The following excerpt is from my book King Arthur’s Children: A Study in Fiction and Tradition upon a little discussed aspect of Arthur’s perhaps forgotten brother in early Arthurian legends:
Before we leave Mordred, we should notice that there may be some confusion between him as either Arthur’s son or brother, and between Mordred and a brother of Arthur’s named Modron. The confusion is further increased since Modron usually appears as Arthur’s sister rather than brother.R.S. Loomis tells us that the ravens of The Mabinogion who battle with Arthur’s knights are Arthur’s nephew Owain’s mother, Modron, and her sisters, the daughters of Avallach (Wales 96-7). Loomis also states that Morgan le Fay and Modron have a connection because both are daughters of Avallach (Celtic Myth 192). If Morgan le Fay and Modron are sisters, we must first wonder whether they are Arthur’s sisters, making them the daughters of one of Arthur’s parents, or are they the children of Avallach? If Modron is Owain’s mother, it seems strange that Morgan is also frequently credited with having a child named Owain. Perhaps the two are not sisters, but merely the same person with a confused identity. This situation may be a similar case to Arthur’s Welsh sons becoming confused or integrated into Mordred.
Celtic scholars are in agreement that Modron, who seems to be Morgan le Fay’s sister, is the old Gallo-Roman goddess Matrona, who gave her name to the river Marne, and therefore, seems to be connected with water (Loomis, Celtic Myth, 193). If this connection to a river is true, it should not surprise us that Modron is sister to Morgan, who is often the Lady of the Lake.
When the Welsh wrote of Modron in their legends, they made her the mother of both Owain and Mabon (Loomis, Celtic Myth, 193). This son, Mabon, can be traced back to Apollo Maponos, who was worshiped in both Gaul and Britain (Loomis, Celtic Myth, 4).
What is strange is that if Modron were a female, she should later appear as Arthur’s brother in a modern novel such as in Edward Franklin’s The Bear of Britain (1944), where he is treacherous, along with Mordred, who is here Arthur’s nephew (Thompson 41).
In other works, Mordred has been depicted as Arthur’s brother, which may be another confusion with Modron, but more likely authors just taking license with the story. In Edison Marshall’s novel The Pagan King (1959), Mordred is Arthur’s half-brother. Why would Arthur have both a treacherous brother and nephew? In Marshall’s opinion, it must have seemed easier to combine the two into one character. We may then wonder whether Mordred and Modron have an older mythological connection or at least these writers are drawing upon what they want to believe is a lost connection.
In the Prince Valiant comic strip, begun by Hal Foster in 1937 and still running in more than 300 newspapers each Sunday, Mordred is also Arthur’s half-brother. In this case Mordred has a daughter, but she is not King Arthur’s direct descendant as a result. Mordred’s daughter Maeve marries Arn, the son of Prince Valiant. Arn and Maeve’s daughter Ingrid (born in the 1987 comic strip) has been designated as Arthur’s heir. Mordred has been removed from the line of succession. My guess is that Foster chose to depict Mordred as Arthur’s half-brother to avoid the issue of incest in a comic strip; I doubt Foster was interested in the relationship between Mordred and Modron.
Modron cannot be readily accepted as an early brother of Arthur. Nowhere in early traditions does he appear as such. However, in Welsh tradition is a tale where Arthur speaks to an eagle, which reveals itself to be his deceased nephew, Elewlod, the son of Madawg, son of Uthr (Bromwich, Arthur Welsh, 58). That Madawg’s son should become an eagle, may remind us of Modron as a raven, and also the legends which tell of Arthur being turned into a raven rather than dying. Perhaps then we can accept Madawg as being Modron.
Modron’s reasons for becoming confused with Mordred may also have explanations. We have seen Modron’s possibility as a sister to Morgan le Fay, Lady of the Lake. Modron herself is connected to river goddesses. Mordred definitely has a connection to water through his mythological ancestor, Dylan. Suggested connections have also been made betwen Pryderi and Rhiannon and Modron and Mabon, who was also taken away when three nights old from his mother (MacCana 83). In “Culhwch and Olwen,” Cei and Gwrhyr search for Mabon and must ask all the oldest animals where he may be. In her chapter “Chrétien de Troyes,” Jean Frappier points out that in Yvain are blended in traditions of Modron as a water nymph (Loomis, Arthurian Literature,163), and in an Irish tale, a character named Fraech is wounded by a water-monster and is then carried away by his fairy kinswomen to be healed. In her chapter “The Vulgate Cycle,” Jean Frappier makes notice of another Irish tale that tells of Fergus mac Leite being wounded by a water-monster, and as he lays by the lake dying, he charges his people that his sword Caladcolg (the original of Excalibur) should be preserved till it can be given to a fitting lord (Loomis, Arthurian Literature, 310). Could Mordred then have an origin as a water monster or as a female goddess of the sea? Or could there be a lost tradition that Mordred is the son of Modron? Why not, since we already have Morgan le Fay and Morgause as possible mothers for him.
Accurate connections between Mordred and Modron have not yet been made, but the similarities may point to a need for further investigation into this matter.
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Tyler Tichelaar, Ph.D. is the author of King Arthur’s Children: A Study in Fiction and Tradition. You can also visit him at www.ChildrenofArthur.com
I’m not sure I see the Madawg / Modron connection, but Mordred / Modron is a fascinating possibility. (In the animated series of Prince Valiant, btw, Mordred is unrelated to Arthur – but is, initially, Morgan’s lover.)
I haven’t seen the animated version, but maybe they toned down the story for the kids. It only makes sense Arthur and Mordred are related so his and Valiant’s children can marry and their grandchild be Arthur’s heir, the heir being a blood relative. I do still have to watch the animated series.
Well, the animated series doesn’t carry the story that far. The succession is an issue in one storyline, but I don’t want to spoil it for you!
(Don’t know why WP thinks I was posting too quickly – that was my first comment on a WP blog in days.)
Mordred and Arthurs relationship has always given me pause, even at an early age. With such excellent brotherly rivalries I always felt the Athurian tales had missed out on something. The more I looked into it, I almost felt that Mallory’s version felt like defamation towards the king. Lancelot and Galahad, his recent creations, easily outdoing Arthur in terms of bravery, skill, and nobility.
I like Arthur and Mordred as siblings. A younger brother witha fantastical claim? When the elder has the right? There’s your Cain and Abel, Thor and Loki. Brother against brother, marvelous.
Off to order your book now!
Thank you, Camlann, for the comments. I do like the idea of sibling rivalry. I don’t know any recent author who has depicted Arthur and Mordred as brothers, but Elizabeth Wein’s novel, The Winter Prince, does a good job of showing Mordred caught up in sibling rivalry with his brother. I love Malory, but it is embroidery on the original storyline. It actually was Chretien de Troyes who introduced Lancelot into the story. Malory built off of him and several other medieval authors. Hope you enjoy my book!
Thank you for the correction! Fan fiction on top of fan fiction! I’ll have to look into the Winter Prince as well, after your book of course.
A close friend pointed me in the direction of Bernard Cromwell’s take on the classic legend. Arthur, Uther’s bastard, is the younger brother of Uther’s true born son, Mordred, who dies before the start of the novel. Mordred is survived by his son..Mordred, giving Arthur the nephew antagonist prevalent in some Welsh versions of the tale.
The book arrives Wednesday! Thank you Amazon Prime! Looking forward to it.
Thanks again for the comment, Camlann. I do discuss Bernard Cornwell’s version of Arthur’s children in my book. Enjoy!
I believe that the following will give you an idea of how the genealogy was modified over time:
Mātīr/(mother)
Matres/(mothers) [Fates/Dísir – overall term for ghosts, spirits, or deities associated with fate] and Matrones/(mothers/matrons) – 1st Century AD
Deae Matres/(divine mother goddesses) and (Deae Matrōnae)/(divine matron goddesses) – 1st Century AD
Deae Matres/(divine mother goddesses) and Dea Matrōna/(divine (mother/matron) goddess) – 1st Century AD
Death?/(Horned Creature?)/[Cernunnos?] & (Dea Matrōna)/(divine mother goddess)/Mātronā/(great mother) [Ligurian (Gallo-Italic), strong Celtic affinities] – 2nd Cent AD – son: Maponos/Maponus
{Meldos/Melld/Mellt/Mars Loucetios/Loucetius/Leucetius and Nemetona/Victoria} – AD 221 (3rd Century AD)
Meldos/Melld/Mellt/Mars Loucetios/Loucetius/Leucetius and Mydron/Modron/(mother) – AD 1101 (AD 1060) – son: Mabon
Gwron/Euron/Uironos and Modron/(mother) – AD 1225 (AD 1151)
Urien Rheged and Modron/(mother) – AD 1201 (AD 1045) – twin son and daughter: Owain and Morfudd/Morfydd
Morgen, Moronoe, Mazoe; Gliten, Glitonea, Gliton; Tyronoe, Thiten, cithara known Thiten (based on The Gallizenae from the Ile de Sein/Sena:
existed before 1287 BC and information of their existence written c AD 43/44, adapted in AD 1150)
Urien(s)/(Urience of Gore) and (Morgan le Fay)/(The Fa(ir)y born of the Sea) – AD 1171/1172 sons: Ywain/Yvain/Ewain/Uwain/(Owain), Rhiwallon, Rhun, and Pasgen
Another version of this that is integrated into the overall historical development of Morgan le Fay is found at http://MorganMordredAvalon.CircleOfLogres.com/
Go to section I.B.4.c.in the outline.
Hope this helps.
Thank you for the very informative comment. Yes, I can definitely see how this interpretation progressed over time.
You are very welcome. Feel free to check out the rest of the website. You may find additional useful information. Cheers! 😎😁😎