Medieval Sleeveless Surcoats

The sleeveless surcoat undergoes a stylistic evolution between the 12th and 15th centuries, and includes the "sideless surcoat" style sometimes affectionately (?) referred to by reenactors and costumers as the "gates of hell." Notice that as the fashion progresses into the 15th century, it is only depicted on brides, queens, princess-saints, and funeral brasses; it seems to have evolved into more of a ceremonial garment during that time, and less for regular wear. (See also Sideless Surcoats and Gates of Hell: An Overview of Historical Garments and Their Construction.)

• Enrique I's Pellote, before 1217
• Leonora's Pellote, before 1244
  A sideless surcoat, fairly narrow through the front. See Some Clothing of the Middle Ages or Extant Clothing of the Middle Ages for more information about this artifact.
• Leonora's Saya, first half of the 13th century
• Fernando's Pellote
• The Book of Games of Alfonso X, 1251-82
  Both men and women are depicted wearing sleeveless surcoats (pellotes); the section through the torso (especially on noblewomen's surcoats) is usually rather thin.
• The Cantigas of Santa Maria
  Several of the illustrations depict men and women wearing sleeveless surcoats (pellotes) similar to those seen in The Book of Games.
• The Maciejowski Bible, 13th century
  While most of the surcoats illustrated have sleeves which dangle off the back (a style referred to as a gardecorps), there are a few that are without sleeves, such as illustrations of Saul and David. Surcoats are also worn over armor in many of the battle scenes.
• Fernando de la Cerda's Pellote, before 1275
• Several physicians in British Library, Sloane 1977, a compendium of medical texts from c. 1300-1310
• Manesse Codex, 1300-1330
  Sleeveless surcoats of similar design are worn by both men and women in many of the illustrations, though men's surcoats seem to be shorter (around calf-length). The large armholes are not as curved as most sideless surcoats. The collars of the surcoats are painted as gold-colored, though that could be the collar of the garment worn under the surcoat. In some cases, there are buttons from the sternum to the neckline. Linings in some of the surcoats appear to be white (possibly a fur) or yellow. (There are also several examples of heraldic tabards and surcoats worn over armor.)
• The departure of Flegentine in The story of the Holy Grail (BNF Fr. 105, fol. 58v), 14th century
• Women hunting rabbits with a ferret in the Queen Mary Psalter, c. 1316-1321
• The Luttrell Psalter, c. 1320-1340
  Several examples, most notably:
  Sir Geoffrey Luttrell armed by his wife Agnes de Sutton and daughter-in-law Beatrice le Scrope (also here): Both women wear heraldic sideless surcoats; note the placement of the Luttrell family arms on one half of the surcoat.
  Dining scene (also here): Agnes wears a plain yellow sideless surcoat over an orange gown.
  Garden scene: A lady wearing a plain lilac-colored sideless surcoat over a scarlet gown. A woman feeding chickens wears a blue dress and a peach surcoat (of very different shape/style than the ladies above); she wears an apron over the surcoat.
• Grandes Chroniques de France, 14th century
  The Birth of Saint Louis: Two women are wearing sideless surcoats; one surcoat (right) has a fur "bib," an orange body and skirt, and appears to have a fur lining or fur trim at the hem; the other (background) appears to be a plain white surcoat.
  Emperor Charles IV visiting Queen Jeanne of Bourbon, wife of Charles V: It is difficult to tell whether the gowns worn by Queen Jeanne and a lady-in-waiting at her side are sideless surcoats or if they are simply wearing cotehardies trimmed with fur where the arm-holes of a sideless surcoat should be, as the surcoats seem to be the same color (or very similar) as the cotehardies.
• John of Berry's Petites Heures, 14th century
  Nativity: Mary seems to be wearing a white cotehardie under a gold sideless surcoat.
  Birth of Saint John the Baptist: Elizabeth also seems to be wearing a white cotehardie under a gold sideless surcoat.
• Funeral brass of Maud de Eddefin, 1310
  A fairly plain sideless surcoat.
• Funeral brass of Sir John and Aleyne de Creke, at St. Mary the Less, 1325
  Lady Alyne wears a surcoat with a simple scalloped pattern embroidered along the edges (neckline, arm-holes, and bottom hem).
• Herjolfsnes 37, mid- to late 14th century
  A man's surcoat. See Some Clothing of the Middle Ages or A Comparative Study of Extant Garments for more information about this artifact.
• A widow greets Lancelot and Lionel (BNF Fr 122, fol. 118v - roughly c. 1360); she wears a sideless surcoat with white fur trim
• Statue of Jeanne de Bourbon, ca. 1365-1380
  Easier to see in full-length photo; garment described is similar to the following illustration, except that the studs on the center front of the surcoat are different.
• Jeanne de Bourbon, 1390
  The "bib" and wide bands at the bottom of the armhole were probably trimmed with fur. Notice the series of studs down the front of the surcoat; these may have been attached (as buttons or pins) to the front of the cotehardie as well.
• Funeral brass of Margaret Wylughby, 1391
  A sideless surcoat with a thin (embroidered? fur?) trim around the neckline and arm-holes.
• Cavalry, 1400
  St. Catherine, at left, wears a sideless surcoat of a multicolored brocade with white fur trim around the arm-holes; it is lined in white, probably a thin fur rather than a fabric lining.
• De mulierbus claris (BNF Fr. 598), beginning of the 15th century
  Several illustrations depict women (generally wearing crowns) in surcoats with ermine through the bib and armhole-trim areas: Chiomara (fol. 110v), Torture of Agrippine the Young (fol. 136), Faustine the Young and her lovers (fol. 145), Homage to Zenobia (fol. 148), Guido embraces Gualdrada (fol. 153v), Constance de Hauteville refuses marriage (fol. 154v), and Homage to Jeanne I of Naples (fol. 159). Sulpicia following her husband (fol. 125) shows the sideless surcoat discarded on the ground.
• Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, Bible Historiale (BNF Fr. 9, fol. 159v), beginning of the 15th century: Like other royal women of the 15th century, she wears a sideless surcoat with ermine on the torso and around the arm-holes.
• Moses' laws: divorce, Bible Historiale (BNF Fr. 3, fol. 98v), beginning of the 15th century: A young woman wears a solid-colored sideless surcoat with a white fur lining.
• The assassination of Agamemnon in De casibus (BNF Fr. 226, fol. 27), first quarter of the 15th century
• Baptism of Palymede, Tristan de Léonois (BNF Fr. 97, fol. 550), first quarter of the 15th century, shows fur-trimmed surcoat on a queen (?)
• Funeral brass of Sir William Bagot, 1407
  Sir William's wife (?) wears a sideless surcoat with a narrow band (probably fur) trimming the arm-holes and possibly the neckline as well. The cords along the front of her gown are from her cloak.
• St. Jerome Tempted by Dancing Girls, Belles Heures de Duc du Berry, 1408-09
  One of the girls wears a white sideless surcoat with exaggerated arm-holes and horizontal bands of embroidery. The surcoat is lined with ermine.
• Coronation of Philippa of Hainuat, Froissart's Chronicles (BNF Fr. 2675, fol. 27), second quarter of the 15th century
• Funeral brass of Lady Joan Darcy, 1445
  The front section of the surcoat is fairly thin through the torso; that area and the bands along the bottoms of the arm-holes may be a fur trim. Note that the cords hanging in front of her skirt are actually from her cloak.

She had ... a sur-cote on of clothe of golde ... wroght and wove with sondry flours. Reson and Sensuallyte (Bodleian Fairfax 16)

• Funeral brass of Joyce, daughter of Eleanor widow of Roger Mortimer Earl of March, and herself widow of John Baron Tiptoft, 1446/1470
  The front bib section appears to be trimmed in ermine.
• Illustration from Girart de Roussillon, c. 1450
  Berta, Girart's bride, wears a long surcoat with ermine on the bib and along the arm-holes.
• Facta et dicta memorabilia (BNF Fr. 43), mid-15th century: both Lucretia and Fortune (both wearing crowns) in similar scarlet surcoats with ermine through the bib and armholes; Lucretia's has an ermine band at the bottom.
• Presentation scene, De mulieribus claris (BNF Fr. 133, fol. 2), third quarter of the 15th century
  Ermine bib and armhole trim with a pinkish-red (silk?) fabric in the skirt. Probably meant to be Queen Joanna of Sicily. She wears a similar necklace to the other ladies, who are dressed more in line with contemporary fashion; there seem to be jewelled studs down the front of the surcoat as well.
• St. Catherine from The Book of Hours of Étienne Chevalier, ca. 1455
• The Grandes Chroniques de France (BNF Fr. 6465), 1455-1460
  The women in the following illustrations are in the 15th century artistic convention of a noblewoman (princess or queen) wearing a surcoat for a ceremonial occasion, rather than illustrating realistic earlier day-to-day fashion. Note also that the surcoats in all illustrations are pretty much the same; a white fur (sometimes clearly ermine-spotted) bib section with wide trim around the side-openings, then (if the woman is the Queen of France) blue fabric with gold fleurs-de-lys in the skirt section.
  Coronation of Louis VIII (fol. 247)
  Coronation of Marie de Brabant (fol. 292)
  Coronation of Louis X (fol. 326)
  Wedding of Charles IV and Marie de Luxembourg (fol. 332)
  Phillip IV is named regent (fol. 342v)
• Funeral brass of Thomas Shernborne, chamberlain to Queen Margaret of Anjou, 1458
  Thomas' wife (?) wears a surcoat which appears to be fur from mid-thigh-level upwards, and a solid-colored fabric below.
• Funeral brass of Sir William Vernon, 1467
  The surcoat worn by Sir William's wife (?) appears to be fur from the hips upward, and a solid-colored fabric below. Again, the cords along the front are from the cloak she is wearing.
• Wedding banquet from The History of Renaud de Montauban (BNF Arsenal 5073, fol. 148), 1468-1470
  Only the bride wears a sideless surcoat; her bridesmaids wear another fashionable gown. The bride's surcoat is ermine through the bib section, and has a scarlet skirt (matching the cotehardie worn underneath); the bottom hem is also trimmed in ermine. There is a square neckline to the surcoat, and she wears a gold necklace.
• Banquet from The History of Olivier de Castille and Artus d'Algarbe (BNF Fr. 12574, fol. 181v), 15th century
  Here again, the lady of honor (bride?) at the banquet wears a similar surcoat as the bride from the illustration in The History of Renaud de Montauban above.
• Saint Cecily, Speculum Historiale (BNF Fr. 51, fol. 8), 1463
• Funeral brass of Lady Joan Tiptoft, 1470
  Lady Joan appears to be wearing a surcoat; notice the scalloped lines, similar to ornamentation on Lady Aleyne de Creke's surcoat.
• St. John Altarpiece by Hans Memling, 1474-79
  Catherine (on the lower left of the center panel) wears a surcoat which is a white fur from the hips up (and a solid-colored fabric below), and a gold and black brocade for the skirting, trimmed with a white (ermine?) fur at the bottom hem. She wears a matching fur-trimmed brocade cape, which trails behind her.
• Diptych of Jean de Cellier by Hans Memling, 1475
  Catherine (lower left) wears a sideless surcoat nearly identical to the one in which she is depicted in the St. John Altarpiece, though she is without her matching brocade cape. Another lady (background, playing the portative organ) wears a sideless surcoat that is white (probably fur) on the top half, and appears to have black (velvet) for a skirt.
• Donne Triptych by Hans Memling, 1475
  Catherine (again pictured in the center panel, upper left-hand side) once again wears the same surcoat as in the St. John Altarpiece.
• A collection of Arthurian stories (BNF Fr. 111), c. 1480
  The madness of Lancelot (fol. 81v): A woman in a crown wears a surcoat with ermine through the bib area and along the armholes; the pattern on the skirt may be embroidery or brocade.
  Margonde arrives at the court (fol. 132v): Margonde's surcoat has an ermine bib & armhole trim, similar to the image in 81v, but the skirt on hers is a fancy brocade.
• A queen, Liber de Moribus hominum, 1480-1485 (BNF Fr. 2000, fol. 9)
  The ermine-trimmed bib seems to have a lobed bottom, but that may be the view of the bottom of the arm-holes. She also wears an ermine-trimmed cloak, the outer fabric of which seems to match the skirt of her surcoat.
• Funeral brass of Nicholas Gaynesford and his wife Margaret, 1485
  Margaret apears to be wearing a sideless surcoat that is thin through the front of the torso.
• Virgin Surrounded by Female Saints, 1488
  Catherine (just left of the center) is depicted in a sideless surcoat; it is a dark red velvet (?) embroidered all over with wheels, and trimmed with ermine at the arm-holes and bottom hem.
• St. Ursula Shrine by Hans Memling, 1489
  In almost every panel in which, Ursula wears a surcoat which is white fur from the hips up, and a gray-blue from the waist down; there is a white fur trim at the bottom as well. In most of the panels, she wears a cape (apparently white fur) as well.
• Scenes from the Life of St Ursula
  Note that Ursula once again wears a sideless surcoat with white fur above the hips, and in this case, a black skirt. (The bib section is more curved than Memling's version.)
• Anne de France, Wife of Pierre de Bourbon, 1499
  Anne and her daughter wear sideless surcoats with white ermine from the hips up; both have a similar band of jewels down the center front of the bib. The skirt on Anne's is black velvet, and her daughter's seems to be a gold brocade. These would have been fashionable a century before, but at this point were more of a ceremonial costume for princesses.
• Joan of Castile, c. 1505

• Francesco del Cossa's frescoes from the Palazzo Schifanoia in Ferrara, 1476-84
  Several men wearing different variations of the giornea in a detail from the Triumph of Venus and a detail of the right side of the Triumph of Venus.
• Portrait of Giuliano de' Medici by Sandro Botticelli, 1476
  Giuliano wears a scarlet velvet fur-trimmed giornea.
• Bust of a Young Woman by Andrea del Verrocchio, 1480's
  Both the neckline and arm-holes are trimmed (or embroidered), and the giornea is closed in front with a delicate leaf-shaped clasp.
• The Story of Nastagio degli Onesti by Sandro Botticelli, 1483
  Nastagio wears a fairly simple pleated giornea.
• St. John the Baptist, fresco series in the Cappella Tornabuoni at Santa Maria Novella in Florence, by Domenico Ghirlandaio, 1486-1490
  Some of the ladies of the Tornabuoni family wear giorneas, as in this detail showing Giovanna degli Albizzi in the Visitation or an unidentified lady in this detail from the Birth of St John the Baptist.
• Portrait of Giovanna Tornabuoni by Domenico Ghirlandaio, 1488
  Giovanna wears a giornea very similar to the one in which she is depicted in the Capella Tornabuoni; the portrait allows for a more detailed view of the gold and white brocade.