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Greetings,
Here is the information we were able to find on the name "Jonet Beathag."
"Jonet" is found in England, where it was used as a diminuitive of "Jane" in 1573, (1) but it appears to have been more widely used in Scotland, where "Janet" was one of the most common female names. Forms we dated include Jonet (1539-48), Johnnett (1596), Jonete (1494), and Jonette (1525). (2)
"Beathag" is documented as a Scottish surname as well, although not in that spelling. We found the spellings Bethoc (1247, 1291, etc.), Bethok (no date), Bahag (1471), and Beak (1577). We didn't find any examples of the name used in England.
In service,
Alan Fairfax
Academy of St. Gabriel
Here's the information we found on your device.
We found no examples of a musical note or tuning fork in medieval heraldry. We assumed that you were looking for some kind of charge that represented a musician, and so we looked for charges that were associated with music in the Middle Ages.
The Company of Musicians of London used a swan as their primary charge because of a legend that the swan is silent throughout its life but, just before its death, sings a song of surpassing beauty. So we can be sure that, at least in late period, swans were seen as an appropriate charge for musicians. (In period heraldry, a swan is depicted as though it's flying upward, with its head turned toward the viewer).
Another "musical" charge is the clarion, a representation of a musical instrument which is rather difficult to depict using ASCII art. A picture of a clarion can be found in most reference books on heraldry; if you have access to a library or a herald, you should be able to see a picture.
Quartered fields were used in two ways in period arms. Quartering was used in a small number of original designs, and it was used far more often as the standard form of marshalling. Marshalling is the practice of combining two (or more) separate coats of arms to form a new coat, indicating that the owner has inherited both sets of arms from his parents. For example, the British royal arms have the arms of England quartered with those of Scotland and Ireland, because the Queen rules all three kingdoms. Quartering has been the most common form of marshalling in western Europe since very early in history of heraldry.
The quartering of two coats was shown in this way:
+-------+
| X | Y |
|-------|
| Y | X |
\ | /
\_|_/
Thus, "Quarterly argent and azure, two owls and two swans counterchanged" implies that you are the heir of two ancestors, one with the arms "Argent, an owl azure" and the other with the arms "Azure, a swan argent." A period person whose ancestors didn't actually bear those two arms would not have been likely to design arms like this. Because of this, and because the arms imply that you are noble by birth, arms of this type cannot be registered in the SCA.
On the other hand, quarterly fields that used just one type of charge were often used in the Middle Ages without the implication of marshalling, and so they can be registered in the Society. Based on period examples, we can suggest three general arrangements which are documented to your period.
Quarterly azure and argent, four owls counterchanged.
Quarterly azure and argent, an owl in dexter chief argent. (1 owl in upper left quarter)
Quarterly azure and argent, two owls in chief counterchanged (2 owls in top 2 quarters)
Any other charge or color combination could be used with these designs.
I hope this has been helpful. If you are in need of further assistance, please let us know.