Priestess or Goddess? The Real Morgan le Fay by Kelle ban Dea

Morgan le Fay is a popular figure for goddess-women and those interested in depictions of female spirituality, as well as a role model for some witches and pagans. Entire modern spiritual traditions such as the Avalonian tradition in Glastonbury have been created around her. She’s been portrayed in various ways in popular media and culture, and for many is more beloved than her mythical contemporaries, Arthur and Merlin. Which is interesting, because she’s a wholly fictional character, first encountered in the medieval Vita Merlini. Or is she?

While Morgan herself is, indeed, a fictional creation, many have seen echoes of ancient Celtic myth in her story. She’s a healer and magic worker, living on an Otherworldly island, sometimes with her eight sisters, guardian of Avalon with its magical apples and mists. In later iterations she’s a darker figure, an enemy of her brother Arthur, a witch and a seductress. A story we’ve all heard before.

Celtic mythology is rich in Otherworldly islands, many of which are tended by women, most commonly nine of them (this is also a common motif in Classical tradition). In the oldest poetry of Taliesin such as Preiddu Annwfn, and the native early Arthurian story Culhwch and Olwen, nine sisters/witches/ enchantresses guard a magical cauldron that is stolen by the ‘heroes’. There is rich symbolism and meaning here, which I’ve dug into a little in previous articles. Apples are also a common motif of the Otherworld. So, even if Morgan herself is fictional, she’s clearly drawn from the original myths.

But there’s more. Rather than being based on vague allusions to women around cauldrons, Morgan is also clearly at least partially based on an actual goddess, the Welsh Modron, whose name means Divine Mother, who is in turn descended from Matrona, a mother goddess worshipped in Iron Age Gaul and possibly in Britain. Matrona, too, means Divine or Great Mother. Stressing her divinity, she was also known as Dea Matrona, and in the Roman world shows clear similarities to the iconography of Demeter. There were also triple mother goddesses known as the Matronae, who may be Matrona in a triple aspect, and whose worship was widespread across both the Celtic and Germanic areas.

In Tongeren, Belgium, an altar dedicated to Matrona was found with an inscription that reads “To the mother goddesses and Matrona”. The Museum of Saint-Germain-en-Laye in France houses numerous inscriptions and artifacts dedicated to Matrona. These inscriptions depict her with attributes of fertility, such as baskets of fruit, again underlining her role as a maternal figure associated with the Earth, abundance and prosperity.

The Matronae statues are a collection of around 1,100 sculptures discovered mainly in the Rhineland of Germany, an area that was once part of the ancient Gaulish or Celtic territory. These sculptures typically feature groups of three goddesses, sitting or standing together. They hold various symbols, including, once again, baskets of fruit, cornucopias, and babies, symbolizing fertility, abundance and protection. Snakes may also be depicted, which suggest an association with healing, rebirth and the Otherworld.

Other than this last point, there is little similarity between the goddess Matrona and the character of Morgan le Fay. When we look at Modron however, it’s a different story.

One of the most famous tales in which Modron is first encountered is found within the Welsh Mabinogi, a collection of medieval Welsh myths and legends, which scholars largely agree contain elements of more ancient Celtic myths, consisting of tales that were first told in oral form. In the Mabinogi we encounter her in passing as the mother of the legendary hero named Mabon, whose name means simply Divine ‘son’ or ‘youth.’ His full title is often given as Mabon ap Modron, or ‘son of the mother.’ Scholars, particularly those of a Jungian slant, often see this as an indication that both Mabon and Modron are portrayals of the archetypes of the Great Mother and the Eternal or Divine Youth, which show up in mythology across the Western world.

In this Welsh tale, the Mother’s son is taken from her at birth and later saved and returned, illustrating themes of exile, separation and reunion between mothers and sons that echo through many other Celtic tales, particularly that of Rhiannon, a beloved goddess figure today. This has led to suggestions that Modron and Mabon are the inspiration behind these later medieval myths. Like his mother, Mabon also seems to be descended from an Iron Age god worshipped in Britain and Gaul and known as Maponus. As the Iron Age myths are currently lost to us, we may never know for sure.

Modron does show up in a myth of her own however, and it is here where we see the bones of the inspiration for Morgan le Fay. Triad 70 introduces her with: Three Heroic Bards of the Isle of Britain: Urien Rheged, Taliesin, and Modron daughter of Afallach. The Triads then tell us that Modron, daughter of Afallach, was the mother of the twins Owain and Morfydd by Urien of Rheged. Another Welsh manuscript fragment, known as Peniarth 147 then gives us a fuller story, which I have paraphrased here:

The ancient realm of Rheged was once ruled by the legendary King Urien, a wise and powerful ruler known for his prowess in battle and cattle-raiding, and his commitment to justice. Urien’s reputation extended far and wide, and his name was respected throughout the land.

One day, as Urien was traveling through his kingdom, he came upon a ford where it was said that all the hounds of the country often gathered to bark. No-one was brave enough to see what was causing the barking, except Urien himself. He approached the ford only to find a washerwoman kneeling, diligently washing clothes in the river. Her appearance was unremarkable, but there was something about her demeanor that caught Urien’s attention. She seemed to exude an air of otherworldly wisdom and mystery.

Approaching the washerwoman, Urien struck up a conversation with her, and seduced her. Afterwards, the woman blessed him and told him that she had been fated to wash at the ford until she should bear two children, a boy and a girl, to a Christian king. She then revealed herself to be none other than the daughter of Afallach, the King of Annwn, the Otherworld.

She foretold a son of great valor and a daughter of unsurpassed beauty and grace, and a year later Urien returned to the ford to collect his children. His son, Owain, grew into a fearless and renowned warrior, while his daughter, Morfudd, became celebrated for her exceptional beauty.

The Triads also list Modron’s father, Afallach, as one of the Kings of Annwfn, the name of the Brythonic, and particularly Welsh, Otherworld, which roughly translates as ‘deep place’ or ‘not-world.’ Afallach’s name means ‘place of apples,’ which also connects him with the Celtic Otherworld, as it was often associated with apples particularly as an island with orchards or magical apple trees. It is from his name that we get ‘Avalon.’

 In Arthurian legend, Morgan is both depicted as the Queen of Avalon and the wife of Urien and  mother of Owain – showing her in these respects to be identical to Modron – and as the Lady of the Lake at the head of the Avalonian barge which carries away Arthur’s body. She is associated with both death and sorcery, and in some tales is Arthur’s adversary (and sister) rather than guide, assisting in the final battle against him. Her epithet ‘le Fay’ indicates that she is a woman of the Otherworld. There are various renditions of the story of Morgan, and they become more detailed over time. She also often becomes more evil.

From goddess, to priestess, to witch. It’s a story many feminist theologians will recognise.

This article is partially extracted from my first book ‘Modron; Meeting the Celtic Mother Goddess’ published 28th January by Moon Books. You can get more information and purchase the book here.

Bio: Kelle ban Dea is an interfaith scholar and celebrant living in the UK. She has a DMin in Thealogy/Goddess Studies and is passionate about bringing knowledge of the Goddess back to the world to heal our fractured relationship with it.