Modron: Welsh Mother Goddess

Mention of Modron is made in the The Mabinogion where she is the mother of Mabon, who was stolen from her when he was 3 days old. He is rescued from his imprisonment as a young man by Culhwch and Arthur. Culhwch must find him in order to be able to hunt the 'Twrch Trwyth'.

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"The Washer at the Ford"
In the old north to Llanferres in Clwyd at a place known as Rhyd y Cyfarthfa (The Ford of Barking) every evening the local dogs gather to bark at some unknown fear. No man dares go near the place, save Urien himself who ventures out to seek the cause of the dogs' barking. But when he got there he saw nothing but a woman washing at the ford. Urien seized her and had his will of her. However, instead of berating him she blesses his arrival, saying that she had been cursed to wash at the ford until she conceived a child by a Christian man. She names herself as the daughter of Afallach, ruler of the Isle of Avalon which is the land of the dead in Welsh mythology, and tells Urien to return upon the year's end where she will present him with a son. This he did and received a boy, Owein and a girl, Morfudd.

Dea Matrona is mentioned by the Romans in their texts on the Celts living in Gaul though they frequently refer to her as Deae Matronae, triple Goddess figures seen carrying baskets of fruit, cornucopias, and babies. As such She is a Goddess of fertility, both animal and agricultural, and the "Great Mother".

The Romans mention many sanctuaries at the source of Gallic rivers. One honouring Matrona is found at the source of the river Marne.