Editing Tabard (section)

==British heraldry==
[[File:Thomas Hawley Clarenceux King of Arms.jpg|thumb|[[Thomas Hawley]], [[Clarenceux King of Arms]], depicted in his tabard on a [[grant of arms]] of 1556]]
By the end of the 16th century, the tabard was particularly associated with [[officer of arms|officers of arms]]. The shift in emphasis was reported by [[John Stow]] in 1598, when he described a tabard as:

{{quote|a Jacquit, or sleevelesse coat, whole before, open on both sides, with a square collor, winged at the shoulders: a stately garment of olde time, commonly worne of Noble men and others, both at home and abroade in the Warres, but then (to witte in the warres) theyr Armes embrodered, or otherwise depicte uppon them, that every man by his Coate of Armes might bee knowne from others: but now these Tabardes are onely worne by the Heraults, and bee called their coates of Armes in service.<ref>{{cite book |first=John |last=Stow |author-link=John Stow |title=A Survay of London |location=London |year=1598 |page=338 }}</ref>}}

In the case of Royal officers of arms, the tabard is emblazoned with the coat of arms of the sovereign. [[Private Officer of Arms|Private officers of arms]], such as still exist in [[Scotland]], make use of tabards emblazoned with the coat of arms of the person who employs them. In the [[United Kingdom]] 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]] is made of [[velvet]], the tabard of a [[herald|herald of arms]] of [[satin]], and that of a [[pursuivant|pursuivant of arms]] of damask [[silk]].<ref name=Sigurdharson>{{cite web|title=A Review of the Historical Regalia of Officers of Arms |url=http://heraldry.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/Heralds_wear.html|publisher=heraldry.sca.org|access-date=8 June 2012|author=Eirìkr Mjoksiglandi Sigurdharson|date=December 31, 2003}}</ref> The oldest surviving English herald's tabard is that of Sir [[William Dugdale]] as [[Garter Principal King of Arms|Garter King of Arms]] (1677–1686).<ref>{{cite book |editor1-first=Richard |editor1-last=Marks |editor2-first=Ann |editor2-last=Payne |title=British Heraldry: from its origins to c.1800 |publisher=British Museum |place=London |year=1978 |page=51, plate }}</ref>

It was at one time the custom for English pursuivants to wear their tabards "athwart", that is to say with the smaller ("shoulder") panels at the front and back, and the larger panels over the arms; but this practice was ended during the reign of [[James II of England|James II and VII]].<ref name=Sigurdharson/><ref>{{cite book |last=Fox-Davies |first=A. C. |author-link=Arthur Charles Fox-Davies |editor-first=J. P. |editor-last=Brooke-Little |editor-link=John Brooke-Little |title=A Complete Guide to Heraldry |url=https://archive.org/details/completeguidetoh0000foxd_v7a5 |url-access=registration |publisher=Nelson |place=London |year=1969 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/completeguidetoh0000foxd_v7a5/page/31 31]–2 |isbn=9780171441024 }}</ref>

The derisive [[Scots language|Scots]] nickname of "{{lang|sco|Toom Tabard}}" for [[John Balliol]] ({{Circa|1249}} – 1314) may originate from either an alleged incident where his arms were stripped from his tabard in public,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Young |first1=Alan |title=In the Footsteps of William Wallace: In Scotland and Northern England |date=2010 |publisher=The History Press |isbn=9780750951432 |page=74 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0b8SDQAAQBAJ&dq=arms+of+John+Balliol+Toom+Tabard&pg=PT74 |access-date=2 December 2018 |language=en}}</ref> or a reference to the Balliol arms which are a plain shield with an [[Orle (heraldry)|orle]], also known as an ''inescutcheon voided''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hodgson |first1=John |last2=Hodgson-Hinde |first2=John |title=A History of Northumberland, in three parts |date=1832 |publisher=Printed by E. Walker |page=124 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AxYMAQAAMAAJ&dq=arms+of+John+Balliol&pg=PA124 |access-date=2 December 2018 |language=en}}</ref>