His hors were goode, but he was nat gay.
Of fustian he wered a gypon
Al bismotered with his habergeon,
For he was late ycome from his viage.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, General Prologue. The Knight who comes on the pilgrimage straight from battle dresses in modest and dirty clothing. He wears a tunic of coarse cloth all stained with rust from his coat of mail that he wears into battle. Even though he is of the nobility, his outward appearance shows him to be modest and not showy.