Celtic mythology Celtic mythology is the body of myths belonging to the Celtic peoples.Cunliffe, Barry, (1997) ''The Ancient Celts''. Oxford, Oxford University Press , pp. 183 (religion), 202, 204–8. Like other Iron Age Europeans, Celtic peoples followed ...

, Dea Matrona ("divine mother goddess") was the

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes ...

who gives her name to the river Marne (ancient ''Matrŏna'') in

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

. The

Gaulish Gaulish was an ancient Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, most of Switze ...

theonym A theonym (from Greek ''theos'' (Θεός), " god"'','' attached to ''onoma'' (ὄνομα), "name") is the proper name of a deity. Theonymy, the study of divine proper names, is a branch of onomastics (the study of the etymology, history, and ...

''Mātr-on-ā'' signifies "great mother" and the goddess of the Marne has been interpreted to be a

mother goddess A mother goddess is a goddess who represents a personified deification of motherhood, fertility goddess, fertility, creation, destruction, or the earth goddess who embodies the bounty of the earth or nature. When equated with the earth or t ...

. Many Gaulish religious images—including inexpensive

terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terra ...

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...

mass-produced Mass production, also known as flow production or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. Together with job production and ba ...

for use in household

shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon, or similar figure of respect, wherein they ...

s—depict mother goddesses nursing babies or holding fruits, other foods, or small dogs in their laps. In many areas, such ''Matronae'' were depicted in groups of three (or sometimes two) (see

Matres and Matronae The Matres (Latin for "mothers") and Matronae (Latin for "matrons") were female deities venerated in Northwestern Europe, of whom relics are found dating from the first to the fifth century AD. They are depicted on votive offerings and altars th ...

for the triads of mother goddesses well attested throughout northern Europe). The name of Welsh mythological figure

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 l ...

, mother of Mabon is derived from the same etymon. By analogy, Dea Matrona may conceivably have been considered the mother of the Gaulish Maponos.

Sources

* 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. Gaulish goddesses Mother goddesses Sea and river goddesses {{Celt-myth-stub

See also

Sources