Heraldic quartered surcoat

 A surcoat is a long, loose outer garment which can be worn over anything but is stereotypically worn over armour. It's especially useful if you want to make yourself recognisable on the field (the primary period reason to wear one over armour), wear something swanky that shows off your heraldry (also a good period reason to wear one in general), or cover up the fact that all your heavy armour was bought from a HEMA supplier and is made of plastic (a major reason I wanted one).

 

Surcoats became common from the 12th century onwards for men and 13th century for women and could have sleeves or be sleeveless. The early ones were long with a split at the front and back to allow the wearer to ride and this is the style I went for. Surcoats are also closed at the sides - this is the difference between a surcoat and a tabard - so they need to be fairly full at the hem to allow the wearer to fight.

( Read more... )