ÆTHELMEARC COLLEGE OF HERALDS - commentary archive
Letter of Intent #124
Myfanwy ferch Rhiannon

Also available as a PDF file.

                                                                              Feast of St. Werburgh
                                                                              3 February AS XLIV
 
Greetings from Myfanwy!
Herein pray find commentary on Æ #124.  All of the armory has been conflict checked through the November 2009 LoAR.  I was a bit conservative in calling things clear rather than just leaving them off, but I’m a bit out of practice (the last couple of letters I didn’t have time to do a lot of checking, except in the LoARS.
Please note that my email is in the process of changing -- the Nauticom address still works, but I don’t know for how much longer it will be active.  The new address is in the signature line.
I remain your servant and the Society’s.
Lady Myfanwy ferch Rhiannon
Ruth Morrisson
myfanwy@consolidated.net
 
      1. Æthelmearc, Kingdom of (Heraldic Title) -- Nesselblatt Herald
The Wikipedia docs appear to be as cited, but I’m not sure if that is sufficient, given the nature of the medium (i.e., can we find it in another source that is *not* dependent on whoever made the last entry?).  Is there a German equivalent to the OED that we can date the earliest use of the term?  Note that he submitter has asked for authenticity for 13th-14th century Middle High German, but has documented the term (if not the charge itself, which isn’t a problem) only to the 15th century.
Additionally, is there any evidence that this type of construction is found in German heraldic titles?  I did a Google search and found an article written by Juliana de Luna (Julia Smith) called “Heraldic Titles from the Middle Ages and Renaissance: Forms by Origin and Country” [URL: http://medievalscotland.org/kmo/HeraldicTitles/
heraldic_titles_by_type.shtml] which describes the types of patterns used in various countries in period.  It says in part:
            German Kings of Arms titles are ... locative in origin; some are straight-
            forward locatives, such as Preußen [sic] (Prussia), while the most famous,
            Romreich [sic] (essentially “Roman realm”) is more complex.
                  Heralds [sic] have much more uniform titles, with the vast majority
            of titles derived from locations, whether titles, cities, or surnames that
            are locative in nature....
            It’s heard to say a great deal about German titles by rank, as some authors
            use herald for both heralds and pursuivants....However, locative titles
            dominate, although all sorts are found.....
                  We still know little about heraldic titles in Germany and the Low
            Countries.  The few titles we have are mostly locative in nature: Romreich
            [sic], Luxembourg [sic], Gelre [sic], Beyren [sic].  However, there are
            examples of titles derived from mottos, charges, and titles or terms of
            address (Kayser [sic] and Burggraf [sic]).
The [admittedly] single example of a German heraldic title based on a charge in the data is that of <Eisvogl Herald>.  The link for this title [URL: http://medievalscotland.org/
kmo/HeraldicTitles/dictionary.shtml#Eisvogl%20Herald] dates its use to 1390 (which would be within the submitter’s desired timeframe), saying that it is derived from a kingfisher.
It is unclear to me whether this single example (given that it is a bird, and not a plant/leaf) is sufficient documentation for a German heraldic title.  In general, however, according to a Precedent from François’ second tenure as Laurel, the name of the charge must be period:
                  [Octofoil Herald] [sic]  In order to be registerable as a heraldic title,
            the name of a heraldic charge must be found in period. Unfortunately,
            this is not the case for octofoil [sic]. The earliest date that the OED has
            for this term is 1844.
                  Although a foil of eight leaves is a period charge, the best evidence
            we have is that it was called a double quatrefoil in period. Leigh, The
            accedens of armory [sic], in 1562 says of this charge "the double Caterfoyle
            ... He beareth the quaterfoyle double ... because he is the viij from the
            heire", while Guillim, A display of heraldrie [sic], 1610, calls it "the Double
            Cater-foile." We would change the title to match this documentation,
            but the submitter will only accept minor changes. [Artemisia, Kingdom
            of, LoAR 10/2004, Artemisia-R] [sic]
My suggestion is that this be forwarded to Laurel with a request for additional assistance (although .I have a bad feeling that Mistress Juliana’s article may be the sum total of what information is available).
Is there any indication what this title is to be used for (group herald, retirement title, etc.)?  Just curious.
 
      2. Æthelmearc, Kingdom of (Heraldic Title) -- Tabor Herald
Is there any indication what this title is to be used for (group herald, retirement title, etc.)?  Just curious.
The docs are all as cited (the cite from The Compact OED [Vol. II, p. 3217 (reproducing Section T, pp. 10-13)] is identical).
 
      3. Æthelmearc, Kingdom of (Heraldic Title) -- White Conye Herald
Is there any indication what this title is to be used for (group herald, retirement title, etc.)?  Just curious.
The docs for <White> are as cited.  In addition, The Compact OED [Vol. II, p. 3764, (reproducing Section Wh, pp. 70-73)] gives the definition of <white>  as:
            1. [sic] Of the colour [sic] of snow or milk; having that colour [sic]
            produced by reflection, transmission, or emission of all kinds of light
            in the proportion in which they exist in the complete visible spectrum,
            without sensible absorption, being thus fully lumi- [sic] nous and
            devoid of any distinctive hue.
The submitted spelling is dated to 1300, from the Cursor M. 17288 + 216:
            Two aungels..Cled in white clothes.
The docs for <Conye> appear to be mostly as cited; the identical information is found in The Compact OED [Vol. I, p. 549 (reproducing Section C, pp. 953-56)].
The docs from Parker are as cited.  However, I wonder why this blazon was cited, as opposed to other blazons that actually use the term <coney> [Parker, pp. 306-7, sn Hare]; for example [p. 307]:                :
                  Argent, on a chevron azure a coney passant be- [sic] tween two
            fishes hauriant of the first; on a chief checky of the first and second a
            rose or [sic] on a pale of the second -- CHEY- [sic] NEY, Bp. of Bristol,
            1562-79.
 
      4. Ariella of Thornbury (badge) -- Argent, in pale two hearts gules winged Or.
This not particularly well drawn (especially the wings) but is probably registrable.  Note that this was *also* conflict-checked against seeblatts; there is a precedent from François’ second tenure which says:
                  [Argent, a seeblatt gules between two bendlets sinister azure.] [sic]
            This conflicts with Karen Roslin: Argent, a heart gules between two pallets
            wavy azure  [sic]. There is a CD for type of secondary charge between
            bendlets sinister and pallets wavy, but changing the line of division is
            part of the type change. There is no CD for type between a heart and
            a seeblatt, leaving just the single CD. [Grietje Crynes, LoAR 09/2004,
            Northshield-Rd] [sic]
I checked in the PIC-DIC [fig. 641] and the default orientation for a seeblatt is similar to that of a heart (i.e., with the point to the bottom).
      possibly clear of: Jeene MacDoughal (1/96 Atlantia) -- Gules, in pale two winged hearts Or.
There is a CD for changing the field; there may be a CD for changing half the tincture of the charges, but there is nothing for number or arrangement.
      clear of: Eli{sv}ka z Jihlavy (badge, 7/06 West) -- (Fieldless) A heart gules winged Or.
There is a CD for field vs. fieldless, and one for number.
      probably clear of: Augaire Uisnigh (12/94 Outlands) -- Argent, a griffin sejant between in pale two hearts gules.
There is a CD for removing the primary charge, and probably one for removing the wings on the hearts.
 
      5. Cainder ingen Chonchobair -- Gules, on a shamrock argent a thistle proper.
The shamrock is so large as to be almost (but not quite) throughout; it is not particularly well drawn, but is probably registrable.
      clear of: Maura MacPharlane (badge, 7/00 Atlantia) -- (Fieldless) On a shamrock/ Or a thistle proper.
There is a CD for field vs. fieldless and one for tincture of the shamrock.
      clear of: Olwen of Buckland (8/79 ??) -- Azure, a trefoil stalked argent. 
There is  a CD for changing the field, and one for adding the tertiary charge.
      clear of: Blaiddwyn, College of (badge, 11/04 Outlands) -- Gules, in fess a trefoil slipped and three wolf’s teeth issuant from sinister argent.
There is a CD for removing the secondaries, and one for adding the tertiary.
 
      6. Desiderata Drake (resub) -- Azure, in a [sic] pale a duck’s head and two swords in saltire, on a chief wavy argent, three hearts gules.
These are rapiers, rather than swords; while t here is no heraldic difference, there is a blazonable difference.  Additionally, the head is erased.
This is probably the limit for number of “bumps” on the line of division -- there should probably be an artist’s note to have fewer (and larger) ones.
Complexity count of 7 (three tinctures, four types of charges); possibly 8 if you count the complex line of division on the chief.
Reblazon: Azure, in pale a duck’s head erased and two rapiers in saltire, on a chief wavy argent, three hearts gules.
      clear of: Alan of Rosley (5/03 East) -- Azure, two rapiers in saltire and on a chief argent three roses proper.
There is a CD for addition of co-primary, and one for adding the complex line to the chief; however, there is only change of type of tertiary (this may not count for RfS X.4.2.j because submission isn’t simple armory).
      possibly clear of: Dorothea van der Zee (9/92 West) -- Azure fretty, on a chief wavy argent three tulips gules, slipped and and leaved vert.
There is at least one CD for changing the type and number of charges; there may also be a CD for change of type and partial tincture of the tertiaries.
      clear of: Geneviève de Lyon (12/00 Atlantia) -- Azure, two swords crossed in saltire proper, on a chief wavy argent a fleur-de-lys azure.
There is a CD for adding the co-primary, and one for cumulative changes to the tertiary charge group.
 
      7. Duncan von Halstern (badge) -- Per pale purpure and sable, a lion rampant and a bordure argent.
      probably clear of: Guilliaume Lavet (9/07 Lochac) -- Per bend gules and sable, a winged lion rampant guardant and a bordure argent.
There is a CD for changing the field, and there should be one for removal of the wings; there is, however, nothing for head position.
      clear of: Rhywallon the Greycatt (7/86 Atenveldt) -- Per bend sinister vert and sable, a catamount rampant, in sinister chief a compass-star elongated to base all within a bordure argent.
There is a CD for changing the field, and one for removing the secondary charge.
      clear of: Isabeau d’Aquitaine (12/08 Caid) -- Per pale purpure and sable, a rabbit courant contourny and a bordure argent.
This is clear by X.2: both are simple armory, with complete change of the type of primary charge.
      clear of: Ruth Parlour (7/91 Atlantia) -- Per pale vert and azure, a catamount salient guardant ermine maintaining a chalice, a bordure argent.
There is a CD for changing the field, and one for changing the tincture of the primary charge (but nothing for a lion vs. a catamount); there is nothing for the head position or for the removal of the maintained charge, and nothing for posture.
      possibly not clear of: Gaston de Barre (11/06 Æthelmearc) -- Per pale gules and sable, a tyger rampant within a bordure argent.
There is a CD for changing half the field; however, by Precedent there is not substantial difference between a tyger and a lion; from François’ second tenure:
                  [Per pale Or and azure, two lions combatant counterchanged.] [sic]
            This device conflicts with the Kingdom of the East, Per pale Or and azure,
            two tygers combattant counterchanged [sic]. By precedent, there is only
            significant, not substantial, difference for the change from tygers to lions:
 
                  [a lion vs. a continental panther] [sic] There is one CD, but not
                  substantial difference, between a heraldic (as opposed to natural)
                  [sic] panther and a lion, just as there is only one CD between a
                  heraldic tyger and a lion per RfS X.4.e. [Jane Atwell, 02/03,
                  R-Æthelmearc] [sic]
 
            [Andreas de Caunteton, LoAR 01/2005, Atlantia-R] [sic]
      probably clear of: clear of: Aldwyn ap Llewelyn (4/87 Atlantia) -- Gules, a lion rampant guardant within a bordure, both argent goutty de sang.
There is a CD for changing the field, and there should be one for removing the tertiaries; there is nothing for the head position, however.
 
      8. Edward Harbinger (household name and badge for House of the Woolf and Thymble) -- [Fieldless] A wolf’s head sable sustaining in its mouth a thimble argent
the O’Brien article docs are as cited; note, however, that this is the only example of <animal> + <thing> documented (and is also a 17th century one at that).
The documentation for <House> appears to  be as cited; clicking on the “Results detail” link gets one to specific transcriptions of the text for the work cited, in which the submitted spelling is found [URL: http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=cme;cc=cme;type=simple;rgn=full%20text;q1=house;view=reslist;subview=detail;sort=occur;start=1;size=25;didno=3KCol]. 
The documentation for <woolf> is as cited, with the specific text cited found at [URL: http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=cme;cc=cme;type=simple;rgn=full%
20text;q1=woolf;view=reslist;subview=detail;sort=occur;start=1;size=25;didno=AFZ9170.0001.001].  The Compact OED [Vol. II, p. 3807, (reproducing section Wh, pp. 242-45), sn Wolf] gives <woolf(e) as a subsidiary header form, but does not appear to have a dated citation for this spelling.
The OED cite for <Thymble> is not quite as cited.  The submitted spelling is only dated to 1530 in The Compact OED [Vol. II, p. 3290 (reproducing Section T, pp. 302-05)]; the cite is from PALSGR 280/2:
            Thymble to sowe with, deyl.
The 1440 cite is for the form <thymbyl; other 15th century forms include <thymbylle> and <thymbyll>.
Is this really sustained?  I’m not sure it is, but I’m also not sure if there’s a better depiction (obviously, given the name, they want the charges to be co-primaries).
      possibly clear of: Wolfram Faust (badge, 5/96 Trimaris) -- (Fieldless) A wolf’s head erased sable attired of a ram’s horns Or.
There is a CD for fieldless vs. fieldless; if the thimble is considered to be substantial enough to be a sustained charge (and I think it’s borderline as to whether it is or not), then there would be a second CD, for addition of co-primary.
      clear of: George Aeulfson (10/85 East) -- Argent, a wolf’s head erased, holding in its jaws a sword palewise inverted sable, all within a bordure vert.
There is a CD for field vs. fieldless, and one for removing the peripheral charge.  There may also be at least one CD for type and tincture of the sword to a thimble, if the thimble is ruled to be substantial enough to be a co-primary (vs. the sword, which may be a maintained charge).
      possibly clear of: Leidhrún Leidólfsdóttir (9/92 Ansteorra) -- Per fess paly azure and argent, and argent, in base a wolf’s head couped sable.
There is a CD for field vs. fieldless, and possibly one for addition of the co-primary.                   probably clear of: Julianna Peri de Novellara (2/99 Middle) -- (Fieldless) A thimble argent.
There is a CD for fieldless vs. fieldless; there should also be one for addition of the co-primary.
     
      9. Elss von Augsberg -- Per pale gules and Or, in fess two fleurs-de-lys counterchanged.
The docs for the given name are mostly as cited.  However, the documentation for <ß> as a ligature has not been provided -- my (admittedly meager) understanding of *modern* German is that the <ß>, while an equivalent of <ss> is not a ligature so much as a separate letter.
The online docs for the byname seem to be as cited.  Note that for the modern spelling <Würzburg>, the documented spellings include both <-burg> and <-purg> (as well as <-berg> and <-perg> forms).  The Siebmacher docs are also as cited.
The charges do not appear to be centered in their relative spaces -- does they need to be reblazoned as being in chief? 
Possible reblazon: Per pale gules and Or, in fess two fleurs-de-lys in chief  counterchanged.
Possible reblazon: Per pale gules and Or, in fess two fleurs-de-lys enhanced counterchanged.
      clear of: Rachel Kirk (12/01 Ansteorra) -- Per bend gules and argent, two fleurs-de-lys counterchanged.
There is a CD for changing the field, and one for changing the tincture of half of the charge group.  There may or may not be a CD, however, for arrangement: it may be a forced move due to tincture.
      clear of: Fugger (important non-SCA arms; 5/95 Drachenwald) -- Per pale Or and azure, two fleurs-de-lys counterchanged.
      clear of: Nuala níc Ailín (2/05 Caid) -- Per pale argent and sable, two fleurs-de-lys counterchanged.
      clear of: Leandra de León (7/97 East) -- Per pale azure and argent, two fleurs-de-lys counterchanged.
      clear of: Marared coed Radnor (6/95 West) -- Per pale vert and Or, two fleurs-de-lys counterchanged.
In each case, there is a CD for changing at least half the field, and one for changing the tincture of at least half the primary charge group.
 
 
      10. Giovanni Elisabetta Cellini (resub) -- Purpure, on a pile between two lions Or, a cross bottony purpure.
The pile is throughout.  The lions appear to be somewhere between rampant and sejant erect, and they also do not fill the space well, IMO; additionally, they appear to be combattant -- the submitted blazon would have them both facing to dexter.
Possible reblazon: Purpure, on a pile throughout between two lions combattant Or, a cross bottony purpure.
      clear of: Christina of Ravenna (7/94 Outlands) -- Purpure semy of cinquefoils, on a pile Or, a unicorn rampant gules.
There is at least one CD for changing the type and number of secondaries, and one for cumulative changes to the tertiary.
      possibly clear of: William Flanagan (5/80 Atenveldt) -- Purpure, ermined, on a pile Or, a quatrefoil slipped vert.
CD (s)-- change of type and number of secondaries
probable CD -- change of type of tincture of tertiary (but it may be a visual call between a quatrefoil and a cross bottony.
 
      11. Ian Damebridgge of Wychwood (device change) -- Per saltire Or and vert, on a pale cotised sable a crescent and overall an owl rising wings displayed and inverted argent.
Possible reblazon: Per saltire Or and vert, on a pale endorsed sable in chief a crescent, overall an owl rising wings displayed and inverted argent.
      no conflicts found
 
      12. Ian Damebridgge of Wychwood (badge change) -- [Fieldless] On the bowl of a spoon inverted argent a blackletter miniscule h sable.
The inverted orientation is as blazoned; according to the PIC-DIC [sn Spoon], the default is with the bowl to chief (I wanted to doublecheck, because I drew the original suibmission for the badge that is now being released).
      clear of: Fiametta Margherita del Sanguigno (badge, 9/09 West) -- (Fieldless) A spoon argent and a snake Or entwined.
There is a CD for fieldless vs. fieldless and one for removing the co-primary; there may also be one for adding the tertiary charge.
 
      13. Ian of the Debatable Lands -- Per pale azure and Or, a duck naiant counterchanged.
      possibly clear of: Edmund de la Haye (badge, 8.96 An Tir) -- Per pale azure and Or, a crane in his vigilance counterchanged collared and chained gules.
There is substantial difference between the types of bird (crane-shaped vs. swan-
shaped); however there is not change of posture -- both birds are effectively “close”.
      clear of: Ginevra Isabetta del Dolce (11/06 Atlantia) -- Per pale azure and argent, a swan naiant counterchanged.
There is a CD for changing half the field, and one for changing half the tincture.  Note, that under the reclassification of bird types made during François’ first tenure [c.f. 11/93 Cover Letter, and URL: http://heraldry.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/precedents/francois/
wreath.html#BIRDSub] there is possibly not a CD for type, since both ducks and swans are in the “swan-shaped” category.
 
      14. Lasairfhíona inghean Uí Ceallaigh
The docs for the given name are as cited; the submitted spelling is found in the Raw Data, dated to 1381 in the name <Lasairfhíona ingen Toirrdealbhaigh Uí Concobair bean Mheg Raghnaill> (other dated citations have the name without the accent mark).
The docs for the other name elements are as cited; note, however, that the genitive form is not found in the Raw Data.
Just as Fridrikr pointed out, the name probably conflicts with Lasairfhiona inghean Cheallaigh (3/08 East) -- I wouldn’t have picked up on that normally, since I don’t always check names for potential conflicts unless it’s a name that could have a mundane conflict.
 
      15. Myskia Náttfara
I presume that the Peterson docs for the name elements are as cited.  Unfortunately, for some reason what appears to be the dates came though in the download in some sort of garbled form: the original website [URL: http://www.sofi.se/servlet/GetDoc?
meta_id=1472] gives:
                  Myskia [sic] mn. el. kvn.
                  Av (fsv.) *myskia [sic] f. ’fladdermus’.
                  Nom. muskia [sic] Sö13$, mus:kia  [sic] Sö173$A
                  Gen. musku [sic] Sö374$
                  Beläggen i Sö173, Sö374 avser samma person.
and it’s not any better in the Google translation (from Swedish into English) of that page [URL: http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=sv&u=http://www.
sofi.se/servlet/GetDoc%3Fmeta_id%3D1472&ei=BiRCS5y9Icy2lAfD0qCfBw&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CA8Q7gEwAzgU&prev=/search%3Fq%3DNordiskt%2Brunnamnslexicon%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26start%3D20]:
                  Myskia [sic] mn. electricity. kvn.
                  AV (fsv.) * myskia [sic] f. ‘fladdermus’
                  Nom. muskia [sic] Sö13$, mus:kia [sic] Sö173$A
                  Gen. musku [sic] Sö374$
                  Beläggen i Sö173, Sö374 avser samma person.
So basically, I can tell which are (probably) the nominative and genitive forms, but that’s about it.  Likewise, the byname docs, when run through the Google translator [same URL, since the two name elements are on pages 143 and 144, respectively] I get:
                  Náttfari [sic] mn.
                  Fvn. Náttfari [sic]
                  Av en smmanssättning av (fvn.) nátt [sic], nótt [sic] f. ‘natt’ och -->
                  -fari [sic]; ‘den som går ute om natten’, möjl. med övernaturliga
                  associationer.
                  Nom. natfari [sic] Sö54$
                  Litt.: Breen 1997 s. 7, 16.
Geirr Bassi [p. 26] gives the descriptive byname <náttsól>, meaning “midnight-sun”; it is, however, marked as being an adjective.  It isn’t clear whether <náttfara> is an adjective or a noun, so I’m unsure whether the byname is constructed correctly (and, if so, should probably be lowercase, i.e., <náttfara>.  If  <Náttfari> is in fact an independent name, the alternate byname <Náttfaradottír> appears to be constructed correctly.
However, there is an additional problem.  If in fact <náttfari> *does* have supernatural connotations, it would not be disallowed under RfS VI.2;  a Precedent from François’ second tenure as Laurel says:
                  The byname is disallowed under RFS VI.2, Names Claiming Powers.
            You may not style yourself 'the sorceress' in the Society. Precedent set
            March 2001 says:
 
                  The byname means Wizard and thus violates RfS VI.2: Names
                  containing elements that allude to powers that the submitter does
                  not possess are considered presumptuous. Barring evidence that
                  he is a wizard, or that this byname was used by normal humans in
                  period, we have to return this.
 
            This name is directly analogous. [Ragnhildr in Sie{dh}kona, LoAR 01/2005,
            An Tir-R] [sic]
 
      16. Riversedge, Shire of -- Or, on a bend wavy cotised azure a laurel wreath palewise Or.
The laurel wreath seems very small; in the past, some submissions have been returned for the wreath not being prominent enough (especially a problem when the wreath is a tertiary charge).  There is a Precedent from Alison’s tenure that says:
            [On a chief, a laurel wreath between two other charges] [sic]  The laurel
            wreath here is just too small to fulfill the requirements of AR9a. (LoAR
            19 Mar 88, p. 19) [sic]
There is also one from Da’ud’s first tenure that may be relevant:
            [A beast rampant maintaining in its dexter forepaw a laurel wreath]  [sic]
            "A number of commenters expressed concern that the laurel wreath
            did not constitute 'a significant element of the design' [sic], as required
            by the Administrative Handbook, I.D.2. Given that we do not normally
            grant any difference for maintained charges, this opinion has weight."
            [sic] [The device was returned for this reason] [sic] (LoAR 4/92 p.19).
            [sic]
Additionally, there may be an issue with the wreath as drawn: there have been a number of returns for the wreath not being roughly circular, the most recent being during François’ second tenure:
            The group has only addressed one of the style issues raised in the previous
            return in November 2002, which read in part: "Please advise the submitters,
            on resubmission, to draw the laurel wreath so that it is round and has only
            a small gap, or no gap at all, between the tips of the branches." [sic] This
            laurel wreath is identical to that found on the previously returned emblazon;
            it needs to be redrawn according to the guidelines set forth in the previous
            return. [Nimenefeld, Canton of, LoAR 08/2004, Atlantia-R]
      clear of: Kraé Glas, Canton of (12/95 West) -- Or, on a bend azure, three laurel wreaths palewise Or.
There is a CD for adding the complex line, and one for addition of the secondary charge group.  There may also be one for changing the number of tertiaries only, since these are both examples of simple armory.
      possibly clear of: Katharine de la Vache (3/06 Atlantia) -- Or, on a bend wavy azure a sun in splendor palewise Or.
There is a CD for adding the secondaries; since these are both simple armory, there may be one for for changing only the type of secondary, by X.4.2.j
 
      17. Solveig Throndardottir (new Household name and Branch Name [sic] for The Fellows and Poor Scholars of Minerva Hall) -- Sable, on a pale Or between two fasces argent bladed OR and banded gules an owl rising wings displayed sable.
I presume that the LoI is *supposed* to say “New Household Name and New Badge”?
(Because it obviously can’t be both a household name and a branch name....)
The O’Brien and Smith docs for <Hall> in connection with a college are as cited.  Additionally, The Compact OED [Vol. I, p. 1244 (reproducing Section H, pp. 37-40), sn Hall] gives as its fourth definition the meaning :
                  4. [sic] A term applied, esp. in the English universities, to a building
            or buildings set apart for the resi- [sic] dence or instruction of students,
            and , by trans- [sic] ference, to the body of students occupying it....
                  a. [sic] Originally applied at Oxford and Cambridge to all residences
            of students, including the Colleges when these came to be founded....
                  b. [sic] After the institution of the colleges, applied specifically to
            those buildings and societies which, unlike the colleges, were governed
            by a head only (and not by head and fellows), whose property was held
            in trust for them, they not being bodies corporate.
The first usage (i.e., 4. a.) is dated to 1386, from Chaucer:
            Reeve’s T. [sic] 83 Poure clerkes two That dwelten in this halle of which I seye.
The second (i.e., 4. b.), gives the submitted (i.e., modern) spelling, dated to 1568:
            GRAFTON [sic] Chron. [sic] II 950 In Oxford, he founded also Magdaleyn
            Hall.
The Monroe docs all appear to be as cited (except that there is a typo in the page number in the cite for <Fellows>, in that it is actually pages 591-92).
The Macquarrie docs appear to be as cited.
I have not been able to access the docs for “The Academy”; while some issues are apparently online, this specific one does not appear to be.  Has a photocopy been included?
I also checked in The Compact OED [Vol. I, p. 980 (reproducing Section F, pp. 141-44), sn Fellow].  Definition 7 (on the facsimile of p. 144:               
            In college and university use:
                  a. orig. [sic]  The name (corresponding to the Latin socius [sic])
            given to the incorporated members of a college or collegiate foundation
            (whether in a University or otherwise: see COLLEGE [sic] 4); one of
            the company or corporation who, with their head, constitute a ‘college’
            [sic];....
                  In colleges chiefly devoted to the purposes of study and education,
            the Fellows were, in early usage, often included under the term scholars
            [sic]; the latter term is, in later use, mostly restricted to junior members
            of the foundation, who are still under tuition, the term fellow [sic] being
            applied to the Senior Scholars , who have graduated, or otherwise passed
            out of the stage of tutelage.
I would have considered these as possibly better served as two separate submissions (e.g., <Poor Scholars of Minerva Hall> and <Fellows of Minerva Hall>); however, The Compact OED cites a period example of the two terms in use together, dated to 1511-2:
            Act 3 Henry VIII [sic], c. 22 §5 Any...persone being fellowe or scoler of
            any of the said Colleges.
While the submitter has provided some evidence for the use of a god/goddess in connection to a college or school, I’m not entirely convinced, especially since a lot of the documentation is late-19th century.  However, the use of Minerva in an English language context is dated in The Compact OED to 1375 [Vol I, p. 1802 (reproducing pp. 467-70), sn Minerva:
            BARBOUR [sic] Bruce [sic] IV. 262  He callit hir his deir mynerfe.
A closer spelling to the modern form dates to 1589:
            PUTTEN- [sic] HAM [sic] Eng. Poesie [sic] III. SSV. (Arb.) 311 That which
            he doth put by long meditation rather then by a suddaine inspiration, ...
            [sic] (and as they are woont to say) in spite of Nature or Minerua.
I’m also not convinced of the glomming together (for lack of a better term) of all these somewhat disparate elements.  Overall it doesn’t feel particularly medieval (I keep thinking “early 19th century”, but maybe I’ve been reading too much literature from that time period recently....). 
I would say that this should probably be forwarded to Laurel and have better heads than mine take a stab at it.
Yikes!  This is pretty busy armory, especially for a badge.  I’m not sure the fasces is blazoned correctly, given that the full ax part (not just the blade) appear to be Or (but I’m not certain how best to blazon it, either -- possibly similar to how the arms of Cardinal Jules Mazarin are blazoned in the O&A.  There may be an issue about changing part of the tincture of the fasces; this Precedent dates from François’ first tenure:
            Note that under current precedent, there is no difference for changing
            the tincture of the hafts of the axes: "[A woodaxe reversed argent] [sic]
            Conflict with... a battle axe Or, headed argent, the edge to sinister...
            In each case there is... nothing for the change in tincture of the handle
            only." [sic] (LoAR June 1992 p.18) [sic].  [Sefferey of Wessex, 02/02,
            A-Meridies] [sic]
I also checked to see if fasces were allowed.  They are; there is a very old Precedent, from Baldwin’s tenure:
            I can't see banning the fasces solely on account of its use by the Fascists
            in Italy. The swastika is a special case, notable for the extreme likelihood
            that Goodman Jack will recognize and react strongly to it, and should
            not be used as a general precedent for disallowing charges on account
            of "guilt by association" [sic]. [BoE, 9 June 85, p.4] [sic]
Also by Precedent (from François’ second tenure, there is a CD between an ax and a fasces:
                  [Azure, a double-bitted axe and a bordure argent.] [sic] This device
            does not conflict with Kingdom of Caid (Office of the Chancellor) [sic],
            Azure, a fasces within a bordure embattled argent [sic]. There is a CD for a
            bordure versus a bordure embattled and another for the change of type
            from axe to fasces, a composite charge made up of an axe surrounded
            by a bundle of sticks. [Christian Blood, LoAR 01/2005, Middle-A]
Upon close examination (very close, since it’s small) the owl in the B&W and the color emblazons do not seem to be the same (this in itself may be grounds for return), although I can’t tell for certain whether this is just a function of transferring the file to a color format -- the old in the colored version appears to be lined in white on closer examination of the enlarged images; the fasces appear to be identical except for tincture.
Believe it or not, though, the complexity count is actually only 7 (four tinctures, three types of charges).
Possible reblazon: Sable, on a pale Or between two fasces argent, banded gules, the blades and hafts Or, an owl rising wings displayed sable.
      possibly clear of: Maelgwyn Dda (badge for Caer Derwen, 7/85 Ansteorra)  -- Sable, on a pale between two trees eradicated Or, a tower sable, pennanted to sinister azure.
      possibly clear of: Quentin Sablestar (1/85 West) -- Sable, on a pale between two mullets or, a mullet sable.
In each case, there is a CD for changing the type of secondary; there is only change of type of tertiary, and I’m not certain whether X.4.2.j applies here because of the three different tinctures on the fasces.
     
      18. Tafrara n Dukkala (change from Holding Name Frances of Misty Highlands)
oh god I’m going to have to read all through this aren’t I .....
The experiencefestival.com website is *not* in fact the “gateway index” page.  It appears to be a link from some home page under the header “Global Oneness”.  There is a link (by backtracking) to a related page on Berber languages [URL: http://www.
experiencefestival.com/a/Berber_languages/id/1930731] which says in part:
                  The Berber languages [sic] (or Tamazight [sic]) are a group of closely
            related languages mainly spoken in Morocco and Algeria. A very sparse
            population extends into the whole Sahara and the northern part of the
            Sahel. They belong to the Afro-Asiatic languages phylum. There is a
            strong movement among Berbers to unify the closely related northern
            Berber languages into a single standard, Tamazight.                           
                  Among the Berber languages are Tarifit or Riffi [sic](northern
            Morocco), Kabyle (Algeria) and Tashelhiyt (central Morocco). Tamazight
            has been a written language, on and off, for almost 3000 years; however,
            this tradition has been frequently disrupted by various invasions. It was
            first written in the Tifinagh alphabet, still used by the Tuareg; the oldest
            dated inscription is from about 200 BC. Later between about 1000 AD
            and 1500 AD, it was written in the Arabic alphabet (particularly by the
            Shilha of Morocco); in this century, it is often written in the Latin alphabet,
            especially among the Kabyle.
The article goes on to briefly describe grammar for the language group:
                  The Berber languages have two cases of the noun, organized
            ergatively: one is unmarked, while the other serves for the subject of
            a transitive verb and the object of a preposition, among other contexts.
            The former is often called état libre [sic], the latter état d'annexion [sic]
            or état construit [sic]. Berber nouns also have two genders, masculine
            (unmarked) and feminine (marked with reflexes of the prefix t-) [sic].
            These are illustrated (in Latin transcription for the noun amghar
            [sic] "old man, sheikh": [sic]
Unfortunately, it does *not* appear to go into names and names grammar.  Note that this website article says at the bottom of the page that it is:
                  Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Berber languages", under the
            G.N U [sic] Free Docmentation [sic] License. Please also see http://
            en.wikipedia.org/wiki [sic]
(Note also that the highlighted portions of text on the website are mostly links to non-relevant ads.)
The Berber section Bengio and Ben-Dor source is in fact available through Google Books, at least in part (click on the contents link, then on the specific chapter).  It says:  [pp. 31-2]:
            The original inhabitants of North Africa between Egypt’s Western
            Desert and the Atlantic Ocean have been known to the outside world
            since antiquity by the once contemptuous epithet “Berbers” [sic] (from
            the Greek word barbaroi [sic], meaning “barbarian” [sic]).  Their social
            organization was traditionally tribal; their defining characteristic
            remains their variously spoken dialects of a single lan- [sic] guage,
            whose origins remain obscure, but which seems related to the lan [sic]
            guage of ancient Libya, Libico-Berber, an Afro-Asiatic (formerly Hamito-
            [sic] Semitic) language.2  [sic]  Berber dialects are often incomprehensible
            to speakers of other Berber dialects from different regions....
                  Berbers present special problems for any analysis of minorities in
            the modern Middle East, for they defy neat definitions according to
            well-estab- [sic] lished categories.  Unlike the Copts or the Christian
            minorities of the Fertile Crescent, the Berbers were thoroughly
            Islamized over the course of centuries of Arab conquests.  Today,
            nearly all are Sunnis of the Malikite school, as are their non-Berber
            Arab compatriots in North Africa.  The Kurds’ “semidiffuse- [sic] ness”
            sic] partially resembles the Berbers’ territorial concentration in a few
            main areas.  However, the degree of Arabization experienced by the
            Berbers, while [p. 32] varying from place to place, was greater, on the
            whole, than comparable processes of Arabization, Persianization, and
            Turkification experienced by the Kurds.  Moreover, the Kurds, while
            constituting a majority in their mountain- [sic] ous habitats, remained
            an ethnolinguistic minority amidst their neighbors.  In North Africa,
            the vast majority of the population descents from the original Berber
            stock.  Perhaps half of all North Africans have been so thoroughly Ara-
            [sic] bized over the centuries that they have lost all semblance of their
            Berber ori- [sic] gins.  Neither Libya nor Tunisia, for example, contain
            Berber communities of any significant size.  The remaining substantial
            Berber communities in Algeria and Morocco are products, in varying
            degrees, of an Arab-Berber [sic] fusion or synthesis, linguistically,
            politically, and socially, thus further complicating any efforts to pin
            down the essence of being Berber and forcing one to em- [sic] ploy
            the very term minority [sic] with great caution, depending on the
            particular context.
The rest of the chapter appears to be an overview of modern history and the relations of the Berbers to the Arabs in specific countries, beginning in the 19th century.
The list of “Berber” names appears to be extraneous. This information, while interesting in of itself, does nothing to support the appeal of the submitted name (nor do the following five citations, which only appear to prove that there was contact between Rome and Berber culture before the Islamization of North Africa, and that Berber was a written language in some form -- although not apparently used by Terence or Apuleius); the citation for <Lalla Fatma N’Soumer> isn’t helpful because she was a 19th century person (and <N’Soumer> is not her original name).
The Wikipedia article on the Berber language may or may not be completely trustworthy (Wikipedia is not sufficient for documentation in of itself).  Additionally, it only gives rudimentary grammar, and does not appear to give name grammar or name constructions, and does not appear to give any of the name elements submitted.  It also isn’t clear whether this is the modern form of the language (even Latin changed between Roman times and the Middle Ages, even though it was the language of the Church).
The documentation on the ancient Berber script is as cited.  There are links to websites on the Berber people and the Berber language, but one link [http://amazighworld.net] appears to be broken (it gets to a page that says “Index of/” and “Apache/1/3/33 Server at amaighworld.net Port 80” and the link to the parent directory does not work); the other link [http://www.mondeberbere.com/] appears to mostly be in French (even on the so-called English language page), as is a link from that page for the Amazigh language.
There appears to be no source for any of the names that are asserted to be Berber language/construction.  They certainly are not found in the Knox citation in any form (at least in the sections of the book that have been reproduced on Google Books.  They are, however found in the Weghlis docs, which are as cited (and are the *first* indication of anything related to the submitted name (although it is unclear if these are historical or modern locatives).
The docs from the American Philosophical Society do not appear to load (or if they do, to load so slowly as to make it not worth the trouble to check them.  Have they been included as a photocopy?
The Messaoudi docs gives the submitted given name, but, again, it is unclear whether the names listed are modern. 
The Newman docs also do not load properly, or at best extremely slowly (I eventually had to force quit out of Safari); none of the name elements could be found by searching for them in the file.
The Wikipedia docs for <Doukkala> are as cited; but again, is not the best source.
The Ahmed and Hart docs appear to be as cited. 
The Park and Boum docs are mostly as cited (other than a few typos which are obviously transcription errors, such as <Morocca> instead of <Morocco>).
So, basically, most of the documentation can be thrown out as extraneous or non-relevant.  What remains are the Messaoudi docs, which give <Tafrara> as a feminine given name (but possibly not a period one); the Weghlis docs, which shows the construction form <element> n <element>; and the Weghlis, Ahmed and Hart, and Park and Boum docs for the byname as either a locative or tribal name which may conceivably be period (the Bengio and Ben Dor docs appear to be contra-indicative).
My recommendation is to send this on up to Laurel (which may be required as an appeal anyway), with the notation that only the Messaoudi, Weghlis, Ahmed and Hart, and Park and Boum docs are at all relevant (although not definitive), with the Wikipedia docs for <Doukkala> as (somewhat) supporting documentation.
 
      19. Violante de Luna -- Azure, three crescents inverted argent.
The docs for both name elements are as cited.
Lovely armory!
      possibly clear of: Hannah de Ávila (12/03 Outlands) -- Azure, a roundel between in pale a crescent pendant and a crescent argent.
There is a CD for arrangement of charges; there may be one for changing the type of the central charge in the primary charge group
     clear of: Geua filia Guy (11/07 Outlands) -- Azure, in pale a crescent pendant and an increscent argent.
There is a CD for number of charges, and one for arrangement; there may also be one for partial change of orientation.
      clear of: Savaric de Miraval (3/95 West) -- Per chevron Or and azure, three crescents pendant counterchanged.
There is a CD for changing half the field and one for changing the tincture of half of the primary charge group.
      clear of: Cassandra Brant (11/90 Meridies) -- Purpure, a griffin passant between three crescents inverted argent.
There is a CD for changing the field, and one for removing the primary charge.
      probably clear of: Rosalind bint Mihrimah (12/06 Gleann Abhann) -- Azure, three crescents in pall, horns to center Or.
There is a CD for change of tincture and there should also be one for arrangement of charges.
      clear of: Juliana de Essex (11/03 East) -- Azure, two arrows in fess and in chief three crescents pendant argent.
There is a CD for addition of the primary charge group , and one for the arrangement of crescents
      clear of: Gro Torstensdotter June of 2004 (6/04 Drachenwald) -- Gules, three crescents argent.
      clear of: Lamorak of Dunsinane April of 2002 (4/02 Middle) -- Per chevron sable and purpure, three decrescents argent.
      clear: Sylvana Ballaster September of 2002 (via Atlantia) -- Per fess rayonny gules and sable, three decrescents argent.
In each case, there is a CD for changing the field, and one for orientation  of the charges.
 
Bibliography:
[no author]  The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary: Complete Text
      Reproduced Micrographically [2 Vol.].  Oxford, London, et. al.: Oxford University
      Press, 1971, 1981.
 
Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme [Bruce Miller] and Akagawa Yoshio [Kevin Munday]. 
      A Pictorial Dictionary of Heraldry As Used in The Society for Creative Anachronism,
      2nd Ed., 1992. 
 
Geirr Bassi Haraldsson [G. Fleck].  The Old Norse Name.  Olney, MD: Yggssaldr Press,
      1977.  [Studia Marklandia I]
 
http://oanda.sca.org
 
http://heraldry.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/precedents.html
 
http://heraldry.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/rfs.html
 
http://heraldry.sca.org/heraldry/loar/
 
http://www.scadian.net/heraldry/daud.html [Da’ud notation]
 
Ó Corráin, Donnchadh, and Fidelma Maguire.  Irish Names.  Dublin: The Lilliput Press,
      1981. 1990.
 
Parker, James. A Glossary of Terms Used in Heraldry.  Rutland, VT: Charles E. Tuttle
      Co., Inc., 1970.
 
other URLs as cited