Jupon
[joo-pon, joo-pon; Fr. zhy–pawn]
Etymology: 1350–1400; ME jopo(u)n < MF jupon, equiv. to OF jupe a kind of jacket + -on n. suffix
p?n
1) Tightly fitted garment worn over armour in the fourteenth century. (Prestwich, Michael. Armies and Warfare in the Middle Ages: The English Experience, 348)
2) Short leather tunic worn over chain mail. (Seward, Desmond. Henry V: The Scourge of God, 223)
3) Sleeveless, hip-length garment of leather or padded textile worn over a knight’s armour and blazoned with his coat of arms. (Wise, Terence. Medieval Warfare, 249)
*term definitions retrieved from Netserf’s Medieval Glossary (http://www.netserf.org/Glossary)
I was going to ask what the difference was between a surcoat and a jupon, but found this on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surcoat
“By the mid-fourteenth century the long surcoat was replaced with the “Jupon,” a much shorter garment, which was often padded for extra protection.”
Thanks for the link. I wasn’t quite sure of the difference myself. Wasn’t a surcoat always made of cloth, where the jupon was often made with leather?