VULCANO, VULCANUS. Vulcan was the Roman counterpart of the Greek god Hephaestus, god of fire and of blacksmiths. He was thrown from the battlements of Olympus and thereafter limped. He fell on the island of Lemnos, where the women nursed him; later, the inhabitants worshipped him. He became Venus's husband and suffered accordingly. When he discovered her affair with Mars, he forged a net of fine bronze and rigged it up above her bed. As she lay with Mars, the net descended and prevented their escape. Vulcan then called the gods to witness their confusion (Met IV.173-189; OM IV.1268-1371; Confessio Amantis V.636-746). Vulcan was called Mulciber (Fasti VI.626-627), a name known to medieval mythographers, but Chaucer does not use it.

Palamon addresses Venus as spouse of Vulcanus, KnT 2222. Arcite reminds Mars that he, too, has suffered the pain of love for Venus and that Vulcan has caught him in his net, KnT 2383-2391. A gold image of Vulcan appears in the temple of glass, HF I.119-139. [Mars: Venus]

Vulcano appears once in final rhyming position, HF I.138; Vulcanus, the Latin form, occurs once medially, KnT 2389, and once in final rhyming position, KnT 2222.