Modron

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.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. 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)".

Modron (Dungeons & Dragons)

In the fictional multiverse of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, Modrons are creatures native to the outer plane of Mechanus. Modrons resemble geometric shapes with humanoid limbs and represent a living, physical manifestation of law without regard to good or evil. They follow a strict hierarchy, with each rank reporting to the rank directly above it, and issuing commands to the ones ranking beneath it. For example, a quadrone modron will report to a pentadrone, and command several tridrones.

Publication history

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977-1988)

Modrons were created by Francois Marcela-Froideval, working from suggestions by Gary Gygax. They first appeared in 1983, in the AD&D 1st edition Monster Manual II, which introduced the base modrons (including the monodrone, the duodrone, the tridrone, the quadrone, and the pentadrone), the hierarch modrons (including the decaton, the nonaton, the octon, the septon, the hexton, the quinton, the quarton, the tertian, and the secundus), and Primus (The One and the Prime).