With scharpe weppun and schene,
Gay gownus of grene,
To hold thayre armur clene
And were[351] hitte fro the wete."
The Avowynge of King Arther, stanza 39.

The Surcoat was of two principal kinds: the sleeveless and the sleeved. The latter is not found till the second half of the century.

The Sleeveless Surcoat occurs of various lengths: sometimes scarcely covering the hauberk, sometimes reaching to the heels. Both the short and the long are seen throughout the century. The long appear on the royal seals noticed above. And on the seal of De Quinci, circa 1250 (woodcut, No. [87]); on the sculpture from Haseley, c. 1250 (cut, No. [46]); on the brass of D'Aubernoun, 1277 (No. [55]); on that of De Trumpington, 1289 (No. [73]); on the effigies at Ash and Norton, of the close of the century (Nos. [59] and [70]); and on the statues of De Vere and Crouchback (Stothard, Plates xxxvi. and xlii.).

The shorter Surcoat occurs on the effigy of Longuespée, d. 1226 (woodcut, No. [54]); the knight at Whitworth, c. 1250 (Stothard, Pl. xxiv.); the figures from the Painted Chamber and the "Lives of the Two Offas" (woodcuts, Nos. [80] and [86]); the knight at Florence, 1289 (cut No. [58]); De Valence, in Westminster Abbey (Stothard, Pl. xliv.); and our engravings, Nos. [47], [56], [63], [64] and [68]: the last-named examples being of the close of the century.

The Surcoat is either of a uniform tint, or diapered, or heraldically pictured. Probably, in some early sculptured effigies, the surcoat, now plain, had armorial devices expressed by painting, which time has obliterated. The armorial surcoat was a necessary result of the visored helm; for when the visor was closed, it was no longer possible to distinguish king from subject, leader from stranger, comrade from foe. A similar inconvenience had already been found in the nasal helmet. At the field of Hastings, Duke William was obliged to remove the bar from his face, in order to convince his followers that he was still alive. The figure of Longuespée at Salisbury, c. 1226, still exhibits a portion of the heraldic decoration of the surcoat. And it is again found on the statue of De l'Isle at Rampton, circa 1250 (Stothard, Pl. xx.). The pictures of the Painted Chamber offer many examples. (See our woodcut, No. [86].) See also our engravings, Nos. [58] and [62]. The effigy of William de Valence in Westminster Abbey, circa 1296, offers a curious variety of this garment: it is powdered with escutcheons, on each of which are the bearings of his house. A similar arrangement is seen in one of the figures of the Painted Chamber (Plate vi.)

The knightly surcoat of this time was slit up in front and behind, for convenience of riding. A singular deviation from this fashion of the garment is found in a figure in the Cathedral of Constance, c. 1220; where from the front part a portion passes under the arms, overlaps the part hanging from the shoulders behind, and then fastens at the back. See Hefner's work, Pl. iv. of Pt. i.

Occasionally the surcoat has an ornamental edge of fringe; as in the brasses of D'Aubernoun, 1277, and De Bures, 1302 (woodcut, No. [55], and Waller, Pt. ii.). In some cases, as in the Temple Church figure engraved by Stothard, Pl. xv., the garment has a rigid appearance across the shoulders, which has been taken to indicate a strengthening of the surcoat at that part. But the same treatment is seen in the enamelled effigy at St. Denis, of John, son of St. Louis; where the garment forms part of a civil dress (Willemin, vol. i., Pl. xci., and Guilhermy's Monuments of St. Denis, p. 164). The Surcoat sometimes hangs loose, as in our woodcut, No. [86]; but usually it is girt at the waist by a cord or strap. The cord is seen in the brasses of Sir John D'Aubernoun and Sir Roger de Trumpington; the strap, with its long pendent end, in the effigies at Ash Church, Norton Church, and St. Bride's (our woodcuts, Nos. [55], [73], [59], [70] and [74]). The group from Add. MS. 17,687 furnishes some further examples (cut, No. [63]). Rarely, the surcote is made with a "fente" at the throat, and fastened with a fibula. An effigy in the Temple Church exhibits this arrangement. (Hollis, Pt. ii.)

The Sleeved Surcoat, as we have already noticed, did not come into use till the second half of the thirteenth century. It is frequent in the pictures of the Painted Chamber. A good example is offered by the effigy at Norton, Durham (our woodcut, No. [70]); and very similar are found in the statue of Lord Fitz Alan at Bedale, Yorkshire, (engraved by Hollis, Pt. iv., and in Blore's Monuments,) and the Temple sculpture (Stothard, Pl. xxxviii.). The knightly figure on our woodcut No. [56] presents a variety, in the sleeves being "slittered." Those of the Shurland effigy (Stothard, Pl. xli.) are divided under the arm and fastened by ties.