Dutch embossed leather wall coverings marketed in Japan, it turns out, made a fine material for Jinbaori, vest-like surcoats worn by nobles and samurai.
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Inside one of the surviving medieval halls of Paris's Conciergerie, which has served as both a palace and a prison, models appeared in chain-mail dresses and knightly head covers — viewers could hear one look, heavy with metallic fringe, jingling from the other end of the runway — as well as embroidered tunics and bell-sleeved surcoats inspired by religious vestments.
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In the 15th century, once suits of plate armour became common, the surcoat was phased out of use. This period in the history of armour development, in which surcoats became increasingly rare, is referred to as the "surcoatless period" (1420-1485).
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Because nine was considered the number of the emperor, only the most senior officials were allowed to wear nine dragons on their robes—and then only with the robe completely covered with surcoats. Lower-ranking officials had eight or five dragons on their robes, again covered with surcoats; even the emperor himself wore his dragon robe with one of its nine dragons hidden from view. There are a number of places in China called "Nine Dragons", the most famous being Kowloon (in Cantonese) in Hong Kong. The part of the Mekong in Vietnam is known as Cửu Long, with the same meaning.
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Because nine was considered the number of the emperor, only the most senior officials were allowed to wear nine dragons on their robes — and then only with the robe completely covered with surcoats. Lower-ranking officials had eight or five dragons on their robes, again covered with surcoats; even the emperor himself wore his dragon robe with one of its nine dragons hidden from view. There are many places in China with the phrase "Nine Dragons" in their name, the most famous being Kowloon (in Cantonese) in Hong Kong. The part of the Mekong in Vietnam is known as Cửu Long, with the same meaning.
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The style drew criticism from some moralists, who thought the garment drew an inappropriate amount of attention to the female body. Despite this, sideless surcoats continued to be worn as ceremonial dress well into the 15th century, long after they had ceased to be fashionable. Some estimates place them being worn as state apparel as late as 1525.
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13th century clothing featured long, belted tunics with various styles of surcoats or mantle in various styles. The man on the right wears a gardcorps, and the one on the left a Jewish hat. Women wore linen headdresses or wimples and veils, c. 1250 Costume during the thirteenth century in Europe was very simple for both men and women, and quite uniform across the continent.
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Today it operates primarily with charitable aims in Central Europe. The Knights wore white surcoats with a black cross. A cross pattée was sometimes used as their coat of arms; this image was later used for military decoration and insignia by the Kingdom of Prussia and Germany as the Iron Cross and Pour le Mérite. The motto of the Order was: "Helfen, Wehren, Heilen" ("Help, Defend, Heal").
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Designs with the peacock insignia were strictly reserved for the royal family and long-tailed hip- length htaingmathein jackets and surcoats were reserved for officials. Fabrics with metallic threads, sequins and embroidery were limited to royals, high- ranking officials, and tributary princes (sawbwa). Velvet sandals were only permitted to be worn by members of the royal family and ministers’ wives. Adornment with jewels and precious stones was similarly regulated.
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Players are assigned a character and play out that character using the character's given beliefs and values (alignment). The game includes two full color maps of ancient Britain, including Ireland, featuring twenty-one different kingdoms on the islands and hundreds of small baronages. Heraldry is defined for every single character in the game with detailed shields and surcoats. The game also includes political and economic rules as well as general roleplaying.
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From about the 12th century, knights wore long, flowing surcoats, frequently emblazoned with their personal arms, over their armor. These usually extended to about mid-calf, had slits in the bottom front and back, allowing the wearer to ride comfortably, and were either sleeved or sleeveless. Historians believe that the practice of wearing white surcoats was adopted during the Crusades, their main purpose being to reflect the direct sun, which overheated the armour (and the soldier inside) – although it may be argued that here its color would have been of little help, while in poor weather they helped keep rain and the muck of battle away from the easily corroded mail links. The surcoat displayed the device of the knight (origin of the term "coat of arms"), thereby identifying him, which in turn, combined with the increased use of the great helm (late 12th century, early 13th century), became an essential means of recognition.
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Sumptuary regulations regarding dress and ornamentation were carefully observed. Designs with the peacock insignia were strictly reserved for the royal family and long-tailed hip-length jackets () and surcoats were reserved for officials. Velvet sandals () were worn exclusively by royals. Gold anklets were worn only by the royal children. Silk cloth, brocaded with gold and silver flowers and animal figures were only permitted to be worn by members of the royal family and ministers’ wives.
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Women began wearing surcoats during the 13th century, both with and without sleeves. A particular style, known as the sideless surcoat, developed as a fashion in the 14th century. This was a sleeveless, floor-length garment featuring exaggerated armholes, which at their most extreme were open from shoulder to hip, revealing the gown underneath. The narrow strip covering the torso, known as the plackard, was usually no more than a foot wide.
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The expedition, says Gillespie, had singularly "failed to live up to the careful preparations" which had preceded it, and had spent less than a fortnight in enemy territory. The reports of a Franco-Scottish raid into the north-west of England, on the other hand, turned out to be true. On 8 July a force of French knights journeyed south from Edinburgh; they wore black surcoats with white St Andrew's crosses sewn on. with them were around 3,000 Scottish soldiers.
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The popular press also drew attention to the group's skimpy exercise costumes; these included brassiere-type tops for women and gee-strings or breech-clouts for men. By the late 1920s the movement's ceremonial occasions required brilliantly coloured surcoats or silk-embroidered robes, worn by the various office-holders such as the Tallykeeper, Campswarden, Ritesmaster and Gleeman. Hargrave himself was 'Head Man'.The Mark of the Kindred of the Kibbo Kift is typical of the symbolism that can be seen in many of their designs.
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Men wore a tunic, cote or cotte with a surcoat over a linen shirt. One of these surcoats was the cyclas, which began as a rectangular piece of cloth with a hole in it for the head. Over time the sides were sewn together to make a long, sleeveless tunic. When sleeves and sometimes a hood were added, the cyclas became a ganache (a cap-sleeved surcoat, usually shown with hood of matching color) or a gardcorps (a long, generous-sleeved traveling robe, somewhat resembling a modern academic robe).
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The feudal system of Western Europe provided instances of distinguishing features denoting allegiance to one or another lord. These however seldom went beyond colours and patterns painted on shields or embroidered on surcoats. Orders of military monks such as the Knights Templar or Hospitaler wore mantles respectively of white (with red crosses on the shoulder) or black (with white crosses) over the usual pattern of armour for their periods. In the later part of the Medieval period instances of standardised clothing being issued for particular campaigns began to occur.
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The Oxford English Dictionary first records this use of the word in English in 1450. Tabards were apparently distinguished from surcoats by being open-sided, and by being shorter. In its later form, a tabard normally comprised four textile panels – two large panels hanging down the wearer's front and back, and two smaller panels hanging over his arms as shoulder-pieces or open "sleeves" – each emblazoned with the same coat of arms. Tabards became an important means of battlefield identification with the development of plate armour as the use of shields declined.
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Indeed, some historians cite this as one of the reasons behind the spread of heraldry across medieval Europe. During the 13th century, knights began to add plates of armour to their surcoats, subsequently giving rise to the medieval coat of plates. In the early fourteenth century, the front of the knight's surcoat was shortened so that it was longer at the back and knee-length at the front, allowing greater freedom of movement and eliminating the danger of a rider getting his spurs caught in the garment. By the mid-fourteenth century, it was replaced with the "jupon" (or "gipon"), a much shorter item, often padded for supplementary protection.
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Depiction of a late medieval knightly tournament from King René's Tournament Book (1460s). The two teams stand ready, each side has 24 knights, all with heraldic surcoats and caparisons, and each accompanied by a banner-bearer with a heraldic flag. There is a central spectators' box for the four judges, where the heraldic shields of the competitors are displayed, the two teams being led by the dukes of Brittany and Bourbon, respectively, and one spectator box on each side for the ladies; inscribed over the boxes is plus est en vous, the heraldic motto of the Gruuthuse family of Bruges, attributed to tournament between Jean III de Gruuthuse and Jean de Ghistelles held in 1393.Octave Delepierre, Précis des annales de Bruges (1835) 38f.
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