no one had seen him since. Recovering Mabon from his mysterious captors is one of the various challenges faced by

and his men in the story, and the adventure comprises a significant portion of the text. Arthur's men locate Mabon with the assistance of a series of wise and ancient animals, and liberate him in battle. Subsequently, he joins Arthur and assists in the hunt for the great boar Twrch Trwyth. The

Welsh Triads The Welsh Triads (, "Triads of the Island of Britain") are a group of related texts in medieval manuscripts which preserve fragments of Welsh folklore, mythology and traditional history in groups of three. The triad is a rhetorical form whereby o ...

give her father as Afallach, a figure evidently connected to the island of

Avalon Avalon () is an island featured in the Arthurian legend. It first appeared in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 1136 ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' as a place of magic where King Arthur's sword Excalibur was made and later where Arthur was taken to recove ...

. In Triad 70, Modron is the mother of the twins

Owain Owain () is a name of Welsh origin, variously written in Old Welsh as Ougein, Eugein, Euguen, Iguein, Ou(u)ein, Eug(u)ein, Yuein, and in Middle Welsh as Ewein, Owein, and Ywein. Other variants of the name Owain include Ewein, Iguein, Owein, Ouein, Y ...

and Morfudd by

Urien Rheged Urien ap Cynfarch Oer () or Urien Rheged (, Old Welsh: or , ) was a powerful sixth-century Common Brittonic, Brittonic-speaking figure who was possibly the ruler of the territory or kingdom known as Rheged. He is one of the best-known and b ...

. The triad seems to be connected to a story found in MS Peniarth 147 describing Owain and Morfudd's birth to an unnamed otherworldly woman. Here, Urien investigates a mysterious ford in

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, Flintshire to the east, Wrexham to the southeast, Powys to the south, and Gwynedd and Conwy to the west. Rhyl is the largest town, and Ruthi ...

where dogs went to bark. He finds a washer woman, and has his way with her. She reveals that she had been condemned to wash at the ford until she conceived a son by "a Christian", and bids Urien to return at the end of the year to receive the child. On returning, Urien finds the twins Owain and Morfudd.Bromwich, p. 459. Modron is connected with ''Euron'' in the poem ''

Cad Goddeu ''Cad Goddeu'' (, ) is a medieval Welsh language, Welsh poem preserved in the 14th-century manuscript known as the Book of Taliesin. The poem refers to a traditional story in which the legendary enchanter Gwydion animates the trees of the forest to ...

'' (''The Battle of the Trees''), which associates her with characters known from the Third Branch of the Mabinogi. Euron may an error for ''Gwron''; John T. Koch suggests the name may ultimately derive from an older form *''Uironos'', meaning "divine man, husband, hero", implying he is Modron's spouse. Modron's name (connected to Mabon) also appears in ''

Englynion y Beddau The ''Englynion y Beddau'' () is a Middle Welsh verse catalogue listing the resting places (''beddau'') of legendary heroes. It consists of a series of ''englynion'', or short stanzas in quantitative meter, and survives in a number of manuscripts ...

'' (''Stanzas of the Graves'').

References

Bibliography

* * {{Celtic mythology (Welsh) Arthurian characters Mother goddesses Welsh mythology