Norman king on horseback, in chainmail armour and red surtout, wearing a gold crown. "The military surtout certainly originated with the Normans, and seems not to have been in general use before the middle of the 12th century. It is probable that the surtout served to mark the rank of the wearer in the century of its invention, for in 11th and 12th century drawings, while one finds the suit of mail often without the military surtout, persons of high rank are always shown in the garment. See fig. 155, where the chain mail hood is part of the suit of armor.". Norman monk from the 12th century. "The monk in fig. 156 wears robes from a different religious order than fig. 106 and the Capucine in fig. 145." . Handcolored copperplate engraving from Robert von Spalart's "Historical Picture of the Costumes of the Principal People of Antiquity and of the Middle Ages" (1796).