 Are modal facts brute? This question has been at the centre of metaphysical inquiry for a large part of the 20th century and is still widely debated. Which notion of bruteness is at stake in the debate is however (very) often unclear. The key question here is whether modal facts have their “source” in other kinds of facts.  This can be understood in various ways, some metaphysical, some not. Thus, friends of the view that necessity has its source in essence may be understood as endorsing any of the following claims: