An Etymological Excursion Among the Discussion Groups

by David Bratman

[used by permission of the author]




tradition for which newer members may need some explanation and guidance is


virtually all groups were named for places (or occasionally groups of


recent years some groups have adopted more functional or idiosyncratic



what kind of names have been used, on what basis they've been chosen, and

what names are still available.


The Mythopoeic Society was founded as a single discussion group in Los




days the term for a group was branch, so they were "The San Gabriel Valley

Branch", "The Hollywood-Wilshire Branch", etc. In the summer of 1970 the

West Los Angeles Branch dubbed itself "The Chapter of the Western Marches",

and soon the other existing groups followed by adopting appropriately

mythopoeic geographic nicknames, mostly from our authors, such as

"Lothlorien", "Archenland", and "Battle Hill", and a tradition was born.


branch designations became merely descriptors of location. Thus the groups


also having the other.


The following dictionary of mythopoeic names used by discussion groups is



that never had names, or had unidentifiable or purely functional (e.g. "The

Tolkien Society of (Place)") names. But it does include all groups that

have had long-established existences. "Prospective" indicates a group that





help inspire new groups looking for a mythopoeic name.




Barad-dur (Coraopolis, Pennsylvania - prospective): In The Lord of the

Rings, Sauron's tower in Mordor.


Baranduin (Kansas City, Kansas - prospective): In The Lord of the Rings,

the Elvish name for the Brandywine River.


Belfalas (Long Beach, California - prospective): In The Lord of the Rings,

a fair coastal region of Gondor. Alludes to Long Beach's situation as a

coastal region of Los Angeles.




County's situation relatively distant (and across a border) from Los Angeles.




San Joaquin Valley, California.




trolls to think he said he was a burrahobbit.


Butterbur's Woodshed (mail group): In The Lord of the Rings, Gandalf

refers in a letter to Butterbur's memory as being like a lumber-room. This

was misremembered by the group's namers as a woodshed. Alludes to the

group's meetings being conducted by mail.






to which Frodo moves before leaving the Shire.




Alludes to Pomona Valley's being a desolation of smog.


Dimrill Dale (Madison, New Jersey - prospective): In The Lord of the Rings,

the valley outside Moria where Mirrormere is located.



city of Prince Imrahil in Belfalas.


Doriath (Huntsville, Alabama - prospective): In The Silmarillion,

Thingol's hidden woodland elf-kingdom.



Rohirrim for their own people.




Seattle area.



the Dwarves were outfitted. Alludes to Toronto's similar situation on a

long lake.


Fanuidhol (Denver, Colorado - prospective): In The Lord of the Rings, the


overlooking Denver.



capital of the Numenorean kingdom of Arthedain. Possibly alludes to the

group's similar northern location.



phrase occuring in an Elven poem, meaning "tree-tangled Middle-earth".

Alludes to the arboreal reference in the name Ann Arbor.



city of Turgon, to which Tuor comes.



in Bywater in the Shire.


The Grey Havens (Monterey, California): In The Lord of the Rings, Cirdan's

harbor from which ships sail to Valinor. Alludes to Monterey's situation as

a foggy western harbor. Also used in variant form by "The Havens of Long

Beach" (California) and a number of prospective groups.



in Rohan where a major battle is fought.



the hidden refuge of Faramir and his Rangers.



village above which Bilbo and Frodo live.


The Iron Hills (Riverside, California - prospective): In The Hobbit, the


hills being similarly to the east of L.A.




City, Michigan.



the Dwarvish name for their own race.




the caves at the University of California at Santa Cruz, the group's

original meeting place. Also used as "The Bridge of Khazad-dum" by a group

in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.



Silmarillion, the alliance between Elendil and Gil-galad that defeated

Sauron at the end of the Second Age.



elven woodland kingdom of Galadriel and Celeborn. The original Mythopoeic






Alludes to Bowling Green's flat (and formerly marshy) surroundings and to the initials

of the local Society for Creative Anachronism group.



Sindarin, meaning "Tower of the Sea".


Mirrormere (La Habra-Whittier, California - prospective): In The Lord of the Rings,

the lake in Dimrill Dale where Durin beheld Durin's Crown.




respelled it to emphasize the homonym "myth".



Finrod Felagund.


Neldoreth (Chicago, Illinois - prospective): In The Silmarillion, the

forest where Beren met Luthien.


Niggle's Parish (Los Angeles, California): In "Leaf by Niggle," the name




forest of Tom Bombadil and Old Man Willow.


Orthanc (Chicago, Illinois): In The Lord of the Rings, Saruman's tower in




abandoned river-spanning capital of Gondor.



Barliman Butterbur's inn at Bree.



wizard Radagast. Alludes to Washington's location in the Society for

Creative Anachronism's Mirkwood province. Later replaced by Knossos.







the Elven refuge where Elrond dwells. Allusion to the Mississippi River

which flows between the Twin Cities.



eastern Numenor. Alludes to the group's eastern location.




Alludes to the volcanos of Hawaii.




names for county names in eastern Pennsylvania.


Shire Talk (Kamiah, Idaho - prospective): In The Lord of the Rings, the

Hobbits have a phrase "Sure as Shiretalk".


South Farthing (Dallas, Texas - prospective): In The Lord of the Rings,

the Southfarthing is the southern portion of the Shire. Alludes to Texas's



Tookland (Fountain Valley, California - prospective): In The Lord of the Rings,

the folkland of the Tooks in the Shire.




view from the beaches near Torrance.



council of the Wise who oppose Sauron.





kingdom of which Shasta is the lost heir.










where the story takes place.




conditions of San Bernardino.





which she hails.


The Wood Between the Worlds (Kitsap, Washington): In The Magician's






battlefield turned suburb where the story takes place.


Coinherence (online group): In Williams's theology, the intimate

reciprocalinter-relationship between persons.


The Council of Logres (Vancouver, B.C. - prospective): In Taliessin Through

Logres and The Region of the Summer Stars, and also Lewis's That Hideous

Strength, Logres is the idealized counterpart of Britain, which the

companies of Logres are pledged to protect.



title refers to the Platonic archetype lion which dominates the narrative.


The Region of the Summer Stars (San Diego, California - prospective): In


poetic and romantic fulfillment.





story of Annwn is retold in Evangeline Walton's Prince of Annwn.



Arthur's body was taken. Sometimes identified with Glastonbury. Possibly

alludes to Sacramento's similar situation surrounded by lowlands subject to






called itself "Chapter of the Western Marches".





Minoan nation of ancient Crete. Allusion possibly to Washington's being the

capital of its nation, with equally magnificent monuments.




as "Middle-earth".




Roke (Baton Rouge, Louisiana): In Ursula K. Le Guin's A Wizard of




Sheep, Indeed (Northeastern Georgia): This name came to the group's founder


refusal to "follow the crowd" and to the difficulty of gathering them together.


Starforge (Berkeley, California): specific reference unknown. Later

replaced by Storisende.


Storisende (Berkeley, California): In James Branch Cabell's Figures of

Earth, Manuel's castle; also the title Cabell used for the collected

edition of his works.





For current Discussion Group meeting plans,

Access the Activity Calendar

Gaze into the Hermits'Pool , a page devoted to fantasy discussion groups

Go to The Mythopoeic Society homepage

Back to The Bird & Baby

