As this has come up a few times on the Ars Magica mailing list, we have come up with the following list of alternative tribunal names. They have now gained a 'semi-official' status as Neil used them when reorganising the Project Redcap covenant pages into Tribunals.
A listing of Tribunal Covenants and their magi, used in our Saga can be found here. This list is drawn from the canon books of Ars Magica, combined with out own invention. Thanks are due to Sheila Thomas for her contributions.
| Tribunal | Latin Name | Alternative Latin Name |
|---|---|---|
| Greater Alps | Helvetia | Gallia Cisalpina |
| Hibernian or Eireann Tribunal | Hibernia | |
| Iberian Tribunal | Hispania | |
| Levantine Tribunal | Iudaea | |
| Loch Leglean | Caledonia | |
| Normandy | Gallia Transalpina | |
| Novgorod | Sarmatia | |
| Provençal | Aquitania | Catelonia |
| Rhine | Germania | |
| Roman | Roma | |
| Stonehenge | Britannia | |
| Theban Tribunal | Graecia | Illyria |
| Transylvania | Carpathia |
All these names seem to be 1st Declension, feminine.
Covenant names taken from the Ars Magica source books are listed first in each Tribunal, then any locally named Covenants from our House Saga. If the Covenant is known commonly by a vulgar name, I have listed that first in italics; but if commonly named in Latin yet having an English translation I have (sometimes) given this at the end. In many case, names have no translatable meaning.
In general there is a lot of potential latitude in the names.
We have tended to go for the most accurate geographical name.
We have avoided Roman Adminstrative names, notably in "Gaul".
The Romans referred to an enormous part of Europe as "Gaul",
and named certain regions by their administrative centres.
e.g. Gallia Lugdunensis, Gaul administered from Lyons (Lugdunum)
The Order of Hermes is not greatly enamoured of towns and mundane
administration, so seem very unlikely to adopt such names.
the region around the Alps, including Bavaria
We suggest Helvetia (Switzerland). However Switzerland (or bits) of it, could be in any of the Normandy, Rhine, Rome or Greater Alps tribunals. The alternative Gallia Cisalpina (meaning "the bit of Gaul this (roman) side of the Alps") is really too far south, being northern Italy.
Others have suggested Rætia, the lands between the rivers Rhine and Inn, corresponding to the black forest. This is really too far north, as it does not cover most of the Alps, although it does cover much of Bavaria.
Hibernia and some nearby islands
The Latin words Hibernia and Scotia both seem to refer to Ireland. We haven't tracked down a definitive meaning for Scotia, but all indications are that the Romans used it to mean Ireland or the northern part of Ireland.
It seems that Scotia means "the land of the Scots", who in Roman times lived in Ireland. The main people in Scotland at the time being the Picts. There have been a number of migrations of population in between Scotland and Ireland during (and no doubt before) recorded history.
We consider Scotia is too confusing to be considered a serious alternative, so prefer Hibernia.
Iberian Penisular
The Latin words Hiberia and Hispania both seem to refer to Spain or the Iberian Penisular. However if using Hibernia for the Hibernian tribunal, Hiberia is too similar.
Christian Palentine , ... a few covenants scattered throughout Egypt, Asia Minor and Syria
As this is centred on Palestine, Iudaea (Judea; land of the Jews) seem the best name.
Scotland and the northern islands
Has to be Caledonia.
See the discussion of the Hibernian Tribunal
for why we think Scotia is unsuitable.
France, including Burgundy and the Low Countries
We propose Gallia Transalpina, literally (that part of) Gaul (that is) beyond the Alps, which largely corresponds to modern France. We could not find any other geographical name covering more than a small part of the area. This would seem to cover the area of the Provençal Tribunal too. However this is also true of the ArM4 description.
Poland and Russia, Nordic and Slavic lands of the North
It is very difficult to come up with a name as the Romans never really got there. Sarmatia, southern Russia, is the best suggestion. However this really only covers a small part of the area.
Languedoc, including Gascony and Pyrenees
The Provençal Tribunal seems to have a geographically inaccurate vulgar name. Provence is the south-east of France, but the Tribunal in the south-west. We prefer Aquitania which seems to correspond better geographically (albeit far from perfect). We offer the alternative of Catelonia which has about as good a geographical fit, but with the doubts that we cannot confirm that this is actually a Latin word.
lands of the Holy Roman Empire north of the Alps
Has to be Germania.
Papal states, the Kingdom of Naples, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica
There are countless Latin names for parts of this area. Roma seems to be the best name.
England and Wales
Has to be Britannia.
Byzantine Empire - Greece, Asia Minor and the islands of the Aegean
Graecia, Greece, is probably best. Illyria, modern Yugoslavia & Albania, is a possibility but whether this is part of the Thebes or Transylvanian Tribunal is arguable.
Bulguria and Hungary
As with the Novgorod tribunal, it is very hard to find a suitable name. The favourite suggestion is Carpathia. We cannot confirm this is a Latin name. (Carpathus was the Latin name for the Greek island now called Scarpanto or Karpathos.) Transylvania may itself be Latin. However we haven't seen any better ideas.
We considered the names in Robbie Westmoreland's alternative history of the Order of Hermes, and Mark Shirley's suggestions on the Ars Magica list. We have adopted the ones we liked.
