turncoat

A turncoat is a person who shifts allegiance from one loyalty or ideal to another, betraying or deserting an original cause by switching to the opposing side or party

It appears that the first documented use of the term “turncoat” in the context of a traitor was in 1557. At that time, it was common practise to turn one’s coat inside out to present the (relatively) cleaner side of it to the public. This was a time when people sporadically took baths, and clothes were cleaned even less frequently.

A potentially apocryphal tale, which may have lead to widespread use of the term as synonym for ‘traitor’, was told of one of the Dukes of Saxony. At the time of this Duke’s reign, Saxony had the misfortune to be located between the warring French and Saxons. The Duke allegedly wore a reversible coat, one side white, in tribute to the French, the other side blue, the colour of the Saxons. This reversible coat allowed the Duke to quickly switch his allegiance whenever the need arose.

One of Britain's most glorious ruins was created in 1685 during the civil war, when one of the garrison's officers, Colonel Pitman, turned coat and allowed Cromwell's army to enter the castle to destroy everything in their path.