Mabon ap Modron is a prominent figure from Welsh literature

Welsh literature

Welsh literature may be used to refer to any literature originating from Wales or by Welsh writers:*Welsh-language literature for literature in the Welsh language*Welsh literature in English for literature in the English language...

 and mythology

Welsh mythology

Welsh mythology, the remnants of the mythology of the pre-Christian Britons, has come down to us in much altered form in medieval Welsh manuscripts such as the Red Book of Hergest, the White Book of Rhydderch, the Book of Aneirin and the Book of Taliesin....

, the son of Modron

Modron

In Welsh mythology, Modron was a daughter of Afallach, derived from the Gaulish goddess Matrona. She may have been the prototype of Morgan le Fay from Arthurian legend...

 and a member of Arthur's

King Arthur

King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...

 warband. Both he and his mother were likely deities in origin, descending from a divine mother–son pair. His name is related to the Romano-British

Romano-British

Romano-British culture describes the culture that arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest of AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, a people of Celtic language and...

 god Maponos

Maponos

In ancient Celtic religion, Maponos or Maponus is a god of youth known mainly in northern Britain but also in Gaul. In Roman times he was equated with Apollo....

, whose name means "divine son"; Modron, in turn, is likely related to the Gaulish

Gauls

The Gauls were a Celtic people living in Gaul, the region roughly corresponding to what is now France, Belgium, Switzerland and Northern Italy, from the Iron Age through the Roman period. They mostly spoke the Continental Celtic language called Gaulish....

 goddess Dea Matrona

Dea Matrona

In Celtic mythology, Dea Matrona was the goddess of the river Marne in Gaul.In many areas she was worshipped as a triple goddess, and known as Deae Matres , with a wider sphere of believed influence...

. He is often equated with the Demetian

Kingdom of Dyfed

The Kingdom of Dyfed is one of several Welsh petty kingdoms that emerged in 5th-century post-Roman Britain in south-west Wales, based on the former Irish tribal lands of the Déisi from c 350 until it was subsumed into Deheubarth in 920. In Latin, the country of the Déisi was Demetae, eventually to...

 hero Pryderi fab Pwyll

Pryderi

Pryderi fab Pwyll is a prominent figure in Welsh mythology, the son of Pwyll and Rhiannon, and king of Dyfed following his father's death. He is the only character to appear in all Four Branches of the Mabinogi, although the size of his role varies from tale to tale...

, and may be associated with the minor Arthurian character Mabon fab Mellt.

Culhwch ac Olwen

Culhwch's

Culhwch

Culhwch , in Welsh mythology, is the son of Cilydd son of Celyddon and Goleuddydd, a cousin of Arthur and the protagonist of the story Culhwch and Olwen...

 father, King Cilydd son of Celyddon, loses his wife Goleuddydd

Goleuddydd

Goleuddydd , in the Middle Welsh prose tale Culhwch ac Olwen, is the daughter of Amlawdd Wledig, and is desired by Cilydd, who marries her. She becomes pregnant with his child, but becomes mad and turns to wandering the countryside...

 after a difficult childbirth. When he remarries, the young Culhwch rejects his stepmother's attempt to pair him with his new stepsister. Offended, the new queen puts a curse on him so that he can marry no one besides the beautiful Olwen

Olwen

In Welsh mythology, Olwen is the daughter of the giant Ysbaddaden and cousin of Goreu. She is the heroine of the story Culhwch and Olwen in the Mabinogion....

, daughter of the giant

Giant (mythology)

The mythology and legends of many different cultures include monsters of human appearance but prodigious size and strength. "Giant" is the English word commonly used for such beings, derived from one of the most famed examples: the gigantes of Greek mythology.In various Indo-European mythologies,...

 Ysbaddaden. Though he has never seen her, Culhwch becomes infatuated with her, but his father warns him that he will never find her without the aid of his famous cousin Arthur

King Arthur

King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...

. The young man immediately sets off to seek his kinsman. He finds him at his court in Celliwig

Celliwig

Celliwig, Kelliwic or Gelliwic, is perhaps the earliest named location for the court of King Arthur. It may be translated as 'forest grove'.-Literary references:...

 in Cornwall

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

 and asks for support and assistance. Cai is the first knight to volunteer to assist Culhwch in his quest, promising to stand by his side until Olwen is found. A further five knights join them in their mission.

They travel onwards until they come across the "fairest of the castles of the world", and meet Ysbaddaden's shepherd

Shepherd

A shepherd is a person who tends, feeds or guards flocks of sheep.- Origins :Shepherding is one of the oldest occupations, beginning some 6,000 years ago in Asia Minor. Sheep were kept for their milk, meat and especially their wool...

 brother, Custennin. They learn that the castle belongs to Ysbaddaden, that he stripped Custennin of his lands and murdered the shepherd's twenty-three children out of cruelty. Custennin set up a meeting between Culhwch and Olwen, and the maiden agrees to lead Culhwch and his companions to Ysbadadden's castle. Cai pledges to protect the twenty-fourth son, Goreu

Goreu fab Custennin

Goreu fab Custennin is a hero of Welsh and early Arthurian mythology, the son of Custennin, and cousin to Arthur, Culhwch and Saint Illtud through their grandfather Amlawdd Wledig. He is a significant character in the Middle Welsh Arthurian tale Culhwch and Olwen, and also appears in a number of...

 with his life.

The knights attack the castle by stealth

Stealth

Stealth may refer to:*Stealth technology, technology used to conceal ships, aircraft, and missiles*Stealth aircraft, aircraft which use stealth technology*Stealth ground vehicle, ground vehicles which use stealth technology...

, killing the nine porters and the nine watchdogs, and enter the giant's hall. Upon their arrival, Ysbaddaden attempts to kill Culhwch with a poison dart, but is outwitted and wounded, first by Bedwyr

Bedivere

In Arthurian legend, Sir Bedivere is the Knight of the Round Table who returns Excalibur to the Lady of the Lake. He serves as King Arthur's marshal and is frequently associated with Sir Kay...

, then by the enchanter Menw

Menw

; "Menw, son of Three-Cries" is a hero and shapeshifter of early Welsh literature and mythology and a warrior of King Arthur's court at Celliwig. He appears most prominently in the early Arthurian tale Culhwch and Olwen, in which he is handpicked among Arthur's knights to accompany Culhwch on his...

, and finally by Culhwch himself. Eventually, Ysbaddaden relents, and agrees to give Culhwch his daughter on the condition that he completes a number of impossible tasks (anoethau) , including hunting the Twrch Trwyth

Twrch Trwyth

Twrch Trwyth is an enchanted wild boar in the Arthurian legend. The hunt for Twrch Trwyth by King Arthur was the subject of a popular stock narrative in medieval Welsh literature...

 and recovering the exalted prisoner, Mabon son of Modron, the only man able to hunt the dog Drudwyn, in turn the only dog who can track the Twrch Trwyth.

Arthur and his men learn that Mabon was stolen from his mother's arms when he was three nights old, and question the world's oldest and widest animals about his whereabouts, until they are led to the salmon

Salmon

Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...

 of Llyn Llyw, the oldest animal of them all. The enormous salmon carries Arthur's men Cei

Sir Kay

In Arthurian legend, Sir Kay is Sir Ector's son and King Arthur's foster brother and later seneschal, as well as one of the first Knights of the Round Table. In later literature he is known for his acid tongue and bullying, boorish behavior, but in earlier accounts he was one of Arthur's premier...

 and Bedwyr

Bedivere

In Arthurian legend, Sir Bedivere is the Knight of the Round Table who returns Excalibur to the Lady of the Lake. He serves as King Arthur's marshal and is frequently associated with Sir Kay...

 downstream to Mabon's prison in Gloucester

Gloucester

Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....

; they hear him through the walls, singing a lamentation for his fate. The rest of Arthur's men launch an assault on the front of the prison, while Cei and Bedwyr sneak in the back and rescue Mabon. He subsequently plays a key role in the hunt for the Twrch Trwyth

Hunting of Twrch Trwyth

The Hunting of Twrch Trwyth is described vividly in the early Welsh tale Culhwch and Olwen.-Background:Culhwch's father, King Cilydd son of Celyddon, loses his wife Goleuddydd after a difficult childbirth. When he remarries, the young Culhwch rejects his stepmother's attempt to pair him with his...

Other Appearances

One of the earliest direct reference to Mabon can be found in the tenth century poem Pa Gur, in which Arthur recounts the feats and achievements of his knights so as to gain entrance to a fortress guarded by Glewlwyd Gafaelfawr

Glewlwyd Gafaelfawr

; "Brave Grey Mighty Grasp," is a hero, warrior and porter in tradition and Arthurian mythology, in which he appears as a knight in Arthur's retinue and chief gatekeeper of his court...

, the eponymous porter. The poem relates that Mabon fab Madron is one of Arthur's followers, and is described as a "servant to Uther Pendragon

Uther Pendragon

Uther Pendragon is a legendary king of sub-Roman Britain and the father of King Arthur.A few minor references to Uther appear in Old Welsh poems, but his biography was first written down by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniae , and Geoffrey's account of the character was used in...

". A second figure, Mabon fab Mellt, is described as having "stained the grass with blood". He further appears in the medieval tale Breuddwyd Rhonabwy, in which he fights alongside Arthur at the Battle of Badon and is described as one of the king's chief advisors.

Mabon is almost certainly related to the continental Arthurian figures Mabonagrain, Mabuz, Nabon le Noir and Maboun.

Etymology

The name Mabon is derived from the Common Brythonic

Brythonic languages

The Brythonic or Brittonic languages form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family, the other being Goidelic. The name Brythonic was derived by Welsh Celticist John Rhys from the Welsh word Brython, meaning an indigenous Briton as opposed to an Anglo-Saxon or Gael...

 and Gaulish

Gaulish language

The Gaulish language is an extinct Celtic language that was spoken by the Gauls, a people who inhabited the region known as Gaul from the Iron Age through the Roman period...

 deity Maponos

Maponos

In ancient Celtic religion, Maponos or Maponus is a god of youth known mainly in northern Britain but also in Gaul. In Roman times he was equated with Apollo....

, meaning "(Divine) Son", from the Proto-Celtic root *makwo- "son". Similarly, Modron is derived from Common Brythonic

Brythonic languages

The Brythonic or Brittonic languages form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family, the other being Goidelic. The name Brythonic was derived by Welsh Celticist John Rhys from the Welsh word Brython, meaning an indigenous Briton as opposed to an Anglo-Saxon or Gael...

 and Gaulish

Gaulish language

The Gaulish language is an extinct Celtic language that was spoken by the Gauls, a people who inhabited the region known as Gaul from the Iron Age through the Roman period...

deity Matrona, meaning "(divine) Mother", from Proto-Celtic *māter "mother".