Talk:Fylfot

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[edit] Fylfot image

The image of a shield with a swastika on it looks like a fabrication to me -- it is a depiction of "argent a fylfot azure" if such a thing exists, but I'd like to know if there are any actual shields bearing swastikas. For what it's worth, Wile E. Heresiarch 05:24, 29 Mar 2005 (UTC)

The OED's first citation is the Landsdowne MS; their second is a 1842 antiquarian quoting it. I would interpret this as: they didn't find any. More Septentrionalis 02:34, 3 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Yes, it is a "fabrication" - I fabricated it! - but one meant to illustrate how a fylfot is depicted in modern heraldry texts. Yes, it would be great to have an image of "the genuine article" - but in the absense of that, having a "fabrication" is better than having no image at all! I've also found a reference to genuine arms with fylfots - no original image, so I've redrawn it, but again better than nothing. --Ant 16:07, 14 October 2005 (UTC)

Here is an image of 'the genuine article' - but I'm not sure whether it constitutes 'heraldry:' [[1]]. Etaonsh 08:16, 23 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] 'Fylfot' a 'euphemism for swastika'?

I rather object to the notion that the correct, normal, mainstream term for this ancient symbol is 'swastika,' and that the nearest thing we have to a traditional English word for the symbol is now a 'euphemism.' This seems to both play into the hands of the historical Nazis and to overlook the fact that 'fylfot' is a shorter, less politically charged word for the same thing. I can see why it might appear to some, who are deferring to mainstream usage (or ignorance?), as a 'euphemism;' but bear in mind that some of us are thinking about the symbol from the perspective of its innocent use. Etaonsh 08:16, 23 April 2006 (UTC)

I'm not at all sure what you are saying here. "Swastika" is not a Nazi word (they usually used "hakenkreuz"), but is often mistakenly assumed to be in English speaking countries. The motifs referred to are specifically swastikas (and were called that at the the time - c1880-1920), but how now been "renamed" by collectors as fylfots, purely because of the perceived Nazi associations of the term swastika. Paul B 20:33, 8 September 2006 (UTC)
This is absolute nonsense. The term fylfot as used in heraldry predated the existence of Nazi use of the symbol by well over 500 years. --Daniel C. Boyer (talk) 14:39, 9 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Etymology: Fill-Foot/-Pot?

Adhering to the simplest, most plausible, 'fill-foot/-pot' explanation, the truncated swastika in the picture looks highly suggestive of a simple (and topical, in this 'return to renewable energy' era) water wheel. Compare [[2]]. Etaonsh 20:21, 23 April 2006 (UTC)

  • Interesting conjecture. Any references? I'm not sure of an words that have mutated "p" ==> "f"... ? --Ant 16:54, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Etymology section misformatted?

In the second list item, the material from “The Germanic root "fele"” up to and including “a "many-footed" sigil.” has been put into italics, and I can't see why that should be so. Could the person who added it please fix it, if that's not how it's meant to be? Kay Dekker 18:50, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Trivia: fylfot in Lumines?

Is it really a fylfot in this game? That is, is it depicted with the truncated arms that typically differentiate a fylfot from a swastika and actually referred to by the term "fylfot"? If not, then it is a swastika, and is likely better included in Swastikas in popular culture. --Ant 12:05, 25 November 2006 (UTC)

  • So moved. --Ant 16:51, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Fylfot information

Should this information be added?

  • A find of a fylfot carved into an ancient cave in Scotland led to Scots designing Swastika kilt pins. [citation needed]
  • Located on the Woodhouse Crag, on the Northern edge of Ilkley Moor in West Yorkshire their is a fylfot swaped pattern engraved in a stone. IMAGE. In the figure in the foreground of the picture is a 20th century replica; the original carving can be seen a little further away, at the centre-left of the picture. [3]