Pilgrim badges are decorations worn by some of those who undertake a Christian pilgrimage to a place considered holy by the Church. They became very popular among

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

s in the later

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

period. Typically made of lead alloy, they were sold as souvenirs at sites of

Christian pilgrimage Christianity has a strong tradition of pilgrimages, both to sites relevant to the New Testament narrative (especially in the Holy Land) and to sites associated with later saints or miracles. History Christian pilgrimages were first made to sit ...

and bear imagery relating to the saint venerated there. The production of pilgrim badges flourished in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

in Europe, particularly in the 14th and 15th centuries, but declined after the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and i ...

of the mid-16th century. Tens of thousands have been found since the mid-19th century, predominantly in rivers. Together they form the largest corpus of medieval art objects to survive to us today. Pilgrimage sites housed a saint's

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

s: sometimes the whole body, sometimes a body part or significant object owned or touched by the saint. For example, St

Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and the ...

was martyred at

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the ...

in England in 1170 and his body remained there, becoming the epicentre of an enormously popular cult. In 1220 it was translated into a costly shrine. The pilgrim souvenirs associated with his cult have a particularly diverse array of imagery, including that of his shrine, his head

reliquary A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', by the French term ''châsse'', and historically including '' phylacteries'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary may be called a ''fereter'', and a chapel in which it is housed a ''fer ...

and scenes from his life. Other major sites that produced badges were

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of S ...

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

, Our Lady of Rocamadour and Jerusalem. Their badges bore images that were iconic and easily recognisable, such as the scallop shell, the Adoration of the Magi, the St Peter or the Jerusalem Cross. Shrines to the

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

were common all over Christendom, as are badges associable with her. They often show her holding the Infant Christ, or represent the first letter of her name. The practice is continued by some today. For example, knights and dames of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre receive a pilgrim badge when they travel to the Holy Land.

Origins

Various cultural practices converged to bring about the pilgrim badge. Pilgrims had long sought natural souvenirs from their destination to commemorate their trip and bring home some of the site's sanctity. The earliest and still iconic pilgrim 'badge' was the scallop shell worn by pilgrims to the shrine of

. Along with badges, vendors at holy sites sold

ampulla An ampulla (; ) was, in Ancient Rome, a small round vessel, usually made of glass and with two handles, used for sacred purposes. The word is used of these in archaeology, and of later flasks, often handle-less and much flatter, for holy water or ...

e, small, tin vessels designed to carry holy water or oil from the site. The later metal examples derive from clay ampullae sold from the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

to pilgrims to the Holy Land and other sites in North Africa and the Middle East. These often bore images from the saint's life. The main vessel of the early ampullae from the shrine of St Thomas Becket is often textured to appear like a scallop shell, showing how flat, wearable signs and ampullae came to be conflated in the medieval imagination. Badges and ampullae were worn while travelling and allowed others to identify the wearer as a pilgrim and the saint they were visiting. They showed the wearer's special relationship with the saint and could be called upon in times of crisis. Badges were an artistically legible and affordable accessory for the ordinary medieval pilgrim to wear.

Manufacture and use

Pilgrim badges were cheaply mass-produced in bronze, cuttle-bone or limestone moulds or, less frequently, by

die Die, as a verb, refers to death, the cessation of life. Die may also refer to: Games * Die, singular of dice, small throwable objects used for producing random numbers Manufacturing * Die (integrated circuit), a rectangular piece of a semicondu ...

-stamping. Their easy reproducibility and modest media meant that they were affordable to a wide range of people. British pilgrim badges often have an integral pin and clasp on the reverse whereas continental European badges more usually have sewing loops, but this is not a hard and fast rule. Pilgrims wore badges on their outer clothing and hats or around the neck to show where they had been on pilgrimage. Some were designed to be fixed to the top of pilgrim staffs. Freshly cast, lead alloy is shiny and bright but it tarnishes rapidly. To make thin, lead alloy badges, makers would have to create a eutectic alloy. Only at a specific ratio would lead and tin cast thin enough to make the most of the cheapest metal. The quality of pilgrim badges varied considerably, with some being naive and crudely made and others displaying great craftsmanship and skill. Ampullae, vessels for holy water or oil, were harder to make than badges, necessitating a process called slush casting. Much rarer examples were made in precious metals for the wealthy; these have mostly been recycled for their valuable materials over the centuries. By the later Middle Ages, thin, precious metal badges were being produced that were perfectly designed for being sewn into books. Manuscripts survive with badges still in them, or imprints on the pages where they once were. It is often possible to identify the shrine from the imprint. As artists became increasingly fascinated by illusionism or the

trompe l'oeil A trompe is a water-powered air compressor, commonly used before the advent of the electric-powered compressor. A trompe is somewhat like an airlift pump working in reverse. Trompes were used to provide compressed air for bloomery furnaces i ...

technique, representations of pilgrim badges painted into the margins of prayer books appear. The most popular shrines sold over 100,000 badges a year, making pilgrim badges the first mass-produced tourist souvenir. In 1520, the church at Regensbury sold over 120,000 badges to medieval pilgrims, after a drastic shortage the previous year.

Archaeology

Today, most pilgrim badges are recovered in or near rivers. Lynn Museum in Norfolk has a large collection of medieval badges that were collected in the 19th century by children, whom the local antiquarian would pay for their finds. It has been suggested that this is because medieval pilgrims believed that the badges would bring good luck if they were thrown into water, however that theory is now contested. Many of the pilgrim badges in the collection of Salisbury Museum were found when the town's medieval sewers were excavated. This, among other evidence, suggests they were eventually just thrown away.

Modern Use

A scallop shell symbol is used to mark the route of the

Camino de Santiago The Camino de Santiago ( la, Peregrinatio Compostellana, "Pilgrimage of Compostela"; gl, O Camiño de Santiago), known in English as the Way of St James, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle Sai ...

, whilst the practice of collecting and wearing a shell continues. Pilgrims walking with

Student Cross Pilgrim Cross (formerly known as Student Cross) is the annual, Ecumenical, cross-carrying, walking pilgrimage to Walsingham that takes place over Holy Week and Easter. It is the longest continuous walking pilgrimage in Britain and is walked by pilg ...

wear a red fabric cross, along with carrying a wooden one.

Imagery

Studying the imagery of pilgrim badges quickly leads to an ability to identify the shrine or saint associated with them. For example,

St Thomas of Canterbury Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then ...

is often shown being martyred by one of a group of four knights. The iconography of the scallop shell associated with pilgrimages along the

Way of St James The Camino de Santiago ( la, Peregrinatio Compostellana, "Pilgrimage of Compostela"; gl, O Camiño de Santiago), known in English as the Way of St James, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle Saint ...

to the shrine of

Saint James Saint James or St. James may refer to: People Saints * James, brother of Jesus (died 62 or 69), also known as James the Just *James the Great (died 44), Apostle, also known as James, son of Zebedee, or Saint James the Greater ** Saint James Matamo ...

in modern Spain derived from shells collected by pilgrims on the beach. The relic of

St John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

's head, which was famously venerated at Amiens, is shown as a face on a plate. The images are frequently related to iconographic types found on monumental artwork, showing how mobile iconographies were across media and social spheres. Badges were made in the Middle Ages for purposes beyond pilgrim souvenirs;

livery badge A heraldic badge, emblem, impresa, device, or personal device worn as a badge indicates allegiance to, or the property of, an individual, family or corporate body. Medieval forms are usually called a livery badge, and also a cognizance. They are ...

s were presented to employees and allies by great figures, and became highly controversial in the decades leading to the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the throne of England, English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These w ...

. Some political badges have survived, including a fine one for the

Black Prince Edward of Woodstock, known to history as the Black Prince (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376), was the eldest son of King Edward III of England, and the heir apparent to the English throne. He died before his father and so his son, Richard II, suc ...

. Other badges, with motifs such as lovers' tokens and mini brooches, were perhaps a form of cheap jewelry. Erotic badges showing winged phalluses or vulvas dressed as pilgrims are prolific, although their cultural significance is still debated. Gazing at a collection of pilgrim souvenirs and medieval badges is to gain an insight into the visual world of medieval Christendom. In England the tradition of making and wearing pilgrim badges died out in the early 16th century as pilgrimage initially declined in popularity and was then banned completely as the country became

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

during the

English Reformation The English Reformation took place in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. These events were part of the wider European Protestant Reformation, a religious and poli ...

, when pilgrimage became regarded as a

superstition A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly applied to beliefs ...

and idolatrous; this halt on the practice was only temporary, as the practice of Christian pilgrimage once again became popular among Anglicans. The tradition continued in Catholic Europe, in some cases to the present day. Those of other branches of Christianity, such as

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

s and the Reformed, also continue the practice of Christian pilgrimage, going to places such as the

Holy Land The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...

Iona Abbey Iona Abbey is an abbey located on the island of Iona, just off the Isle of Mull on the West Coast of Scotland. It is one of the oldest Christian religious centres in Western Europe. The abbey was a focal point for the spread of Christianity t ...

, and Taizé.

References

External links

The Digital Pilgrim Project, 3D models of medieval badges in the British Museum: https://sketchfab.com/britishmuseum/collections/digital-pilgrimPilgrim badge depicting St George and the dragon in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

Definition of 'Pilgrim badge'A Medieval Pilgrim Badge
on the BBC ''A History of the World'' website
Kunera, late medieval badges and ampullae database (Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pilgrim Badge Artworks in metal Badges Brooches Medieval art Medieval European metalwork objects Christian pilgrimages Catholic art Types of jewellery