ENG 238 Pilgrim Badges

This is a large fragment of a badge of St Adrian, venerated in Geraardsbergen, Flanders. Missing are the head of the saint and the lion's body which Adrian is usually depicted as standing upon. The probable date of this piece is proably about 1500; unlike many Adrian badges, it does not include the typical scroll with the saint's name.

Found in Nieuwlande, Netherlands (PB122).

Here is a nice example of what is probably a secular badge, not related to any particular saint or pilgrimage destination. Although, again, fragmentary, this badge clearly shows a late medieval crossbow, and it may have been worn by someone who regulary used such a weapon. Certainly, it is attractive to speculate that badges such as this were worn by individuals who had some sort of connection to the object depicted (in this case, soldiers, weapon-makers, champion shooters, etc)--but this remains speculative.

Note the pin on this badge which would have been stuck through the garment upon which the badge was worn. Most badges seem to have been pinned to garments or sewn to them.

Found: Netherlands (PB 54)

This badge, showing a crowned heart pierced by an arrow, uses imagery of love that we still recognize today. It may have been originally given as a lover's token, or (perhaps less likely?) been worn upon a holiday such as St. Valentine's day.

Found: Nieuwlande, Netherlands (PB180).

These two small badges, perhaps, show a different side of love. Although the image is a bit grainy, it should be clear enough that these badges are tiny penises, about half and inch long or so. The number (and variety) of such sexually (or at least anatomically) explicit badges is often surprising to modern viewers; undoubtedly, we may need to rethink our initial ideas about the degree to which ecclesiastical attitudes imapcted the wearing and display of such badges.

Found (top): Nieuwlande (PB 100);
(bottom): probably Nieuwlande (PB106).

Here we see the "Lamb of God," an icon representing Jesus-as-Lamb. This may or may not have been associated with a particular shrine

Found: East Anglia? (PB131)

Home	Syllabus	Pilgrim Badge home	Becket badges
Badges from Margery Kempe's Travels	Lovers' Badges	"Erotic badges"	Badges of Common Objects
Marian Badges	Bust Badges

This series of web pages is intended to serve as a general introduction to the material objects that can be generally grouped together as "late medieval pilgrim badges." At the heart of this group of objects are small badges intended to be worn upon the hat or clothes, often depicting a particular saint or pilgrimage destination, and (apparently) serving as a souvenir or certification of the pilgrimage undertaken. But a number of badges of similar manufacture are clearly secular in nature, and the generic term "pilgrim badge" is applied to both sacred and secular badges. The most common sorts of pilgrim badges are made of pewter (an alloy of lead and tin) and they survive to this day in relatively large numbers only if preserved in an anaerobic environment, such as underground in the low countries (chiefly the Netherlands, but also Belgium) or at the bottom of rivers such as the Seine or the Thames. The technology involved in making pilgrim badges was relatively straightforward, and badges were produced in such huge numbers that they might well be considered an early manifestation of mass production. But in their use of imagery and in the nature of their manufacture, these badges clearly always were relatively local productions, and recent scholars have persuasively suggested that they stand as an almost unparalleled corpus of information about folkloric attitudes and ideas in the late middle ages, ideas and attitudes that all too rarely found expression in the higher status world of the nobility and their pervasive investment in church hierarchies and ecclesiastical manuscripts. Certainly, mass-produced badges were inexpensive: medieval paintings show that even the poorest beggars might wear pewter badges. As such, badges can be legitimately considered as useful relics of medieval material culture, an aid to our understanding of folk practices and beliefs from the period. Because relatively few records survive about how pilgrim badges were used or perceived (other than a number of paintings that show pilgrim badges worn, usually on the hat), most of what we know today about pilgrim badges stems form a careful consideration of the badges themselves and from contemporary efforts to interpret them and how they functioned in their original contexts. The badges on this page (and succeeding ones) are presented here as examples to give just a taste of the range and variety of late medieval badges: hundreds or even thousands of different badge designs survive from the period. A number of badges illustrated here come from Nieuwlande, a Dutch town built on land reclaimed from the sea, and then (in turn) reclaimed by the sea in 1530; Nieuwlande badges, then, must clearly date from prior to that time, as afterwards there was no human habitation there. Other badges shown here probably date from 1350-1500, at least as a general range. Another very valuable on-line resource regarding pilgrim badges is the Religious and Profane Badge Foundation, largely centered around the important collection of badges owned by the collector H J E van Beuningen. Visit it to see a few more (high quality) images of medieval badges. [All of the badges pictured on these pages belong to a private collection; please do not duplicate any of these images without my permission.]
This is a large fragment of a badge of St Adrian, venerated in Geraardsbergen, Flanders. Missing are the head of the saint and the lion's body which Adrian is usually depicted as standing upon. The probable date of this piece is proably about 1500; unlike many Adrian badges, it does not include the typical scroll with the saint's name. Found in Nieuwlande, Netherlands (PB122).	Here is a nice example of what is probably a secular badge, not related to any particular saint or pilgrimage destination. Although, again, fragmentary, this badge clearly shows a late medieval crossbow, and it may have been worn by someone who regulary used such a weapon. Certainly, it is attractive to speculate that badges such as this were worn by individuals who had some sort of connection to the object depicted (in this case, soldiers, weapon-makers, champion shooters, etc)--but this remains speculative. Note the pin on this badge which would have been stuck through the garment upon which the badge was worn. Most badges seem to have been pinned to garments or sewn to them. Found: Netherlands (PB 54)
This badge, showing a crowned heart pierced by an arrow, uses imagery of love that we still recognize today. It may have been originally given as a lover's token, or (perhaps less likely?) been worn upon a holiday such as St. Valentine's day. Found: Nieuwlande, Netherlands (PB180).	These two small badges, perhaps, show a different side of love. Although the image is a bit grainy, it should be clear enough that these badges are tiny penises, about half and inch long or so. The number (and variety) of such sexually (or at least anatomically) explicit badges is often surprising to modern viewers; undoubtedly, we may need to rethink our initial ideas about the degree to which ecclesiastical attitudes imapcted the wearing and display of such badges. Found (top): Nieuwlande (PB 100); (bottom): probably Nieuwlande (PB106).
Although this guy is missing his upper half, the staff he appears to be using may, in fact, mark him as a pilgrim (the typical signs of a pilgrim being a staff, hat, and bag). As such, this badge may commemorate the act of pilgrimage itself, rather than any particular destination. Found: Nieuwlande, Netherlands (PB74)	Here we see the "Lamb of God," an icon representing Jesus-as-Lamb. This may or may not have been associated with a particular shrine Found: East Anglia? (PB131)
As even these examples should make clear, pilgrim badges survive in a wide, even bewildering variety. More examples of each kind of badge can be found via the links listed above. If nothing else, though, pilgrim badges can serve as a valuable reminder that poems and books are not the only sources of information available to us about medieval life, lore, and ideas.