8: Vulcan's Forge, College of - New Branch Name
Returned
Firstly, several elements of the arguments for the name lacked
supporting citations and photocopies. The College of Arms
Administrative Handbook IV.C.2.
[http://heraldry.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/admin.html#IV.C] states:
2. Documentation - Documenting
evidence must be included for all name
elements, constructions, and patterns, as well as any non-standard
[sic] armorial elements or practices. Such documentation must include
references to specific pages and/or entries in the
source material. Citations must be sufficiently complete to allow
identification of the source and its usefulness, which generally
includes author,
title, and publication information (for print sources) [sic] or URL
(for
online sources) [sic]. Except for documentation from items in Appendix
H (the No-Photocopy List) [sic], such documentation must include
copies of cited source material. While the kingdom college and College
of Arms may assist with research and documentation, the submitter bears
responsibility for providing documentation for all submissions.
The materials that were provided offered evidence only that late period
artists depicted the Roman god Vulcan in the visual arts. This does not
document use of the name of a Roman deity in the name of a human
community during our period. Evidence was offered to support the use of
"Forge" in the name of a lane in a medieval English town, however, the
article that was provided appears to use "Forge Lane" as a modern
geographic reference to describe the location of a medieval plot of
tenenment dwellings. Whether the cited "Forge Lane" was so-named during
the medieval period in not stated.
Secondly, and most critically, this exact name was returned in November
2001 for failure to provide adequate evidence of the name construction
pattern. The November 2001 LoAR, under Returns: Meridies, states:
Vulcan's Forge, Canton of.
Branch name.
This branch name is being returned for lack of
documentation of the name construction. Koira points out the problems
with this name:
The submitters have shown that
native gods appear in British place names. However, they have not
shown that Roman gods do so, even in cases where a Roman god was
considered identical with a native one. Also, they have not shown that
names of the form <name of god>'s <type of place associated
with that god> appear in Britain. I'd expect to see some evidence
to support both these points.
Regarding one of the
locations mentioned in the submitted documentation, Metron Ariston
states:
It should definitely be noted that the
Wayland's Smithy that is noted on the Letter of Intent was not a site
of human habitation, but rather a neolithic burial chamber that was
never occupied by humans in the time in which it carried this
name. Indeed, according to the medieval and modern myths, Wayland
still dwelled there: It is likely that this myth travelled with the
Anglo Saxons, and the tomb became associated with Wayland because of
its uncanny quality. It is well known that the art of the smith was
shrouded in secrecy, legend and magic, and many ancient monuments
became attributed to supernatural figures. Volundr is also associated
with labyrinths, and it has been suggested that the resemblance of the
dilapidated tomb to a labyrinth may have led to its association with
the smith god. Traditionally, Wayland still inhabited the mound and
was ready to shoe a horse. The horse had to be left at the mound alone
for a short period, along with the payment of a silver coin. On
returning the horse would have been shod and the payment would have
disappeared.
(www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/majorsites/waylands_smithy.html).
Barring
evidence that the construction [Roman god's name] + [type of place
associated with that god] is a period construction in Britain and that
it was used for places that humans actually lived in, this name is not
registerable.
In order for this name to be registerable, the specific
construction of <Roman god's name> + <type of place associated
with that god> would have to be proven.
Further precedents worth noting include the following:
The March 1994 LoAR, under Returns: East, states:
Den Hornblower of Goodwin Sands.
Household name for House Vulcan.
Conflict with the fictional planet
Vulcan, which plays a major role
in various episodes of the two Star Trek television series, several of
the Star Trek movies, and many of the Star Trek books. It is certainly
famous enough to warrant protection under the Rules.
The Sepetember 16, 1980 LoAR states:
Owain ap Caradawc.
The appeal on the use of the place
name "of Caer Pedryvan" is turned
down. The rule of the College is that a place name must be a place
primarily inhabited by ordinary mortals, not a place where
occassionally a mortal was invited to visit. I point out that Dante
visited Hades and Arthur dwells on Avalon, and yet neither is
acceptable. Caer Peddryvan is a famous Castle of the Otherworld, and so
is not acceptable as a place name in the SCA. To claim to come from
such a place would be to imply either that you were non-mortal, or that
you were a hero, since in Celtic mythology anyone coming from such a
place would be treated as an extra-ordinary person worthy of great
respect. This is too presumptuous. Please take the name of a real place.
Note that the required signed petition was provided by the officers and
populace of the incipient college.
The College of Heralds suggests that the populace of the incipient
college seek assistance from heralds of the Barony Marche of the
Debatable Lands for guidance in crafting a registerable name
construction. |
