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A tabard is a short coat, either sleeveless, or with short sleeves or shoulder pieces, which was a common item of men's clothing in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
, usually for outdoors. It might be belted, or not. Tabards might be emblazoned on the front and back with a coat of arms
Heraldry

Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of devising, granting, and blazoning Coat of arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms....
, and in this form they survive now as the distinctive garment of officers of arms
Officer of arms

An officer of arms is a person appointed by a Sovereignty or state with authority to perform one or more of the following functions:*to control and initiate Armory matters...
 in heraldry
Heraldry

Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of devising, granting, and blazoning Coat of arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms....
.

bard (from the French tabarde) was originally a humble outer garment of tunic form, generally without sleeves, worn by peasants, monks and foot-soldiers, including Chaucer's ploughman.






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A tabard is a short coat, either sleeveless, or with short sleeves or shoulder pieces, which was a common item of men's clothing in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
, usually for outdoors. It might be belted, or not. Tabards might be emblazoned on the front and back with a coat of arms
Heraldry

Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of devising, granting, and blazoning Coat of arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms....
, and in this form they survive now as the distinctive garment of officers of arms
Officer of arms

An officer of arms is a person appointed by a Sovereignty or state with authority to perform one or more of the following functions:*to control and initiate Armory matters...
 in heraldry
Heraldry

Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of devising, granting, and blazoning Coat of arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms....
.

Middle Ages

A Tabard (from the French tabarde) was originally a humble outer garment of tunic form, generally without sleeves, worn by peasants, monks and foot-soldiers, including Chaucer's ploughman. In this sense the first OED citation is 1300. See also The Tabard
The Tabard

The Tabard, an inn that stood on the east side of Borough High Street in Southwark, was established in 1307, when the Hyde Abbey purchased the land to construct a hostel for himself and his brethren, when business took them to London, as well as an inn to accommodate the numerous pilgrims headed on annual pilgrimage to the Thomas Beckett in...
, the inn at which the principals meet in that same Prologue. (Wikisource:The Canterbury Tales: General Prologue) In the late middle ages
Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
 tabards, now open at the sides and so usually belted, were worn by knight
Knight

File:Gothic armor 2.jpgKnight is the term for a social position originating in the Middle Ages. In the Commonwealth of Nations, knighthood is a non-heritable form of gentry....
s over their armour
Armour

Armour or armor is protective covering used to prevent damage from being inflicted to an individual or a vehicle through use of direct contact weapons or projectiles, usually during combat....
, and usually emblazoned with their arms (though sometimes worn plain). OED first records this use in English in 1450. In this meaning they were apparently distinguished from surcoat
Surcoat

A surcoat was an outer garment commonly worn in the Middle Ages by both men and women. It can either refer to a coat worn over other garments or the outer garment of a person....
s by being open at the side, and by being shorter. These became an important means of battlefield identification with the development of plate armor as the use of shields declined.

A very expensive, but plain, garment described as a tabard is worn by Giovanni Arnolfini
Giovanni Arnolfini

Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini was a merchant from Lucca, a city in Tuscany, Italy.Giovanni, called here di Nicolao or son of Nicolao to distinguish him from his cousin Giovanni di Arrigo Arnolfini , moved to Bruges in Flanders at an early age to work in the family business and lived there for the rest of his life....
 in the Arnolfini Portrait
Arnolfini portrait

The Arnolfini Portrait is a painting in oil paint on oak panel executed by the Early Netherlandish painter Jan van Eyck in 1434. Among other titles, it is also known as "The Arnolfini Wedding", "The Arnolfini Marriage", "The Arnolfini Double Portrait" or the "Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife"....
 of 1434 (National Gallery, London
National Gallery, London

The National Gallery in London, founded in 1824, houses a rich collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900 in its home on Trafalgar Square....
). This may be made of silk
Silk

Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from Pupa#Cocoons made by the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity ....
 velvet
Velvet

File:Ottoman cover.jpgVelvet is a type of tufted textile in which the cut yarns are very evenly distributed, with a short dense pile, giving it a distinct feel....
 and is trimmed and fully lined with fur, possibly sable
Sable

The sable is a small carnivorous mammal, closely related to the martens. It inhabits taiga environments primarily in Russia from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, in northern Mongolia and China and on Hokkaido in Japan....
.

Similarly at Queens College
The Queen's College, Oxford

The Queen's College, founded 1341, is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford of the University of Oxford in England. Queen's is centrally situated on the High Street, and is renowned for its eighteenth-century architecture....
, Oxford
Oxford

Oxford is a City status in the United Kingdom, and the county town of Oxfordshire, in South East England. It has a population of 151,000. The rivers River Cherwell and River Thames run through Oxford and meet south of the city centre....
, the scholars on the foundation were called tabarders, from the tabard, obviously not an emblazoned garment, which they wore.

It can also be the British English
British English

British English or UK English is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere....
 word for a cobbler apron
Cobbler apron

A cobbler apron is a type of apron that covers both the front and back of the body. It is fastened with sides ties or with waist bands that tie in the back....
.

British Heraldry

In the case of Royal officers of arms, the tabard is emblazoned with the coat of arms of the sovereign. Private officers of arms
Private Officer of Arms

A private officer of arms is one of those heralds and pursuivants appointed by great noble houses to handle all heraldry and genealogy questions....
, such as still exist in Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
, likewise make use of tabards emblazoned with the coat of arms of the person who employs them. In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 the different ranks of officers of arms can be distinguished by the fabric from which their tabards are made. The tabard of a king of arms
King of Arms

King of Arms is the senior rank of an Officer of Arms. In many heraldry traditions, only a king of arms has the authority to grant armorial bearings....
 is made of velvet
Velvet

File:Ottoman cover.jpgVelvet is a type of tufted textile in which the cut yarns are very evenly distributed, with a short dense pile, giving it a distinct feel....
, the tabard of a herald of arms
Herald

A herald, or, more correctly, a herald of arms, is an Officer of Arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is often applied erroneously to all officers of arms....
 of satin
Satin

Satin is a cloth that typically has a glossy surface and a dull back. It is a warp -dominated weaving technique that forms a minimum number of interlacings in a fabric....
 and that of a pursuivant of arms
Pursuivant

A Pursuivant, or more correctly a pursuivant of arms, is a junior Officer of Arms. Most pursuivants are attached to official Heraldry authorities, such as the College of Arms in London or Court of the Lord Lyon in Edinburgh....
 of damask silk
Silk

Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from Pupa#Cocoons made by the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity ....
. It was once the custom for pursuivants to wear their tabards with the sleeves at the front and back, but this practice was ended during the reign of James II and VII
James II of England

James II and VII was List of English monarchs, List of Scottish monarchs, and King of Ireland from 6 February 1685. He was the last Roman Catholic Church monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of Kingdom of England, Kingdom of Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland....
.

Gallery


Popular Culture


Tabards are used in the identification of guilds & factions in the fantasy role-playing game World of Warcraft.

See also

  • Heraldry
    Heraldry

    Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of devising, granting, and blazoning Coat of arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms....
  • Surcoat
    Surcoat

    A surcoat was an outer garment commonly worn in the Middle Ages by both men and women. It can either refer to a coat worn over other garments or the outer garment of a person....