InCeltic mythology,Dea Matrona ('Divine Mother') was thegoddess who gives her name to the riverMarne (ancientMatrŏna[1]) inGaul.
TheGaulishtheonymMātr-on-ā signifies 'Great Mother'[2] and the goddess of the Marne has been interpreted to be amother goddess.[2][3]
Many Gaulish religious images—including inexpensiveterracottastatuesmass-produced for use in householdshrines—depict mother goddesses nursing babies or holding fruits, other foods, or small dogs in their laps. In many areas, suchMatronae were depicted ingroups of three (or sometimes two)[4] (seeMatres and Matronae for the triads of mother goddesses well attested throughout northern Europe).
The name of Welsh mythological figureModron, mother ofMabon, is derived from the same etymon (and Mabon has a cognate in GaulishMaponos).[5]
See also
edit- Aveta, another Gallic mother goddess
Sources
edit- ^Ancient authors referring to the river Marne asMatrona includeJulius Caesar,Ammianus Marcellinus,Ausonius andSidonius Apollinaris.Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879)."A Latin Dictionary, 'Matrona'". Perseus, Tufts University. Retrieved1 May 2014.
- ^abXavier Delamarre (2003).Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise. Errance. p. 219.ISBN 2-87772-237-6.
- ^Cf.Jacques Lacroix (2007).Les noms d'origine gauloise - La Gaule des dieux. Errance. pp. 59–60.ISBN 978-2-87772-349-7.
- ^Miranda J. Green (1989).Symbol and Image in Celtic Religious Art. Routledge. pp. 188–204.ISBN 0-415-08076-2.
- ^Mary Jones (2007)."Modron".Jones' Celtic Encyclopedia. Retrieved4 May 2014.
- Beck, Jane (1970) "The White Lady of Great Britain and Ireland", in:Folklore 81:4.
- Loomis, Roger (1945) "Morgain La Fee and the Celtic goddesses", in:Speculum. 20:2.
- Meier, Bernhard (1998)Dictionary of Celtic Religion and Culture; Cyril Edwards, trans. Woodbridge: Boydell and Brewer.
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