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14th cen armor question- Tabbards/Surcoats/et al.

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Thorsteinn:
Were surcoats, tabbards, & whatnot a going thing in the 14th cen? Specifically around near modern Italy & Germany? When & where did waffenrocks come in?

Jon Blair:
When in the 14th C? Over the 100 year period, fashions changed considerably. From what I've read, the surcoat (or surcotte) was going out of fashion in the earlier part of the century, changing to the cyclas, a close fitted garment that had a short front hem with knee length side and back hems. By the beginning of the third quarter of the century, jupons were all the rage for the well-dressed man-at-arms. At the close of the century, cloth covering for armor was almost completely abandoned.
Waffenrock (from wâfenroc or wâpenroc "weapon tunic") seems to be just the German name for the surcoat, although it was later used to refer to various German military uniforms until 1945.

Thorsteinn:
This was posted as a reply over on the Armor Archive just now.

http://www.larsdatter.com/mens-surcoats.htm

Ian:
Region specific to England and France, but a good primer (but note that when it comes to martial fashion, a lot of it is very region specific, the cyclas for example is mostly peculiar to England):

http://cottesimple.com/articles/martial-surcottes/

Sir Rodney:
Great resources!  Thank you.   :)

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