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Mabon ap Modron is a prominent figure from Welsh literature and mythology, the son of Modron and a member of Arthur's 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 god Maponos, whose name means "divine son"; Modron, in turn, is likely related to the Gaulish goddess Dea Matrona. He is often equated with the Demetian hero Pryderi fab Pwyll, and may be associated with the minor Arthurian character Mabon fab Mellt.<ref>Davies, Sioned. The Mabinogion. 2005. Oxford University Press.

Role in Welsh tradition

Culhwch ac Olwen

Culhwch and his companions at Ysbadadden's court. Image by E. Wallcousins in "Celtic Myth & Legend", Charles Squire, 1920.

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 new stepsister. Offended, the new queen puts a curse on him so that he can marry no one besides the beautiful Olwen, daughter of the giant 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. The young man immediately sets off to seek his kinsman. He finds him at his court in Celliwig in Cornwall 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 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 with his life.

The knights attack the castle by stealth, 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, then by the enchanter Menw, 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 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 wherabouts, until they are led to the salmon of Llyn Llyw, the oldest animal of them all. The enormous salmon carries Arthur's men Cei and Bedwyr downstream to Mabon's prison in Gloucester; 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

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, 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". 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 and Gaulish deity Maponos. Similarly, Modron is derived from Common Brythonic and Gaulish deity Matrona. The language changes creating the Middle Welsh form are:

dropping of masculine singular -os and feminine singular -a endings
p > b
a > o
t > d

These changes are discussed in Sims-Williams (2003).

The name Mabon has special connections to Hadrian's Wall where a cult of Apollo Maponos was practised by the Roman soldiers based there.

References

Sims-Williams, Patrick (2003) The Celtic Inscriptions of Britain: phonology and chronology, c.400-1200 Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 1-4051-0903-3

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+[[File:Culhwch.jpg|thumb|left|Arthur's court at [[Celliwig]], 1881]]
-'''Mabon ap Modron''' is a figure of [[Welsh mythology]], the son of [[Modron]]. 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]] god [[Maponos]], whose name means "divine son"; Modron, in turn, is likely related to the [[Gauls|Gaulish]] goddess [[Dea Matrona]].
+'''Mabon ap Modron''' is a prominent figure from [[Welsh literature]] and [[Welsh mythology|mythology]], the son of [[Modron]] and a member of [[King Arthur|Arthur's]] 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]] god [[Maponos]], whose name means "divine son"; Modron, in turn, is likely related to the [[Gauls|Gaulish]] goddess [[Dea Matrona]]. He is often equated with the [[Kingdom of Dyfed|Demetian]] hero [[Pryderi|Pryderi fab Pwyll]], and may be associated with the minor Arthurian character '''Mabon fab Mellt'''.<ref>Davies, Sioned. ''The Mabinogion.'' 2005. Oxford University Press.
-Mabon was a common name in medieval [[Wales]], and it is difficult to determine whether the various references to Mabons in poetry and the [[Welsh Triads|Triads]] are to the same character. The most important appearance of Mabon ap Modron is in the prose tale ''[[Culhwch and Olwen]]'', associated with the ''[[Mabinogion]]'' and perhaps authored around 1100. [[King Arthur]]'s men must recruit Mabon to fulfill the demands of [[Ysbaddaden]] the giant before he will allow his daughter [[Olwen]] marry the protagonist [[Culhwch]]. Mabon is the only one who can hunt with the dog Drudwyn, in turn the only dog who can track the great boar [[Twrch Trwyth]]. However, Mabon has been missing since he was three nights old, when unknown intruders stole him from between his mother and the wall. Arthur determines that he and his men will find and rescue Mabon. Mabon's whereabouts are unknown even to Britain's oldest and wisest animals, but finally Arthur's followers are led to the [[Salmon]] of Llyn Llyw, the oldest animal of all. The enormous salmon carries Arthur's men [[Sir Kay|Cei]] and [[Bedivere|Bedwyr]] downstream to Mabon's prison in [[Gloucester]]; 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. Mabon subsequently participates in the [[Hunting of Twrch Trwyth|hunt for the Twrch Trwyth]].
+==Role in Welsh tradition==
-Mabon is mentioned in the 10th century poem ''Pa Gur yv y Porthaur'' in a list of Arthur's companions, and is named as a servant of [[Uther Pendragon|Uther Pendragon's]]. He reappears in ''[[Breuddwyd Rhonabwy]]'', in which he is referred to as one of Arthur's chief advisers.
+===''Culhwch ac Olwen''===
+[[File:Ysbaddaden.jpeg|250px|right|thumb|Culhwch and his companions at Ysbadadden's court. Image by [[Ernest Wallcousins|E. Wallcousins]] in "Celtic Myth & Legend", Charles Squire, 1920.]]
+[[Culhwch|Culhwch's]] father, [[Cilydd|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 new stepsister. Offended, the new queen puts a curse on him so that he can marry no one besides the beautiful [[Olwen]], daughter of the [[giant (mythology)|giant]] 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 [[King Arthur|Arthur]]. The young man immediately sets off to seek his kinsman. He finds him at his court in [[Celliwig]] in [[Cornwall]] 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]] 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 fab Custennin|Goreu]] with his life.
+The knights attack the castle by [[stealth]], 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 [[Bedivere|Bedwyr]], then by the enchanter [[Menw]], 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]] 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 wherabouts, until they are led to the [[salmon]] of Llyn Llyw, the oldest animal of them all. The enormous salmon carries Arthur's men [[Sir Kay|Cei]] and [[Bedivere|Bedwyr]] downstream to Mabon's prison in [[Gloucester]]; 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 [[Hunting of Twrch Trwyth|hunt for the Twrch Trwyth]]
+===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]], 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]]". 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==
@@ Line 17: / Line 33: @@
 ==References==
+{{Reflist}}
 *Sims-Williams, Patrick (2003) ''The Celtic Inscriptions of Britain: phonology and chronology, c.400-1200'' Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 1-4051-0903-3