My missionaries were taught to spell out the gilt signs on their tabards-the showy gilding was a neat idea, I could have got the king to wear a bulletin-board for the sake of that barbaric splendor-they were to spell out these signs and then explain to the lords and ladies what soap was; and if the lords and ladies were afraid of it, get them to try it on a dog.
"A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Part 3."
Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
We have taken off our hats to the gentlemen in casques and tabards, and feudal glories are at a discount everywhere but in Debrett, where they are taken with allowance.
"Checkmate"
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
They dressed themselves in coats bearing some resemblance to the tabards of heralds, rode through the streets, halted at some places, and muttered something which nobody could understand.
"The History of England from the Accession of James II. Volume 5 (of 5)"
Thomas Babington Macaulay