Tabard
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A tabard is a type of short coat that was commonly worn by men during the late Middle Ages and early modern period in Europe. Generally worn outdoors, the coat was either sleeveless or had short sleev
A 20th-century English herald's tabard
The Waterseller of Seville by Diego Velázquez, c. 1620, depicting a functional workman's tabard
Thomas Hawley, Clarenceux King of Arms, depicted in his tabard on a grant of arms of 1556
Gelre Herald to the Duke of Guelders, c. 1380
Surcoat
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A surcoat or surcote is an outer garment that was commonly worn by soldiers in the Middle Ages. It was worn over armor to show insignia and help identify what side the soldier was on. On the battlefie
Tabard
…sometimes worn plain). The Oxford English Dictionary first records this use of the word in English in c.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…
The classic knight's surcoat is on the left; the knight on the right has a different style, possibly a jupon
Saint Stephen, King of Hungary with a coat of plates or jupon bearing his arms, white and red stripes. Image from the Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle.
c. 1300-1310
A sideless surcoat with gaping armholes, late 14th century