Modron

For the creature from Dungeons & Dragons, see Modron (Dungeons & Dragons).

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 Gaulish goddess 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 Matrona, known to have been worshiped in Gaul. Similarly, Modron's son, Mabon ("youth"), appears to derive from the youth god Maponos. 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 Hen Ogledd (Old North) of Britain. 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.

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'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 name (connected to Mabon) also appears in Englynion y Beddau (Stanzas of the Graves).

In the Welsh Triads, Modron is stated to have been the mother of the twins Owain and Morvydd by Urien of Rheged.