Editing Modron (section)

==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/>