Subarmalis designs?

[Dan Howard]

There are a number of accounts that in medieval times padded garments were worn in action without armour as they provided substantial protection in their own right. Perhaps therefore these garments were seen more frequently than we might at first assume which accounts for the examples below.

There were two types of padded garment. One was very lightly padded and designed to be worn under metal armour. The other was much more heavily padded and intended to be a standalone defense. Medieval sources don't help much since the terms used are inconsistent. Unless the two types of garment appear in the same document then it is impossible to tell which is being referred to.