View source for Modron

{{Short description|Figure in Welsh tradition}}
{{For|the creature from ''Dungeons & Dragons''|Modron (Dungeons & Dragons){{!}}''Modron'' (Dungeons & Dragons)}}
{{For|the 1978 adventure for table-top role-playing games|Modron (Judges Guild){{!}}''Modron'' (Judges Guild)}}
{{For|the village in Cornwall|Madron}}
{{Infobox deity
| type         = Welsh
| name         = Modron
| deity_of     = Goddess of sovereignty<ref name="IoMGMaodron">{{cite book |last=d'Este |first=Sorita |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Isles_of_the_Many_Gods/4GhrBAAACAAJ?hl=cy |title=The Isles of the Many Gods: An A-Z of the Pagan Gods & Goddesses of Ancient Britain worshipped during the First Millennium through to the Middle Ages |last2=Rankine |first2=David |date=2007 |publisher=Avalonia |pages=183-184 |language=English}}</ref>
| image        = Matrona Gaul goddess.jpg
| caption      = A statue of the goddess Modron found in Gaul
| cult_center  = Wales
| consort      = [[Urien Rheged|Urien]]<ref name="IoMGMaodron" />
| parents      = Perhaps [[Gwyn ap Nudd]] or [[Arawn]]<ref name="IoMGMaodron" />
| offspring    = [[Owain ab Urien]] and [[Morfydd|Morfudd ferch Urien]]<ref name="IoMGMaodron" />
| gender       = Female
| equivalent1_type = [[Gaul|Gullish]]
| equivalent1 = [[Dea Matrona|Matrona]]
}}
'''Modron''' ("mother")<ref>Blažek, Václav. “Indo-European kinship terms in *-ə̯2TER.” (2001). p. 28.</ref> is a figure in [[Welsh mythology|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]]ish goddess [[Dea Matrona|Matrona]]. She may have been a prototype for [[Morgan le Fay]] from the [[Arthurian legend]].

==Origin==
Modron largely features in the Welsh tradition as a supernatural mother figure. She likely derives from the Celtic goddess [[Dea Matrona|Matrona]], known to have been worshiped in [[Gaul]]. Similarly, Modron's son, [[Mabon ap Modron|Mabon]] ("youth"), appears to derive from the youth god [[Maponos]].<ref name=Koch1299>Koch, p. 1299.</ref> Both Matrona and Maponos were worshiped in the area around [[Hadrian's Wall]], which may account for the prominence of Modron and Mabon in literature connected to the [[Brittonic languages|Brittonic]] ''[[Hen Ogledd]]'' (Old North) of Britain.<ref name=Koch1209>Koch, p. 1209.</ref> 

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]] in the [[First Branch of the Mabinogi]], whose son [[Pryderi]] was similarly stolen. [[William John Gruffydd]] suggested that Modron and Rhiannon were the same in origin.<ref name=Koch1299/>

[[John T. Koch]] suggests that Saint [[Madrun]], a daughter of [[Vortimer]], may also be connected, based on the similarity of the names and some elements of their stories.<ref name=Koch1299/> 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)".<ref>Haycock, Marged, Legendary poems from the Book of Taliesin, CMCS, 2007, p. 137</ref><ref>Gruffydd, William John, Rhiannon: An Inquiry Into the Origin of the First and Third Branches of the Mabinogi, University of Wales Press, 1953, p. 98 </ref><ref>Gruffydd, William John, "Mabon vab Modron", in: Y Cymmrodor, Volume 42, 1931, p. 140.</ref>

==Appearances==
The first reference to the name Modron may be in the poem ''[[Pa gur|Pa Gur yv y Porthaur]]'', in which "Mabon am Mydron", a "servant of [[Uther Pendragon|Uthr Bendragon]]", is listed as one of [[King Arthur]]'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]]).<ref name=Koch1209/> 

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 [[King Arthur]] 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]].<ref name=Koch1299/><ref>[[s:The Mabinogion/Kilhwch and Olwen|''Culhwch and Olwen'']].</ref>

The [[Welsh Triads]] give her father as [[Afallach]], a figure evidently connected to the island of [[Avalon]].<ref name=Koch1299/> In Triad 70, Modron is the mother of the twins [[Owain mab Urien|Owain]] and [[Morfudd]] by [[Urien Rheged]].<ref>Bromwich, p. 195.</ref> 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]] 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.<ref>Bromwich, p. 459.</ref>

Modron is connected with ''Euron'' in the poem ''[[Cad Goddeu]]'' (''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.<ref name=Koch1299/> Modron's name (connected to Mabon) also appears in ''[[Englynion y Beddau]]'' (''Stanzas of the Graves'').<ref name=Koch1209/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book |last= Bromwich |first= Rachel |authorlink= Rachel Bromwich |date= 2006 |title= Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Welsh Triads |publisher= University of Wales Press |isbn= 0-7083-1386-8}}
{{cite book |last=d'Este |first=Sorita |title=The Isles of the Many Gods: An A-Z of the Pagan Gods & Goddesses of Ancient Britain worshipped during the First Millennium through to the Middle Ages |last2=Rankine |first2=David |date=2007 |publisher=Avalonia |language=English}}
*{{cite book |last= Koch |first= John T. |authorlink=John T. Koch |date= 2006 |title= Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia |publisher= ABC-CLIO |isbn= 1851094407}}

{{Celtic mythology (Welsh)}}

[[Category:Arthurian characters]]
[[Category:Mother goddesses]]
[[Category:Welsh mythology]]