ÆTHELMEARC COLLEGE OF HERALDS - commentary archive
Letter of Intent #132
Myfanwy ferch Rhiannon

                                                                              Feast of Saint Andrew
                                                                              30 November, AS XLV
 
Greetings from Myfanwy!
Herein pray find commentary on Æ #132.  Everything has been conflict-checked through the August 2010 LoARs.
I remain your servant and the Society’s
Lady Myfanwy ferch Rhiannon
Ruth Morrisson
myfanwy@consolidated.net
 
      1. Ælfgifu of Glenelg (name and device resub) -- Or, a thistle proper a sinister gore azure.
The docs for the given name are as cited.
The docs for the byname are as cited but neither give a useful dated citation (the Wikipedia article gives some general hand waving but the earliest documented citation is a link to the Jacobite Risings, which are post-1650 (and therefore not even grey area).
A better source is on the St. Gabriel website, in a link to Timothy Pont’s Map website [URL: http://maps.nls.uk/pont/search.cfm]; a note on the St. Gabriel link says:
                  A set of maps of Scotland, with accompanying text descriptions,
            created in the 1580s and 1590s. An excellent source for placenames in
            16th century spellings. (Note: Lowland surnames were often derived
            from placenames, as they were in English; but in Gaelic, surnames based
            on placenames were vanishingly rare.) [sic]  You can browse the maps
            or texts to find an interesting placename. If you want to find a 16th
            century spelling of a modern placename, find the modern spelling in
            the index [sic]. The link will take you a list of texts that mention that
            place, and you can browse the text to find a 16th century spelling, which
            is generally different from but similar to the modern spelling.
Searching for the keyword <Glenelg> gets one to a link [URL: http://maps.nls.uk/
pont/texts/transcripts/ponttext120v-121r.html], which says in part:
            Item north from Kilwhonan 2 myl is Leadgachulle. Item ther lacketh
            heir about 10 seats in Glenelg. A myl from the former Achacharn lyeth
            another Achacharne under Bin-Achacharn upon the north syd of
            Bra-glen- moir.
            Item 3 myl from Chewlis Re at the mouth of Loch Dowich is the seat of      
            Toldowy.
            Item the march betuix Glenelg and Kan-tell is the seat Rosaig a myl from
            Toldow Dowi upon the southsyd of Loch Dowich.
Johnston’s Place-names of Scotland is apparently (at least partly) online [URL: http://
books.google.com/books?id=QfEKZEKzWbwC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Place+
names+of+Scotland&lr=&cd=1#v=onepage&q=Glenelg&f=false] (there is a link off the Middlerealms’s College of Heralds website [URL: http://www.midrealm.org/
heraldry/}).  Searching for <Glenelg> gets:
                  [p. 145] GLENELG (W. Inverness).  Sic  [sic] 1292; but 1282, Glenhalk.
            Perh. fr. Icel. elg-r [sic], Sw. elg [sic], ‘an elk.” [sic].  Rhys thinks fr. Elga [sic];
            see ELGIN; also cf  [sic].  Basque elge [sic], ‘a cultivated plain.”[sic]
This gives us an early period, Anglo-Saxon given name with a possibly  period Gaelic byname, which -at best- is a step from period practice for language/culture [URL: http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/sca/weirdness_table.html]; if <Glenelg> turns out to be Anglicized Irish, Early Modern Gaelic or Scots, the name would not be registrable.  Since the earliest cite for the locative appears to be slightly more than 300 years later than the given name, there may also be a step from period practice for temporal incompatibility.
Note that for simple armory this still has a complexity count of six (four tinctures, two types of charges).
      possibly not clear of: Constance Lymnour (10/06 West) -- Or, a sprig of three lilies gules slipped and leaved vert and a gore sinister azure.
There is a single CD for type of primary; this may or may not be a case of X.2.
      possibly clear of: Carolingia, Barony of (badge for the Needleworker's Guild, 5/98 East) -- Or, a threaded needle and a gore sinister azure.
There is at least one CD for type and tincture of the primary charge.
      possibly clear of: Cairistiona de Coueran (5/03 Atlantia) -- Or, an iris purpure slipped and leaved vert and a gore lozengy argent and vert.
There is a CD for type of co-primary and one for tincture of the gore.
      probably clear of: Robert of Grandloch (badge for Clan Stewart of Grandloch, 11/90 Calontir) -- Or, in chief a lion's head couped sable and a gore sinister azure.
There is at least one CD for type and tincture of primary charge; there may be one for it’s position on the field, since it isn’t a forced change by tincture.
       clear of; Janet Breakstone (1/73 ??) -- Or, a thistle proper and in chief two roses                      clear of: Briana Campbell (2/09 East) -- Or, a thistle proper, in canton a dragonfly bendwise azure.
In each case there is a CD for removing the secondary charge group and one for adding the peripheral.
      possibly clear of: Edouard d'Ath (7/85 East) -- Or, a thistle slipped and leaved proper within a bordure sable.
There is a CD for changing the type of peripheral; there may also be one for tincture.
      clear of: Jennet Mayefaire (7/92 West) -- Or, a three-headed thistle proper, on a chief purpure three fleurs-de-lys Or.
There is at least one CD for changing the type and tincture of peripheral, and one for removing the tertiaries.
      probably clear of: Keara Caitlin MacLeod (9/91 East) -- Or, in pale a thistle proper and a mace and a sword in saltire sable.
There is at least one CD for removing the co-primary charges, and one for adding the peripheral.  Note, however that this is not simple armory, with more than 2 types of charges on the field
      clear of: Morgan MacLeod (4/84 East) -- Or, a thistle bendwise, slipped and leaved, sable and a chief checky sable and Or.
There is at least one CD for changing the type and orientation of the thistle, and at least one for the type and tincture of peripheral charge.
 
      2. Æthelmearc, Kingdom of (heraldic title Gullskel Herald)
I don’t have Zoega; a Google search netted a website [URL: http://www.ling.upenn.
edu/~kurisuto/germanic/oi_zoega_about.html] in which pages were scanned in from two copies of the 1910 edition; the link from there to an online text version [URL: http://www.northvegr.org/zoega/index.php] appears to be not working (I got an error message saying “The page cannot be found”).  However, the scanned-in pages seem to load just fine (as long as you use a full-size window to open them), and the docs from Zoega appear to be as cited.
The other online docs are as cited; note that most of the titles of the form color + charge are english, with only one example <Bleu Levrier> in French (none for Scottish, German, or Iberian heraldic titles, and certainly not in Icelandic -- although that is not all that surprising).
 
      3. Aibell ingen Chernacháin (device resub) -- Argent, a dragon displayed sable and on a chief triangular azure a decrescent argent.
The posture of the dragon is sort of weird -- its wings are displayed but the body is sufficiently contorted that I had to look carefully to make sure it wasn’t tergiant (because that’s the impression I get from the legs, even though it technically isn’t), or rising (because of the way the body twists below the neck.
      clear of: Robert FitzAlwyn (6/08 Middle) -- Argent, a dragon sejant affronty, wings displayed, and on a chief triangular sable a flame Or charged with a broad-arrow gules.
There is a CD for changing the tincture of the chief, and one for changes to the tertiary charge group; there may also be one for the posture of the dragon.
      probably clear of; Arian Rhyindelas of Aldalome (8/79 Caid) -- Argent, a six-headed, double-tailed, wingless hydra counterstatant sable.
There is at least one CD for adding the charged chief; there is probably also a CD for type of primary; a Precedent from Elizabeth’s tenure as Laurel says:
            [Or, a dragon sejant gules.] [sic] This device does not conflict with Wilhelm
            Rotbart aus Bayern, Or, a five-headed hydra sejant affronté gules [sic], reblazoned
            on the Middle section of this letter. A visual inspection of Wilhelm's device
            found that his hydra is actually wingless so there is a CD for the posture of
            the monster and another for removing the wings. Research into the blazons
            of previously registered hydras shows that the SCA default for this monster
            is winged [sic]. Elsewhere in this letter, we have reblazoned the only two
            wingless hydras that were not already so specified. [Tobyn Kembold, 02/05,
            A-East] [sic]
 
      4. Aleidis Lanen (Purpure, in saltire a two-tined fork and a goblet and on a chief Or a dragon passant vert.
The docs for the given name are mostly as cited; note that there is a type in the docs for the third citation -- there are in fact 51 (not 15) cited instances of <Aleit>.  Additionally, Uckelman’s “Dutch Names 1393-96” gives <Aleid> as a header form (e.g., as being the most common spelling).
The docs for the byname are as cited; however, given that it appears to be a genealogical website, I don’t know how good the docs are.  Note also that the byname docs are extremely late period to post-period (c. 1600 and later), while the docs for the given name are, for the most part, much earlier (the third citation for the given name gives a span of approximately 120 years to as late as 1511, but does not get more detailed).
The chief should not be in conflict with that of the Middle Kingdom’s sometimes used augmentation, which -- IIRC -- is basically “on a chief argent, a pale gules, overall a dragon passant vert” because of the change of tincture of the chief and removal of the ordinary.
Note that this is not simple armory, in that there are more than two types of charges directly on the field.
Complexity count is seven (three tinctures, four types of charges)
      no conflicts found
 
      5. Angus Mac Dubh -- Gules, on a fess argent a bull’s head cabossed sable.
The online docs for the given name are as cited, but the submitted spelling is not found in the Raw Data.  Black [p. 23, sn Angus] cites an <Angus mac Dunec’ [sic]> as “one of the perambulators of the lands of of Balfeith or Balphe in Angus, c. 1204-1211.
The online docs for the byname are as cited.  While possibly not a given name (it appears to be a descriptive byname), standardized genitive forms of the name are suggested: the Old and Middle Irish Gaelic genitive form would be <Duib>, with the the early Modern Irish Gaelic genitive form as <Duibh>.  Black [p. 224] gives the surname <Dubni>, but that appears to derive from the feminine name <Dubind? or <Dubinn>.
Note: I say *possibly*, because in the Raw Data for the cite for <Dubán> there is a cite for <Dub Da Bairenn h. Dubain, princeps Cluana Iraird [sic]> , also listed as <Dubh Da Bhoirenn ua Dubhain, abb Cluana Ioraird [sic]>, dated to 800-805.  Since one of the closest spellings to the submitted one for the given name, <Aengus> is dated to 823, I’m now wondering if the name isn’t as far off as we think.
What changes (if any) does the submitter permit?  Can we contact him (it’s early enough in the month to amend the submission if necessary), to see which version -- the patronymic form with <mac Dubaín> (or even <mac Duib>), or the descriptive byname form without the patronymic designator -- is preferred?
The bull’s head should be a bit larger, in order to fill the space better, and additionally, it needs to have some internal detailing; this may just need an artist’s note to the submitter, not a complete redraw.
      possibly not clear of: Austria (important non-SCA arms, 12/94 Laurel; reregistered 199509) -- Gules, a fess argent.
      possibly not clear of: Latvia (badge, 12/94 Laurel, Important non-SCA flag) -- Gules, a fess argent.
In each case there is only a single CD, for addition of the tertiary charge.
      possibly clear of: Aithine nic Merril (8/79 East) -- Azure, upon a fess argent, a mole's paw print sable.
      possibly clear of: Eirik Grálokkr (3/93 Middle) -- Per fess azure and sable, on a fess argent, a Viking longship sable.
      possibly clear of: Lesotho (badge, important non-SCA armory, 3/07 Laurel) -- Per fess azure and vert, on a fess argent a conical hat sable.
      possibly clear of: Wulf the Traveller (4/95 Atlantia) -- Counter-ermine, on a fess argent a wolf couchant sable.
In each of these there is a CD for changing the field; there may also be a CD for changing the type of tertiary by X.4.j.ii, since there are all cases of simple armory.
      possibly clear of: Sean Dryw (10/03 Middle) -- Gules semy of flames, on a fess argent a salamander passant contourny sable enflamed proper.
There is a CD for removing the secondaries, and possibly one for type and partial tincture of the tertiary (and if the flaming on the salamander is not significant, there may still be a CD for X.4.j.ii.
      possibly not clear of: Michael the Dane (1/73 ??) -- Gules, on a fess argent a cartouche fesswise gules voided argent.
      possibly not clear of: Lebanon (badge, Important non-SCA flag, 12/94 Laurel) -- Gules, on a fess argent a cedar proper.
In each case there is a single CD for changes to the tertiary charge, but no other CD.
      possibly clear of: Sean Angus MacDuinnchinn (7/91 Calontir) -- Gules, on a fess argent between four recorders, three and one, Or, a kris reversed sable.
      possibly clear of: Aislinn ni Chearbhaill (1/98 Atenveldt) -- Gules, on a fess argent between three increscents Or, a catamount passant sable.
      possibly clear of: Áedán mac Suibne (badge, 10/03 An Tir) -- Gules, on a fess between two lozenges argent an Arabic penbox sable.
In each of these there is a CD for removing the secondary charges; there is only change of type of tertiary, but since these are all simple armory, X.4.j.ii should apply.
      possibly clear of; Nicholas Kenington (9/97 Outlands) -- Gules, on a fess indented argent a brown ferret passant proper.
There is a CD for removing the complex line from the fess, and possibly one for changing at least the type of tertiary by X.4.j.ii.
 
      6. Caniodricca verch Elidir -- Per fess azure and argent, three dolphins naiant embowed counterchanged.
Lovely armory!
      probably clear of: Kurt der Laut (4/96 Middle) -- Per fess wavy azure and argent, in chief an armored arm fesswise embowed, maintaining a sword, and in base three fish haurient, counterchanged.
      probably clear of: Tobias Alan MacKenzie (badge, 6/93 Middle) -- Per fess Or and gules, two dolphins respectant azure and a tree blasted and eradicated Or.
In each case there is a CD for removing the complex line on the field, and there should be one for aggregate changes to the charges.
      clear of: Aliannsa inghean uí Ríoghbhardáin (12/03 Atenveldt) -- Per fess azure and vert, in pale a roundel between two natural dolphins naiant in annulo argent.
There is a CD for changing half the field, and one for changing the arrangement of the charges; there may also be one for changing type of the center charge in the group.
      clear of: Faílenn Lonn inghean uí Thighearnaigh (11/99 Caid) -- Per bend sinister purpure and azure, three dolphins haurient argent.
There is a CD for changing the field, and one for orientation of the charges; there may or may not  be one tincture of one of three in a standard arrangement.
      clear of: Phillip of Southwell (4/84 West) -- Per chevron argent and gules, three dolphins naiant in annulo widdershins counterchanged.
There is a CD for changes to the field and one for arrangement of the charges.
      probably clear of: Nadirah bint 'Abd al-Karim (5/06 Atlantia) -- Per chevron azure and gules, three dolphins argent and a harp Or.
There is a CD for changing the field, and probably at least one for aggregate changes to the charge group.
      probably clear of: Stefan von Baden (4/00 Æthelmearc) -- Vert, three dolphins naiant argent.
There is a CD for changing the field; there may be a CD for changing the tincture of the bottommost of three charges in a standard arrangement (there is probably nothing, however, for posture between  naiant and naiant embowed).
      possibly clear of: Isabelle de Lyon (4/03 East) -- Per chevron azure and gules, two salmon haurient embowed respectant argent and a fleur-de-lys Or.
There is a CD for changing the field; there may be one for aggregate changes to the charges.  The following is cited from the April 2010 LoAR;
            Æ{dh}eluulf munuc. [sic] Badge. Barry wavy argent and azure, a herring
            haurient gules surmounted by a bar gemel sable.
                  This badge is clear of the device of Alaric fitz Madoc, Barry wavy azure
                  and argent, a dolphin haurient to sinister gules [sic]. There is a CD for the
                  difference between a heraldic dolphin, which is a monster, and a
                  herring, which is a generic fish, by precedent:
                        We grant a CD between a dolphin and a generic fish.
                        [Deirdre of Shadowdale, September 1992, A-Atlantia]
 
      7. Caryl Olesdatter (Augmentation of Arms) -- Per bend vert and Or, two lyres counterchanged and for augmentation in chief a demi-escarbuncle argent.
I realize that the augmentation is important, but its placement appears to have caused the upper lyre to be pushed out of position, which makes the armory appear to be somewhat unbalanced.  Is this a problem, or do I just have an overly critical eye?  And should it be forwarded to Laurel as is for someone higher up the food chain to determine whether or not this is actually an issue (I don’t know whether it would be all right for the augmentation to partially overlap the uppermost lyre or not, for example, if this emblazon is considered to *not* be okay) -- especially since the originally registered armory is so lovely.
There is a Precedent from François’ second tenure that exempts Augmentations from the limit on number of pieces of armory which may be registered:
            ADMINISTRATIVE -- Registration Limit [sic]
                  Administrative Handbook I.B states: "Individuals and other Society
            branches may register no more than four names and four pieces of
            armory." [sic] It could be argued that the registration of this device would
            require the release of one piece of registered armory because the submitter
            has three items and an augmentation currently registered. This raises the
            question of whether an augmentation counts toward the number of armory
            items that a person may have registered. We currently list both the un-                  
            augmented [sic] and the augmented version of armory as registered items
            which could, with the registration of this augmentation, require the release
            of one registered item. Since the augmentation is a mark of honor given
            by the Crown and is added to the registered armory, we will not count the                              registered augmentation toward the registration limit. The un-augmented
            item will continue to count toward the registration limit and must remain
            registered for the augmentation to be exempt from the count.
                  The submitter had requested that, if the augmentation was registered,
            that one of her badges be released because of the registration limit. Since
            the augmentation will not count toward the limit for peices [sic] of armory
            she has registered, we are not releasing the badge at this time. If the
            submitter still wishes to release the badge, we will release the badge on a
            future letter. [Kathryn of Iveragh, LoAR 11/2004, Outlands-A]
However, the submitter only appears to have one piece of armory registered.
      probably clear of: Seamus mag Uidhir (3/07 East) -- Per bend vert and Or, a harp Or and a stag's attires sable.
There is at least one CD for cumulative changes to the primary charges (type, by Precedent, of one, and type and tincture of the other), and may be a case for X.2; there should also be a CD for adding the augmentation.
      probably clear of: Ecaterina Amber of Tospenwood (10/84 East) -- Per bend vert and Or, two oak leaves in bend sinister conjoined at the stems counterchanged.
There is complete difference of type of primary charges (X.2), and there may be also be one for adding the augmentation.
 
      8. Edward Harbinger (badge resub) -- (Fieldless)  A wolf’s head contourning [sic] sable sustaining in its mouth a thimble argent.
I presume that the head is actually contourny ....  Additionally, the fact that the head is erased needs to be specified.
Reblazon: (Fieldless) A wolf’s head erased contourny sable sustaining in its mouth a thimble argent.
      clear of: Julianna Peri de Novellara (badge, 2/99 Middle) -- (Fieldless) A thimble argent.
      clear of: Charles Bradford (6/75 ??) -- Bendy Or and gules, an alaunt's head sable erased, orbed gules, sinister facing.
      clear of: Erryk Blackwolf (6/73 ??) -- Gules, a wolf's head erased reversed sable orbed and fimbriated Or.
In each case, there is a CD for fieldless vs. fieldless and one for addition of co-primary
      clear of: Ammalynne Sternjekrakki Haraldsdottir (10/79 Meridies) -- Ermine, a Rottweiler dog's head couped reversed proper, collared Or. [Canus familiarus]
There is a CD for field vs. fieldless, and one for adding the co-primary; there may not be one for tincture of the head, however.
      clear of: Gavine Kerr (9/09 Atenveldt) -- Per bend sinister wavy sable and Or, two wolf's heads erased contourny counterchanged.
      clear of: Wulfhere of Stonemarche (8/00 East) -- Per fess argent and sable, a wolf's head erased contourny and a clenched gauntlet counterchanged.
In each case there is a CD for field vs. fieldless, and at least one for type and tincture of co-primary; there may be one for arrangement of the charges.
      clear of: Alethea O'Phelan (2/97 Middle) -- Per pale argent and sable, two wolf's heads couped addorsed counterchanged.
There is a CD for field vs. fieldless, and at least one for type and tincture of half the charge group; there may also be one for orientation of the charges.
 
      9. Fáelán Mer
The docs for the given name are as cited; note, however, that while the submitted spelling is given as a standardized nominative form, the Raw Data gives examples that either remove the accent marks entirely: <Faelan>, or only have the accent mark over the second <a> : <Faelán> (both forms, as late as late as the 12th century (the alternate spelling of <Faolan/Faolán>) is found both as early as 880 and as late as 1423.  Ó Corráin and Maguire [p. 92, sn Fáelán: Faolán] says:
            There were three kings of Leinster of the name between the seventh
            and ninth centuries.  According to the ecclesias- [sic] tical sources, there
            were fourteen saints called Fáelán among whom were St [sic] Fáelán
            Find whose feast-day is 5 May; St [sic] Fáelán of Meath whose feast-day
            is 9 January; and St Fáelán, brother of St [sic] Fursu, who was martyred
            in Flanders about 656.
Note that <Fáelán> is the pre-1204.
0 form and <Faolán> the post-1200 form.
The docs for the byname are as cited, with the name <Hanri Mer Mac Uatin tigerna Tiri hAmalgaid> dated to 1399.
It seems, since the only dated citation for the byname is relatively late 14th century, that a more authentic form of the name would be <Faolan Mer>.  What boxes (if any) has the submitter checked?
      10. Gaia Aurelia Triaria -- Per chevron nebuly inverted azure and Or, an ounce rampant argent spotted sable and two mullets of eight points azure.
The docs for the praenomen are as cited.
The docs for the nomen are mostly as cited: while <Aurelia> is not cited per se, the introduction to the list of nomina says:
                  The nomina [sic] are listed in their male forms. To make the female
            form, just replace the ending "-us" [sic] with "-a" [sic].
That would make <Aurelia> the feminine form of <Aurelius> (which is listed as a nomen).
The docs for the cognomen are as cited, although in the table it is noted that <Triarius/Triaria> are “overused” (whatever that means).
Just because the documentation is as cited, however, may not make this a good name.  Most of the Roman name articles in the MNA say approximately the same thing: while the format of praenomen + nomen + cogonomen is found for masculine names, the same can not be said for feminine names.  Apparently, Roman women (at least during the Republic) generally had only two name elements, a nomen and a cognomen. According to the Vindolanda Tablets Online website [URL: http://vindolanda.csad.ox.ac.uk/reference/names.shtml] (which is “a collaborative project between the Centre for the Study of Ancient Documents and the Academic Computing Development Team at Oxford University”):
                  Women did not have a praenomen [sic], but took the feminine form
            of their father's family name (nomen / gentilicium) [sic] and sometimes
            the feminine form of his cognomen. The two best documented women
            at Vindolanda, Sulpicia Lepidina, wife of Cerialis, and her friend Claudia
            Severa therefore came from the families of the Sulpicii and Claudii
            respectively....  The family name Sulpicia may suggest that Lepidina or
            one of her forebears was granted citizenship during the brief reign of
            emperor Sulpicius Galba (AD 68-69) [sic]. On marriage women kept
            these names and added that of their husband in the genitive, e.g. 'of
            Marcus' [sic].
Another citation (which is referenced by some of the other St. Gabriel name articles) is from “Johnston’s Private Lives of the Romans” [URL: http://www.forumromanum.
org/life/johnston_2.html], which says in part:
                  58. Names of Women. [sic] No very satisfactory account of the names
            of women can be given, because it is impossible to discover any system
            in the choice and arrangement of those that have come down to us. It
            may be said that the threefold name for women was unknown in the
            best days of the Republic; praen{o-}mina [sic] for women were rare and
            when used were not abbreviated. More common were the adjectives
            Maxima [sic] and Minor [sic], and the numerals Secunda [sic] and Tertia
            [sic], but these, unlike the corresponding names of men (§ 44) [sic], seem
            always to have denoted the place of the bearer among a group of sisters.
            It was more usual for the unmarried woman to be called by her father’s
            n{o-}men [sic] in its feminine form, with the addition of her father’s
            cogn{o-}men [sic] in the genitive case, followed later by the letter f (f{i-}lia)
            [sic] to mark the relationship. An example is Caecilia Metell{i-} [sic]. Caesar’s
            daughter was called I{u-}lia [sic], Cicero’s Tullia [sic]. Sometimes a woman
            used her mother’s n{o-}men [sic] after her father’s. The married woman,
            if she passed into her husband’s “hand” [sic] (manus, § 23) [sic] by the
            ancient patrician ceremony, originally took his n{o-}men [sic], just as an
            adopted son took the name of the family into which he passed, but it
            cannot be shown that the rule was universally or even usually observed.
            Under the later forms of marriage the wife retained her maiden name.
            In the time of the Empire we find the threefold name for women in
            general use, with the same riotous confusion in selection and arrangement
            as prevailed in the case of the names of men at the same time.
So the name may possibly be registrable as is, although the consensus from the online sources for Roman names suggest that <Aurelia Triaria> might be more authentic as a feminine name.
Artist’s note: this is not particularly good style (although a vast improvement over what I was originally told as the blazon). 
Complexity count of six (four tinctures, two types of charges); possibly seven if you count the complex line of division, and eight if you also include the non-standard arrangement of charges.  I’m not certain whether the spots count as a separate charge group or are considered part of the cat.
      clear of: Deorwine aet Earneleia (10/97 An Tir) -- Per chevron inverted azure and Or, a crested eagle displayed head affronty and three oak trees eradicated fructed
counterchanged.
      clear of: Philippa Kempe (9/08 Meridies) -- Per chevron inverted azure and Or, an astrolabe and two needles inverted in chevron inverted counterchanged.
In each case, there is at least one CD for aggregate changes to the the charges, and one for addition of the complex line of division.
      clear of: Leticia de Scocia (8/82 West) -- Argent, a pile throughout embattled azure and in chief three mullets of four points counterchanged.
There is at least one CD for changes to the field (half of tincture and type of complex line) and one for arrangement of the charges.  There may or may not be one for type of one of the charge group, though, because these are not in a standard arrangement.
      possibly clear of: Freydis Saemundardottir (5/88 Middle) -- Or, on a pile wavy azure, a mermaid maintaining a pearl argent.
There is a CD for adding the mullets, and there should be one for changing the mermaid to a cat.  There is not a CD for the type of complex line between “wavy” and “nebuly”, and there may not be one for the difference between “(Field), a pile” and “Per chevron inverted”, since by Precedent, from François’ first tenure, there is not one between “(Field), a pile inverted” and “Per chevron”:
            When comparing per chevron armory with pile inverted armory, the two
            items must be compared as if they both used a per chevron field, and also
            as if they both used the charge of a pile inverted. [Dun an Chalaidh, Shire
            of, 08/2001, R-An Tir] [sic]
      possibly clear of: Atenveldt, Kingdom of (badge, 2/05 Atenveldt) -- Or, on a pile between two compass stars azure a torch Or enflamed proper.
There is a CD for adding the complex line of division; there may be one for type and tincture of one of the charges, but there is nothing for type between mullets of eight point and compass stars.
      probably clear of: Verbrand of the Iron Hills (9/84 Meridies) -- Argent, on a pile gules between in pile two battle-axes addorsed sable, a Bengal tiger rampant argent, striped sable.
      probably clear of; Andrew Kelson MacLaine (4/89 East) -- Or, on a pile inverted cotised gules, a Bengal tiger rampant argent, striped sable.
In each case there is a CD for changes to the field and there should be one for changing the type and tincture of more than half of the charges; however, there may not be one for the type of markings only on the cat.
      clear of: William Alexander MacAvoy (7/97 Atenveldt) -- Per chevron inverted gules and azure, a natural winged tiger segreant argent, striped sable.
There is a CD for changes to the field, and one for adding the mullets.  There may also be one for removing the wings on the cat.
      possibly clear of: Coinneach MacKenzie (5/89 East) -- per chevron embattled azure and Or, two suns and a lion rampant counterchanged.
There is a CD for changes to the field; there may be one for tincture and arrangement of the charges.  There is not, however, one for type between suns and mullets of eight, and there may or may not be one for adding the spots to the cat.
      possibly clear: Angeline Aldwyne 99/92 Ansteorra) --  Per chevron inverted azure and argent, three compass stars one and two counterchanged.
There is at least one CD for changing half the field tincture; there may be one for type of complex line.  There may or may not be one for changing the type of one of the charges, since they are not in a standard arrangement.
      possibly clear of: Cephius de Valletta (11/84 Caid) -- Per chevron inverted embattled or and azure, three suns, one and two, counterchanged.
There is at least one CD for aggregate changes to the field (tincture and type of complex line); there may or may not be one for changing the type of one of the charges in the group, since the arrangement has not changed and they are not in a standard arrangement.  There may or may not be one for tincture of the charges.
 
      11. Gwen Twlynores -- Or, a harp purpure.
      clear of: Laura della Francesca (badge,. 3/90 East) -- (Fieldless) A Greek Lyre purpure.
There is a CD for field vs. fieldless, and one for type; by Precedent; this is from Da’ud’s second tenure:
            [a lyre vs a harp] [sic] It was the consensus of the commenting heralds and
            those attending the Laurel meeting that there is (and should be) [sic] a CD
            between a lyre and a harp. [The submission was returned for a different
            reason.] [sic]  (Wintermist, Shire of, 7/94 p. 10) [sic]
      possibly clear of: Zoe Doukaina (7/04 Middle) -- Argent, a Jew's harp purpure.
There is a CD for changing the field, and there may also be one for type
      probably clear of: Richard Morgan of Cumberland (badge, 11/03 Northshield) -- Vairy Or and gules, a psaltery purpure.
There is a CD for changing half the field and probably one for type.
 
      12. Killian Helm -- Per pale argent and vert, a cross formy fitchy inverted vert and a cross formy fitchy argent.
The inversion of one of the crosses gives this the impression of marshalled arms (this person wouldn’t perhaps be connected to the person who had the crosses formy fitchy on the Pennsic submissions LoI, would it?).  According to the RfS 11.3:
            3. Marshalling. [sic] - Armory that appears to marshall independent arms
            is considered presumptuous.
            Period marshalling combined two or more separate designs to indicate
            descent from noble parents and claim to inheritance. Since members of the
            Society are all required to earn their status on their own merits, apparent
            claims to inherited status are presumptuous. Divisions commonly used for
            marshalling, such as quarterly or per pale, may only be used in contexts
            that ensure marshalling is not suggested.
                  a. [sic] Such fields may be used with identical charges over the
                  entire field, or with complex lines of partition or charges overall
                  that were not used for marshalling in period heraldry.
                  b. Such fields may only be used when no single portion of the
                  field may appear to be an independent piece of armory....
                        Charged sections must all contain charges of the same type
                  to avoid the appearance of being different from each other. 
The question then is whether having one of the charges inverted, even though otherwise identical in type, constitutes the “appearance of an independent piece of armory”, and this may have to forwarded to Laurel with a request for a ruling, or at least a clarification of RfS 11.3.b.
There is a Precedent permitting the inverting of crosses, dating back to Jaelle’s tenure:
            [registering a Latin cross inverted] [sic] The question was raised as to
            whether an inverted cross would be considered offensive or would
            be considered to be mocking religion. Laurel, who is Jewish, does not
            know enough about Christianity to decide this issue without further
            information. Laurel received a letter from a Methodist Minister who is
            also an SCA herald, which provided us with the necessary information
            with which to decide this issue. We quote her letter...  [sic] [what follows
            is an excerpt] [sic] "It is my opinion that such a charge is, in and of itself,
            not offensive. The use of such a symbol to represent overtly anti-Christian
            sentiment is postperiod and not widespread. Within period this was used
            frequently as an emblem of St. Peter, who by tradition was crucified
            upside down as he did not feel worthy to die in the same manner as
            Christ. I could send you bibliographic references if you wish. Were a
            Latin Cross inverted displayed with other charges which could be taken
            in the twentieth century as "satanic" [sic] (such as a mullet of five points,
            a skull, gouts, and a candle) [sic] then I would have difficulty interpreting
            it as a period charge, but in the blazon you described I find it entirely
            acceptable. (Aaron Graves, 10/98 p. 4) [sic]
Reblazon (as per Lady Kathryn MacLuing’s suggestion): Per pale argent and vert, a cross formy fitchy inverted and a cross formy fitchy argent counterchanged.
      probably clear of: Gwenhwyfar Morgan Cornubia (10/80 Atenveldt) -- Per pale argent and vert, in annulo to dexter three crosses patty gules and to sinister three trefoils slipped argent.
There is a CD for number, and at least one CD for aggregate changes to type and tincture of the charges; there may also be one for arrangement.
      possibly clear of: Tamlin Somerled (3/99 Atenveldt) -- Per bend sinister argent and vert, two Celtic crosses counterchanged.
There is a CD for changing the field; there may or may not be one for arrangement/
position of the charges; there may also be one for changing the orientation of one of them, and there may be one for type of cross.
      clear of: Loy Schiemann der Kleine (2/10 West) -- Per pale argent and sable, two crosses formy fitchy counterchanged.
There is a CD for changing half the field, and one for changing the tincture of half of the charges; there may also be one for orientation of one of the charges.
      probably clear of: Roderick Mactavish (2/85 West) -- Per pale azure and argent, two crosses crosslet fitchy counterchanged.
There is a CD for changing the field, and probably one for changing the tincture of half the charges; there may also be one for orientation of one of the crosses; I’m not sure if there is one for type of cross.
 
      13. Livia Valentini -- Sable, on a bend sinister between two Hungerford knots Or three fleurs-de-lys sabl [sic].
Is this a change of device?  I checked the relevant LoAR for the name registration, and find that the submitter had also at that time, registered “Sable, a weaver’s knot and a label Or.”  What is happening to that prior registration?  Is it being released, or being kept as a badge?
Nice armory.  Note that as blazoned, however, the tertiaries should be following the line of the bend sinister instead of being upright.
Reblazon: Sable, on a bend sinister between two Hungerford knots Or, three fleurs-de-lys palewise sable.
      possible clear of: Lhiannan y Llysieuydd (5/89 Calontir) -- Sable, on a bend sinister between a quarter-sun issuant from dexter chief and a mortar and pestle Or, three oak leaves sable.
There is a CD for changing the type of secondaries; there may be one for type and orientation of tertiaries (this may need to be pulled to see if the oak leaves actually follow the line of the bend).
      clear of: Kimberly Donegal of Westmeath (8/92 Caid) -- Azure, a sword inverted proper between in bend two Norse serpents nowed, overall a bend sinister Or charged with three fleurs-de-lys palewise sable.
There is a CD for changing the field tincture, and one for removing the (co-)primary.  There may or may not be one for type of secondaries
      clear of: Jeanlouis Pépin de Namûr (4/88 Trimaris) -- Purpure, masoned Or, on a bend sinister Or, three fleurs-de-lys palewise gules.
There is a CD for changing the field tincture and one for adding the secondaries; however, there is only change of tincture of tertiaries.
      clear of: Fritz der Gefolgsmann (5/96 Caid) -- Gules, on a bend sinister between two hangman's nooses Or, a winged boot palewise sable.
There is a CD for changing the field tincture, and one for cumulative changes to the tertiary charge group.  There may or may not be one for type of secondaries.
 
      14. Magnús {th}orvar{dh}sson -- Argent, in pale a cross sable and two roundels gules a bordure embattled sable.
Have hard copy docs for the name elements been provided?  The cited work for the given name and the name used to form the patronymic is found on Google Books [URL: http://books.google.com/books] but not all text pages are available in the preview (note that I did not provide the entire URL because some of the non-standard characters did not port correctly in a cut and paste from the URL link).
The given name is found in Geirr Bassi [p. 13], with one instance from the Landnámabók, in a Christian context.
{Th}orvar{dh}r is also found in Geirr Bassi [p. 16] with nine instances from the Landnámabók.
The docs for the formation of the patronymic can be found at [URL: http://www.
ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/norse/sg-viking.html] and appear to be as cited.
Artist’s note -- I checked with Garnet and yes, the three charges are in pale.  This is not particularly good style, (and is not simple armory as there are more than two types of charges directly on the field).  Note that the cross is couped.
Complexity count of six (three tinctures, three types of charges); seven if you count the complex line of division on the bordure, and eight if including the odd placement of the charges.
Possible reblazon: Argent, in pale a cross couped sable and two torteaux, a bordure embattled sable.
      possibly clear of: Terryl of Talavera (12/75 ??) -- Argent, a triskelion arrondi azure, between in pale two torteaux.
      possibly clear of; Beinean Colm of Caer Draigwyrdd (3/84 Atlantia) -- Argent, two ladders in saltire sable between in fess two torteaux.
In each case, there is at least one CD for adding the complex line peripheral; there is probably also one for arrangement and there may be one for type and tincture of one of a group of three charges.
      possibly clear of: Micah Rose (9/98 West) -- Argent, a Celtic cross purpure a bordure embattled sable.
There is at least one CD for changing the tincture (and possibly also the type) of the cross; there is another CD for adding the torteaux.
 
      15. Nest verch Gruffydd (name change from Briant Huntington)
The docs for the given name are as cited. Additionally, Morgan and Morgan [p. 171, sn Nest] says:
                  This fem. pers. name was popular in the med. period, found in the
            form of Nest [sic] an latinized as Nesta [sic]; both forms have been brought
            back into use, more especially the -a [sic] version.
The name <Aangharat verch Llewelin ap Nest verch Tanno verch Jevon Gogh> is cited from Hugh Owen, ‘Plea Rolls of Anglesey 1500-1516”, in a 1927 supplement to the Transactions of the Anglesey Antiquarian Society. [abbreviations in the text are cited in Morgan and Morgan, pp. 36-40].
The docs for the byname are also as cited.  Additionally, Jones’ article “Names and Naming Practices in The Merioneth Lay Subsidy Roll 1292-3” [Y Camamseriad, #1, p. 64], <Gruffydd> is given as a header form; the citation calls it “A very popular name in Bartrum” and cites various spellings, including <Gruffud> and <Gruffydd> (although the latter is note as being “(modern)”.  Morgan and Morgan [p.  102, sn Gruffudd], gives the submitted spelling as a subsidiary header form, and says in part:
            The OW form was Grippiud (Gripiud) [sic]; this would change in the first
            place to Griffud, and then to Gruffudd, for when i [sic] was followed in
            the next syllable by u [sic], the i [sic] changed to u [sic]....  When u [sic]
            came to have the same quality as the ‘clear y’ [sic] (the y of monosyllables
            and final syllables) [sic] the name generally became Gruffydd, and this
            is now regarded as the standard form.  But forms such as Gruffith,
            Gryffydd are not uncommon in the early documents.
 
      16. Solveig Throndardottir (badge) -- (Fieldless) An owl rising wings displayed atop a fasces fesswise argent, hafted and bladed Or and banded gules.
For a fieldless badge with only two charges, there is still a complexity count of six (four tinctures, two types of charges)
Note that there is a Precedent from François’ second tenure which gives a CD between an axe 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]
      probably clear of; Hal Ravn (9/73 ??) -- Ermine, a raven semi-displayed reversed sable, orbed and taloned Or, grasping two lightning bolts crossed in saltire Or.
There is a CD for field vs. fieldless and probably one for changing the lighting bolts to a fasces; it isn’t clear whether the bolts are maintained or sustained, but if they are maintained, there is a CD for addition of co-primary, while if sustained there is a CD for type and number of co-primaries.
      clear of: Irving de Rosamonde MacChlurain (8/79 Atenveldt) -- Ermine, a swan elevated and displayed, dismembered sable, collared or, holding in its beak a thistle proper.
There is a CD for field vs. fieldless and one for type of bird (i.e., betweeen swan-shaped birds and “regular-shaped” birds); there may be one for adding the co-primary (it isn’t clear if the thistle is significant enough to be a sustained charge).  There may also be one for dismembering the bird.
      probably clear of: Wilhelm von Messer (1/73 ??) -- Gules, an eagle displayed sable, fimbriated argent, beaked and membered, grasping in the dexter talon a warhammer Or, and in sinister talon a sword, point in base, proper.
There is a CD for field vs. fieldless; depending on how significant the sword and hammer are, there may either be one for addition of co-primary or one for type and number of co-primaries.
      possibly clear of: Juan Santiago (badge, 10/07 West) -- (Fieldless) A brown falcon striking, wings displayed proper maintaining in its claws a rapier bendwise inverted argent.
There is a CD for field vs. fieldless; there may or may not be one for tincture of the bird (but possibly not one for type); depending on the size of the rapier (i.e., if it is really maintained rather than sustained), there may also be a CD for addition of co-primary.
      possibly clear of: Cigfran Myddrael Joserlin, the Raven (3/03 Middle) -- Argent, a raven rising regardant wings disclosed proper, maintaining in the dexter claw a sword gules.
There is a CD for field vs. fieldless; there may or may not be one for either tincture or posture.  Depending on how significant the sword is, there may either be at least one CD for type and tincture of co-primary, or a CD for addition of co-primary.
      probably clear of: Arwenna of Kelsley (badge for Falconmews, 6/97 Middle) -- Gules, fretty argent, a falcon striking maintaining in its talons a lure sable.
There is a CD for field vs. fieldless; there may be one for removing the fretty (I’m not sure if current thinking is that it is a charge or part of the field).  There is probably a CD for posture of the bird, and there may be one for either type and tincture of co-primary or for addition of co-primary.
      probably clear of: Accolon Shadowhawk (4/00 Middle) -- Per bend sinister Or and sable, a bird rising maintaining a cup counterchanged.
There is a CD for field vs. fieldless; there may be one for posture, and possibly one for addition of co-primary.
      clear of; Thylacinus Aquila of Dair Eidand (reblazon of badge, 4/10 East) -- (Fieldless) An eagle rising sable bellied headed and deailed [sic] argent fimbriated of flames proper.
There is a CD for fieldless vs. fieldless, and one for adding the co-primary.  Note that this was originally registered (1980 East) with the blazon “(Fieldless) A harpy eagle [Thrasyaetus harpyia] rising flammant proper” and listed in the O&A under “Monster-Phoenix”
 
      17. Yngvar the Dismal (Augmentation of Arms) -- Vairy argent and sable, a decrescent and for augmentation on a chief gules a demi-escarbuncle argent.
Nice armory!  Even with the added chief for the augmentation, it is still simple, and only increases the complexity count to six (three tinctures, three types of charges).
There is a Precedent from François’ second tenure that exempts Augmentations from the limit on number of pieces of armory which may be registered:
            ADMINISTRATIVE -- Registration Limit [sic]
                  Administrative Handbook I.B states: "Individuals and other Society
            branches may register no more than four names and four pieces of
            armory." [sic] It could be argued that the registration of this device would
            require the release of one piece of registered armory because the submitter
            has three items and an augmentation currently registered. This raises the
            question of whether an augmentation counts toward the number of armory
            items that a person may have registered. We currently list both the un-                  
            augmented [sic] and the augmented version of armory as registered items
            which could, with the registration of this augmentation, require the release
            of one registered item. Since the augmentation is a mark of honor given
            by the Crown and is added to the registered armory, we will not count the
            registered augmentation toward the registration limit. The un-augmented
            item will continue to count toward the registration limit and must remain
            registered for the augmentation to be exempt from the count.
                  The submitter had requested that, if the augmentation was registered,
            that one of her badges be released because of the registration limit. Since
            the augmentation will not count toward the limit for peices [sic] of armory
            she has registered, we are not releasing the badge at this time. If the
            submitter still wishes to release the badge, we will release the badge on a
            future letter. [Kathryn of Iveragh, LoAR 11/2004, Outlands-A]
However, since the submitter only appears to have three pieces of armory currently registered, this submission would not exceed the limit in any event.
      no conflicts found
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Black, George F. The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning, and History. 
      Edinburgh: Birlinn Ltd., 1999, 2004 [copyright: The New York Public Library,
      1946].
 
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://heraldry.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/precedents.html
 
http://heraldry.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/rfs.html
 
http://heraldry.sca.org/heraldry/loar/
 
http://oanda.sca.org
 
http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/sca/weirdness_table.html
 
http://www.s-gabriel.org/names           
 
Morgan, T. J., and Prys Morgan.  Welsh Surnames. Cardiff: University of Wales Press,
      1985.
 
Ó Corráin, Donnchadh, and Fidelma Maguire.  Irish Names.  Dublin: The Lilliput Press,
      1981. 1990.
 
Tangwystyl verch Morgan Glasvryn (formerly Keridwen ferch Morgan Glasfryn)
      [Heather Rose Jones]..  “Names and Naming Practices in the Merioneth Lay Subsidy
      Roll 1292-3.” (Y Camamseriad, #1, Summer, 1992).
 
 other URLs as cited