Medieval surcoats & gambesons

Gambeson, surcoat, tabard and surcoat

These terms are often all used to refer to the knight's surcoat, the English term for this is surcoat. The gambeson and tabard are actually more heraldic garments. A messenger wore a gambeson with heraldry and was then inviolable. The knight's surcoat was worn over the plate armor starting from the Crusades. It protected the steel from the heat of the sun. The knightly order was depicted on the surcoat and later people wore the surcoat in war with their own heraldry and during jousting.

Surcoats for ladies

In the Middle Ages, the surcoat was also a garment that women wore over their dress. This was the fashion. This way, ladies could wear two different colors on top of each other and better emphasize their hips. It was quite difficult to emphasize a nice hip shape in the shapeless medieval dresses. Combine a dress and surcotte with a belt so you can also hang pouches and other items on your belt.