An Arming Coat of the Albigensian Crusade

Here is the bulk of the research on the Arming Coat. Some images I do not yet have permission to post, so they are not visible. But I can and will happily share these images privately for research purposes. Just email me at ms154cornell.edu.

Appendix A: The Social Meaning of the Color Black in the Middle Ages - Some Notes. This was a little side project that kinda bloomed all on its own... and is still going. Interesting stuff.

The bare bones:

† What is this?
This is an arming jacket executed in velvet. The crosses are couched in gold thread and then applied to the front and back to denote a heretic as dictated by the Inquisition in 1280.

† When would this have existed?
The cut of the jacket is based on surviving examples from the 1300s. The crosses were first defined in the Inquisitorial documents of the late 1200s.

† Who would have owned a garment like this?
A person of higher degree would have owned a garment such as this. Not only because of its function as a layer beneath armor, but also because of the materials used in its construction. And yes, both the Count of Foix and the Count of Toulouse were found guilty of heresy at different times in the Albigensian Crusades and sentenced to wear the crosses of the heretic.

Material Analysis Side by Side

Method Analysis Side by Side

	Extant	Reproduction
Quilting	Stab stitch	Stab stitch
Exterior Assmb.	Back stitch	Back stitch
Interior Assmb.	Running stitch	Running w/ back stitch*
Edging / Lining	Running stitch	Running stitch
All stitches and stitch uses are drawn from archeological examples cited in Crowfoot. *Crowfoot mentions “Variations” in backstitch. (new avenue of research)

Appendix A: The Social Meaning of the Color Black in the Middle Ages - Some Notes.