Myth and Sword, also known as the Order of Myth and Sword, is a co-ed

secret society A secret society is an organization about which the activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence ag ...

for seniors students at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. It was originally established in 1875 as a chapter of

Phi Gamma Delta Phi Gamma Delta (), commonly known as Phi Gam and sometimes written as FIJI, is a North American social fraternity with 139 active chapters and 13 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania ...

and, after going defunct in 1965, was reformed in the 1990s.

About

Vernon Hall

Myth and Sword traces its origins to the ''Nu Deuteron chapter'' of

fraternity, established in 1875 as a third-year society at Yale University. The Phi Gam chapter was commonly known as Vernon Hall, after the name of the chapter's building. The chapter briefly went dormant but was reestablished in 1888. In 1908, its membership became exclusively limited to students of the

Sheffield Scientific School Sheffield Scientific School was founded in 1847 as a school of Yale University, Yale College in New Haven, Connecticut, for instruction in science and engineering. Originally named the Yale Scientific School, it was renamed in 1861 in honor of Jos ...

. When Yale implemented its

residential college A residential college is a division of a university that places academic activity in a community setting of students and faculty, usually at a residence and with shared meals, the college having a degree of autonomy and a federated relationship ...

system in 1933, Vernon Hall began to have financial difficulties. It closed in 1965.

Revival

The organization was revived as a senior secret society in the 1990s, under the new name, Myth and Sword or the Order of Myth and Sword. Several other Yale societies reformed at the same time, including Mace and Chain in 1993 and the Torch Honor Society in 1995.

Buildings

Phi Gamma Delta maintained a residential house and a "tomb" which was its meeting space. The society's original tomb was an Egyptian Revival building constructed in 1900 at 416 Temple Street. This building was sold to the university in 1927 and was eventually demolished to make way for Helen Hadley Hall. The fraternity's first residence was Vernon Hall on Trumbull Street. It was used for five years. Around 1915, the fraternity built a new dormitory at the corner of Temple and Grove Streets. Its construction was significantly funded by alumni Edward D. Page and J. N. H. Campbell. The new chapter house was a four-story brick and limestone English manor house that incorporated a pre-existing cloister, originally part of a residence for St. Mary's Church. Above its entrance was a carving of the fraternity's coat of arms with its Greek motto, "Friendship, the sweetest influence". The fraternity sold its chapter house to Yale in 1934, following the start of the university's residential program. Renamed Dow Hall, it was used as graduate student housing and university office and has housed the Linguistics Department since 2002.

Membership

When it reformed, Myth and Sword became co-ed. It taps or selects new members the end of their junior year.

References