pilgrm-badges-msg - 3/23/15
Medieval pilgrim badges. References.
NOTE: See also the files: pilgrimages-msg, casting-msg, tokens-msg, soapstone-msg, relics-msg, Relics-fr-all-art, saints-msg, icons-msg.
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From: sniderm at mcmail2.cis.McMaster.CA (Mike Snider)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Documentation
Date: 8 Apr 1995 11:16:49 -0400
Organization: McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Greetings,
I have made a number of stone molds for casting buttons and pilgrim tokens.
If she has the Museum of London Dress Accessories book, that is a great
source but she may want to track down the following.
Pilgrim Souvenirs and Secular Badges By Brian Spencer ISBN 0 947535 128
Medieval Pilgrim and Secular Badges by Michael Mitchiner
I would recomment entering in the dress acc. category rather than as a
metal working entry if the criteria where you are is anything like it is
here in the Middle Kingdom. I am currently working on criteria for stone
casting, but it won't be in use for a while.
If she has any sources to share or needs any help, please have contact
me directly by E-mail. I would love to hear from fellow casters.
Elizabeth Cadfan
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Saints Badges (was: Re: Pentacles (again and again and again))
Date: Sun, 16 Jun 1996 22:34:22 -0400
Organization: Bell Global Solutions
Sharon Krossa wrote:
> sclark at chass.utoronto.ca (Susan Carroll-Clark) wrote on 12 Jun 1996:
Wrote an excellent post on period religion symbols.
> First -- very nice post, with a good point!
>
> Second -- okay, you got me interested. Can you tell us about
>saints' badges? I am familiar with *modern* RC saints' medals (which I've
>always thought were rather tacky but this never stopped me aquiring a few ;-),
>are saints' badges a precursor of these? What forms do they
>take? What did people do with them? How did people aquire them?
>
> Effric neyn Cannich vc ralte
> mka Sharon Krossa, too curious as always...
Perhaps Mistress Nicolae will give as better reply to this but here
goes. Saint's badges where metal badges approximately 1/2 to 2
inches across. They where often made of pewter. They contain some
aspect of the Saint - pigs for St. Anthony patron saint of
swineherders, shell for St. James, a crown for St. Edward the
Confessor, a matyrdom of St. Alban for his metal etc. They are
mounted with pin on the back to be worn on your clothing or pilgrims
bag. They where often purchased as pilgrims tokens after visiting a
saint's site. They where often poorly made - basically tourist
trickets. There are lots of documentation mostly extent pieces.
I know of a number of SCA artisians who make such tokens for a
modest price ($5 to $20 each). They are a great addition to a high
middle ages persona. Three of them sell at Pennsic.
Regards
Richard Larmer
From: sclark at chass.utoronto.ca (Susan Carroll-Clark)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Saints Badges (was: Re: Pentacles (again and again and again))
Date: 17 Jun 1996 10:58:36 -0400
Organization: University of Toronto -- EPAS
Greetings!
Saints' badges and pilgrim tokens were the costume jewellery of the
Middle Ages. They were usually made of pewter and cast in large quantities,
often being sold (similar to the little saints' medallions available today)
in and nearby churches and shrines. Pilgrims would often pick them up as
the medieval equivalent of a t-shirt, sewing them to a hat or cloak. The
idea has already been picked up in the SCA with things such as the Pennsic
pilgrim's token and so forth. Sometimes the token was made of something
other than pewter--seashells were the pilgrim badge of Compostella,
for instance. These badges mostly date from the 13th century on, although
the idea seems to be older.
Many of these badges are quite beautiful, and there are whole books devoted
to showing extant ones. My friend, Dame Elizabeth Cadfan, makes them as
part of her business. If you will be at Pennsic, look for Fettered Cock
Pewters; if you can't make it, e-mail me and I'll give you contact info.
Cheers!
Nicolaa de Bracton
sclark at chass.utoronto.ca
From: "Robert Dawson,PA-C" <dawsonr at naxs.net>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Pilgrimage Badge Pictures?
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 15:23:19 -0400
>Can anyone recommend some sources showing a variety of pilgrimage badges?
>
> Fernando
This one might be a little hard to find, but it has some excellent line
drawings and discussion of pilgrim's tokens and badges:
'In the Steps of the Pilgrims'
Sidney Heath
G.P. Putnam's Sons, NY
originally published in 1911, revised and reprinted in the early 50's
Kenna McKenna
From: Mark Shier <mark at medievalwares.com>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Pilgrimage Badge Pictures?
Date: Sat, 12 Sep 1998 10:32:44 -0700
Organization: Islandnet.com on Vancouver Island B.C. Canada
I believe Dress Accessories and the Age of Chivalry catalogue each show
one or wo badges, but books on the subject are not going to be easy to find.
There is an excellent volume in Dutch on the subject, but I don't have the
title. One of the South Wilts series form Salisbury has badges.
Medieval Pilgrim and Secular Badges by Michael Mitchener. Hawkins 1986.
Hundreds of good pictures, very suspect text. Hard to find, expensive.
Medieval Pilgrim Badges from Norfolk by Brian Spencer. Norfolk Museums
Service 1980. Paperback. Anything by Spencer is good.
Enseignes de Pelerinage et Enseignes Profanes by Denis Bruna. Reunion
des Musees Nationaux, Paris 1996. Excellent, expensive. I have made some
badges based on examples from this book. They are currently at my web page
(www.medievalwares.com)- go to the "New" section.
If you need more information on these titles, such as ISBNs, just let me
know.
Mark
From: "Karyn Schmidt" <karyn at rconnect.com>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Pilgrimage Badge Pictures?
Date: 12 Sep 1998 22:30:09 GMT
Fvigil <fvigil at aol.com> wrote:
> Can anyone recommend some sources showing a variety of pilgrimage badges?
You want some steenking badges....
F.E. Halliday. Chaucer and his world. NY, Viking, 1968, page 112, has two
-- a bell and a pair of open hands.
Derek Brewer. Chaucer and his World. NY, Dodd, Mead, 1978, page 202 has
three -- a head (of Becket) a head contained in a ring, and something like
a buckle, and page 203 shows one with two figures in a frame.
Alan Kendall. Medieval Pilgrims. (Putnam Documentary History Series) NY,
G.P.Putnam's Sons, 1970, page 113 has a very clear line drawing showing
Becket's head in a round frame. The frontispiece shows a painting of a
pilgrim wearing a shell on his hat. I recommend this book as an
introduction to the phenomenon of pilgrimage. It's loaded with pictures.
There's a start for you.
Kudrun fle Pilegrim
Date: Thu, 04 Feb 1999 16:21:50 -0500
From: rmhowe <magnusm at ncsu.edu>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Odd bits of metal / Pilgrims Tokens / Minting Books
Whilst groping about the web last nite I came on the following site.
You lot often gab about casting, or minting money, or even the history
of Gallic coinage, British Isles, European, or World.
Among other offerings are:
Coin Hoards, Volume I, Royal Numismatic Society, London £10.00
Coin Hoards, Volume 2, Royal Numismatic Society, London £10.00
Coin Hoards, Volume V, Royal Numismatic Society, London, 1979 £10.00
Coin Hoards, Volume VI, Royal Numismatic Society, London, 1981 £10.00
Coin Hoards, Volume VIII, Royal Numismatic Society, London, Greek
Hoards £40.00
Cooper, D.R., The Art and Craft of Coinmaking, A History of Minting
Technology, London, 1988, 264 pages, many illustrations, some in
colour £29.50
Dekesel, Christian E., A Bibliography of 16th Century Numismatic
Books, London 1997, 1104 pages analysing all known books of the
period, limited to 400 copies, casebound £200.00
Metallurgy in Numismatics. Volume 1. Metcalf, D. M. and Oddy, W. A.
(eds.), R.N.S. Special Publication No. 13, London, 1980, 220 pages, 28
plates, cloth reduced to £8.00
Metallurgy in Numismatics. Volume 2. Oddy, W. A. (ed.), R.N.S. Special
Publication No. 19, London, 1988, 132 pages, 11 plates, cloth £18.00
Metallurgy in Numismatics. Volume 3. Archibald, M. M. and Cowell, M.
R. (eds.), R.N.S. Special Publication No. 24, London, 1993, 296 pages,
38 plates, cloth £40.00
Mitchiner, Michael, Medieval Pilgrim and Secular Badges, Sanderstead,
1986, 288 pages, over 1100 badges described and illustrated, covering
Medieval England, 13th century to late 16th century, France, Belgium,
Norway, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Byzantine and post-Byzantine, and
other artefacts, casebound, 12.5" x 8.5", £30.00
(from http://www.netcollect.co.uk/ enquiries at netcollect.co.uk
mail at netcollect.co.uk)
Collectors Gallery
7 Castle Gates, Shrewsbury SY1 2AE
Tel: 01743 272140 Fax: 01743 366041
e.mail m.veissid at btinternet.com
http://www.netcollect.co.uk/MainDealers/C.Gallery%20Main/cg_book_list.htm
.......................................................................
The other principal Pilgrim and Secular Badges books I am aware of
may be had through Oxbow. I've been looking for Mitchener for a bit.
BTW I got the Salisbury Museum Catalog on Medieval Pilgrim and Secular
Badges last week and was very pleased with it. Very clearly illustrated
and a nice selection. There are two. Other books on Medieval Badges
would be Heilig and Profaan, and the Museum of London Medieval Catalog.
Oxbow Books, Park End Place, Oxford, OX1 1HN, UK
Tel:(044)-1865-241249 Fax:(044)-1865-794449
E-mail: oxbow at oxbowbooks.com http://www.oxbowbooks.com/
US customers contact: (USA) David Brown Book Co, PO Box 511, Oakville,
CT 06779
Tel: 860 945 9329 Fax: 860 945 9468 Website: http://www.oxbowbooks.com
.........................................................................
Greenlight Publishing has been tracked down if you are interested in
the Detector Finds Series:
Please see www.coins-and-antiquities.co.uk/books.html
Greenlight Publishing
The Publishing House
119 Newland Street
Witham, Essex CM8 1WF
Tel: 01376 521900
Fax: 01376 521901
email magazines at easynet.co.uk
I believe the webpage is one short on their historical buckles books
as it lists only six, and the previous page I noted listed 7 books total
published by them. The missing book is:
Guide to Detector Finds : Guide to Dating and Identifying Buckles,
by Bailey, Gordon; Payne, Greg (Ed.)(Retail Price £6.00Each)
My impression is that the same books are cheaper, and more fully listed
on the following page:
http://www.bookshop.co.uk/ser/serpge.asp?Type=ExactPublisher&;Search
=Greenlight+Publishing
........................................................
Master Magnus Malleus, OL, Atlantia, Great Dark Horde
Date: Mon, 12 Feb 2001 16:53:55 -0500
From: rmhowe <MMagnusM at bellsouth.net>
To: "- Stephan's Florilegium" <stefan at texas.net>,
- Authenticity List <authenticity at yahoogroups.com>
Subject: Book stamps / boat models / Pilgrim Ampullae from Dublin
Wallace, Patrick F.(Ed.): Miscellanea 1: Medieval Dublin Excavations
1962-81, National Museum of Ireland, 48pp PB Royal Irish
Academy, Dublin, 1988 PB ISBN 0901714712, HB ISBN 0901714712.
$13.49 in paperback from Amazon.com.
The first section is a Bibliography of Dublin 840-1300
listing all articles. About 5 pages of solid bibliography
by Patrick Wallace.
The second section is A 'Winchester-style' Bronze Mount
by Andrew Halpin. This depicts four differnt mounts. Similar
ones are thought to possibly have been sword pommels. This
one is highly carved in an animalistic romanesque style and
is thought to have been a ceremonial staff end of some type.
(Although to me it looks like the animals would have been
upside down in context). 10 C. English Import. Two inches
wide by about 5/8" thick. Shown actual size in three
orthographic drawings, and one photo.
The third section if Ship Graffiti and Models by Arne-Emil
Christianson. This one looks like fun, it has a number of
graffiti of early ships including a horned dragon head ship
and some obvious toys and models. Both carved models and real
boats are illustrated. Also a Birka coin and a wooden gaming
piece from High Street which is rather like a checker piece.
25 illus. Bibliography.
The fourth section is Romanesque bookbinding fragments
by Joseph McDonnell and has a number of book stamp styles
illustrated. Not the actual punches but the impressions of
them. This kind of illustration is fairly rare. The leather
bits and the six different stamp designs used are depicted.
A palmette, a repeating palmette, a lobe shaped dragon, a dove
without a nimbus enclosed in a palmette frame, an Ostrich?,
and a boar.
The last section if Pilgrim Souvenirs by Brian Spencer
which consists of quite a number of differently shaped
Ampullae. Ten illustrations and about 40 citations in the
bibliography.
Magnus Malleus, OL, Atlantia, GDH / R.M.Howe
..........
***Not to be forewared to SCA-Universitas or any open Newsgroups,
especially the Rialto. Closed email lists of the SCA or reenactor
community are fine.
From: Cynthia Virtue <cvirtue at thibault.org>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Pilgrim tokens
Date: Wed, 04 Apr 2001 14:25:10 -0500
> Anyone know where I can see photos of what these things looked like?
http://www.billieandcharlie.com is an SCA merchant who does
reproductions. Good stuff.
> Were they pinned to clothes? hats? worn on strings?
Yes to the first two, not so sure about the last.
> How big were they?
Varied. The repros I've seen are between 1/2" and 2"
--
Cynthia du Pr Argent (Hartshorn-dale, East)
From: David Debono <david.debono at montacute.net>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Pilgrim tokens
Date: Wed, 04 Apr 2001 23:09:01 +0100
On Wed, 04 Apr 2001 12:11:54 -0700, db <deadmonk at hotmail.com> wrote:
>I am thinking of striking some site tokens. And it occurs to
>me that following the pattern for pilgrim tokens, which I
>understand were the medieval equivalent of the "I've seen
>the WORLD FAMOUS two headed Calf" bumper stickers of today,
>might not only make for historical accuracy, but could be
>used as an A&S project as well. Anyone know where I can see
>photos of what these things looked like? Were they pinned to
>cloths? hats? worn on strings? How big were they?
>Conspiring minds want to know.....
>db
There are various traders in the UK who produce replica Pilgrimage
Badges from the mediaeval period. The most common is beckets Tomb from
the pilgrimage trail to Canterbury. these tended to be of Lead in
period but are from whatever alloy the modern trader use. IME they are
about 2" tall and about 1 1.2" wide and tended to be either sewn onto
clothing and hats.
Well that is the way that UK'rs wear them. Jerusalem, Compostella and
walsingham are all common themes.
People wore them as an open show of their piety having done the walk
(as it were) to the religious sites. As an idea for going to wars (as
I understand them) then why not. A modern/old type of car window
sticker *smile*
David D.
The Mediaeval Combat Society
The Historical Reenactment Web Site
http://www.montacute.net/histrenact/welcome.htm
From: rlobinske at aol.com (Richard Lobinske)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Date: 05 Apr 2001 11:00:12 GMT
Subject: Re: Pilgrim tokens
>db wrote:
>> I am thinking of striking some site tokens. And it occurs to
>> me that following the pattern for pilgrim tokens, which I
>> understand were the medieval equivalent of the "I've seen
>> the WORLD FAMOUS two headed Calf" bumper stickers of today,
>> might not only make for historical accuracy, but could be
>> used as an A&S project as well. Anyone know where I can see
>> photos of what these things looked like? Were they pinned to
>> cloths? hats? worn on strings? How big were they?
>> Conspiring minds want to know.....
>> db
Look for the book "Mediaeval European Jewellery : with a catalogue of the
collection in the Victoria & Albert Museum " by Ronald W. Lightbown. (1992)
This book has several photos of pilgrims badges. Sizes seem to vary, but up to
a couple inches. For doing site tokens, you might want to consider scaled down
pieces to save on materials cost. Even though pewter is relatively
inexpensive, doing enough for even a modest event will consume a considerable
amount of metal.
Victor Hildebrand vonn Koln
mka Richard Lobinske
Trimaris
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Pilgrim tokens
From: john enzinas <jvague at geocities.com>
Date: Thu, 05 Apr 2001 17:28:57 GMT
mark shier <mark at medievalwares.com> shared
> Billy and Charlie make the best badges, but I make some, as well. Like
>B+C, mine are made using stone moulds, the period way.
> mark
>http://medievalwares.com/medieval_badges.htm
Also there are the creations of the Fettered Cock.
http://www.historicenterprises.com/sl/pewterbronze.html
From: clevin at ripco.com (Craig Levin)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Pilgrim tokens
Date: 6 Apr 2001 17:51:45 GMT
Organization: Ripco Internet, Chicago
In article <fA5z6.6786$5Y1.138521 at news1.tin.it>, Lux <adjlen at tin.it> wrote:
>One of the simplest tokens used during the medieval period was a shell (like the
>one in Shell gasoline). It symbolized the pilgrims that arrived at Santiago di
>Compostella in Portugal, (Saint James' grave). The pilgrims would just pick it
>up off the shore.
Actually, Compostella de Santiago is quite some distance inland,
although there are several harbors that traditionally take
pilgrims' ships, like La Corun~a and Vigo. These are probably
where people got their scallops. Also, despite the fact that
Compostella is in Galicia, which has a number of cultural
similarities to northern Portugal, the Portuguese border is way
to the south to Compostella, at the Rio Min~o.
Pedro
--
http://pages.ripco.net/~clevin/index.html
clevin at rci.ripco.com
Craig Levin
From: Robert Huff <roberthuff at rcn.com>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Pilgrim tokens
Date: Fri, 06 Apr 2001 20:53:28 -0400
Craig Levin wrote:
> Actually, Compostella de Santiago is quite some distance inland,
> although there are several harbors that traditionally take
> pilgrims' ships, like La Corun~a and Vigo.
I couldn't find one with a scale, but a check of several maps
implies Santiago is maybe 25km from the western coast, and twice
that from the northern, A nice day's walk, in good weather.
Diego Mundoz
From: Byron Whited <Byron05 at austin.rr.com>
Date: June 8, 2004 8:21:06 PM CDT
To: bryn-gwlad at ansteorra.org
Subject: [Bryn-gwlad] an interesting part of medieval culture (R-rated)
Below are some notes and links I collected about Medieval Pilgrim Badges,
based on the book "Pilgrimage Explored". Any comments or links to web
pages on the subject welcome.
Pilgrimage Explored
Edited by J. Stopford
York Medieval Press
ISBN 0 95297343X
Lifting the Veil on Pligrim Badges
by A. M. Koldeweij
p. 167
"For academics the great value of religious and secular badges is that they
were cheap, mass produced items, worn by ordinary people. The surviving
examples represent aspects of those ordinary people's thoughts and beliefs.
The batdes as objects therefore provide a point of departure for broader
discussions. .
The situation is more problematic in the case of profane, secular material.
The badges themselves survive in an amazingly rich and intriguing assortment
of subjects and themes, with numerous variants and an ever-widening range of
representations. However unlike there religious counterparts there are far
fewer sources which relate to these badges. Although we have the actual
objects, we have no illustrations or descriptions of them, little or no
information about who produced them, what inspired them, who bought them or
why."
There are then illustrations of various badges. The ones he classifies as
"religious" are like,
"Cockle-shell 1400-1450, pilgrim badge from Santiago de Compostela,
excavated at Nieuwlande, " and "Vera Icon badge from Rome. Stamped brass,
1475-1525, excavated Rotterdam." and "St. Anne pilgrim badge, from Duren.
Lead-tin, 1475-1525, excavated at Dordrecht."
Among the "profane, secular material" is shown images of a phallic symbol
with legs, and "Badge: crowned vulva as an archer on horseback, her crossbow
taut. Lead-tin, 1375-1425 found in Amsterdam."
And "badge: vulva-pilgrim with phallus staff and rosary, wearing a pilgrim's
hat and wooden pattens. Lead-tin, 1375-1425, found at Reimerswaal." "Badge:
female smith forging a phallus. Lead-tin fourteenth century, found at
Kondtanz, Fischmarkt."
P. 185
"Many of the erotic badges have been found alongside their more strictly
religious fellows. They have, also , been found in large numbers and cannot
be regarded as isolated, late-medieval curiosities. Because they are so
alien to modern European life they need to be placed within their own, now
extinct, tradition, and seen in a broad anthropological context."
I think that these badges can best be understood in the context of the
Medieval Rebus or Memory Pun.
I think these badges were not "secular" or "erotic" but were religious, the
reason I believe this is the medieval/renaissance love of the visual pun.
For example:
Leonardo Rebus'
http://italian.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.archimedes%2Dlab.org/rebuses.html
Latin Rebus'
http://italian.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.archimedes%2Dlab.org/rebuses.html
Another example, "doubtless you are aware of the medieval pun which
made Domini Canes (the Hounds of God) of Dominicans."
Puns were not just used in Europe but also in East Indian religious art:
http://www.flonnet.com/fl1501/15010730.htm
See medieval "secular" badges here:
http://www.traces.nu/artifacts_medieval_pewter_erotic_badges
The one I found very interesting was described as:
"Medieval pewter erotic badge
Showing a vulva on stilts, crowned with 3 phallus.
Complete with pin."
Now for my interpretation of these. The big hint as to the meaning of the
vulva in these badges, is the fact that many are associated with Rosary
beads. That is devotion to the "Virgin". How better for a illiterate person
to show that they are devoted to the Virgin than to wear a literal virgin
body part?
Why all the phallus images? Here is the pun. Penis puns with penance.
Wearing the Penis image shows they were doing penance. The 3 phallus images
in the above badge is explained by:
"The fourth sacrament is penance. The
material, as we may say, consists in the acts of
penitence, which are divided into THREE parts. The
first of these is contrition of the heart, wherein the
sinner must grieve for the sins he has committed, with
the resolve to commit no further sins. Second comes
confession with the mouth, to which it pertains that
the sinner should make confession to his priest of all
the sins he holds in his memory. The third is
satisfaction for sins according to the judgment of the
priest, and this is made chiefly by prayer, fasting,
and almsgiving. The form of this sacrament consists in
the words of absolution which the priest speaks when
be says, "I absolve thee," etc. ; and the minister of
this sacrament is the priest, who has authority to
absolve either regularly or by the commission of a
superior. The benefit of this sacrament is absolution
from sins."
There are three parts to penance, represented by the three penis'.
Why the stilts?
Well, maybe it could represent the pilgrim as walking above the filth of the
earth, as:
"Scatches Stilts worn in the early sixteenth to
nineteenth centuries when walking in filthy places.
Without them, one might have been forced to pautch,
"walk uncomfortably through areas of deep mud." The
word scatches is based on the same Greek root as
eighteenth-century scatology, "the study of dung," and
the earlier scatomancy, "fecal fortune-telling." The
Dutch created the terms schaats and scatses, from Old
French eschasse, in the mid 1600s. Eventally these
words came to mean "(ice) skates," which were first
fashioned from the lower leg bones of cows."
But what about the badge: "Badge: female smith forging a phallus. Lead-tin
fourteenth century, found at Kondtanz, Fischmarkt."
Forging is work. Could the woman be doing "works of penance"? The pilgrimage
was a work of penance.
Any thoughts or suggestions welcome.
Byron
From: Fvigil at aol.com
Date: August 11, 2008 10:13:55 AM CDT
To: pewterersguild at yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [pewterersguild] Historical reference books?
sean.wales at comcast.net suggested::
<<<
Pilgrim Souvenirs and Secular Badges
Medieval Finds from Excavations in London
Salisbury & South Wiltshire Museum
Pilgrim Souvenirs and Secular Badges
Heilig En Profann 2
Musee National du Moyen Age-Thermes de Cluny
Enseignes de Pelerinage et Enseignes Profanes
>>>
I'm just getting home from Pennsic so I'm a bit behind here.
If you are interested in pilgrimage badges, I highly recommend the first two books Sean mentioned. These are both by Brian Spencer, who was widely regarded as the foremost authority on pilgrimage badges.
Here are a few more suggestions for resource books:
* Dress Accessories, c.1150-c.1450
(Medieval Finds from Excavations in London)
- Geoff Egan and Francis Pritchard
This is from the same collection as the first suggestion above. It covers things like buckles, buttons, belt mounts and brooches and is a pretty nice resource. It used to run about $100, but was finally reprinted and the price dropped to around $50. Amazon occasionally has it at pretty big discounts.
[Side note: The entire Medieval Finds from Excavations in London series (put out by the Museum of London) is pretty awesome. The series includes not only the two previous books, but books on Knives and Scabbards, Horse Equipment, Textiles, and possibly others. These are all great resources if you are interested in their fields.]
From: Fvigil at aol.com
Date: August 11, 2008 4:58:46 PM CDT
To: pewterersguild at yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [pewterersguild] Feeling a little dumb...
kandrinchae at hotmail.com writes:
>So what are Pilgrim badges?
Here is a real short answer. A bit of googling will turn up plenty more.
Pilgrimage badges were genrally signs worn by pilgrims to show that they had completed a journey to a holy place such as Jerusalem or the shrine of a saint or martyr. The earliest such badges were things such as a cross of red cloth sewn to the clothing of a pilgrim to Jerusalem, or a sea-shell collected on the beach of Santiago de Compostella. But by the 13th Century, pewter tokens had begun to replace these items.
These tokens could take a myriad of forms. Early on for example, a pilgrim to the shrine of St. Thomas Becket might have received a small pewter ampullae (bottle) containing water which had been mixed with the blood of the Saint. Later the badges began to generally take the form of flat pins which could be worn showing important images, or items from the holy site. For example, the same Shrine of Thomas Beckett began to be represented with badges showing Beckett himself, or his murder weapon, and a variety of other forms; Campostella began to provide pewter sea-shells; A shrine to the Virgin Mary might have given a letter M with a crown indicating her as the Queen of Heaven; etc...
Some examples can be found at http://billyandcharlie.com/index2.html or http://fetteredcockpewters.com/
These badges were often touched to the holy relics at the pilgrimage site, or at least held up in view of those relics, and this was believed to have imbued them with a bit of the holy power. These badges were often brought back to sick family members, or to bring luck to a home or business.
Additionally these badges were sometimes seen as signs of safe passage, or as a sign that one should grant extra hospitality to the pilgrim.
Finally some have described them as the concert t-shirts of their day. When you get home from a concert you wear your new t-shirt to show all your friends that you got to go - similarly wearing the pilgrimage badge might have been seen as a way of showing off your pilgrimage to some far away place.
Fernando
Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2008 13:07:18 +0900
From: Rebecca Lucas <quokkaqueen at hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Lochac] Badges
To: <lochac at sca.org.au>
For extant pilgrim and secular badges, there is the Kunera database
http://www.let.kun.nl/ckd/kunera/
Some articles about particular badges from Kunera
http://peregrinations.kenyon.edu/vol1-4/articles/asperen.pdf
http://peregrinations.kenyon.edu/vol1-4/articles/asperen.pdf
English badges
http://peregrinations.kenyon.edu/vol2-1/FeaturedSection/Armel_1.pdf
http://peregrinations.kenyon.edu/vol2-1/DiscoveriesSection/Silver_gilt_v2.pdf
Karen Larsdatter's webpage has a section on hat badges:
http://www.larsdatter.com/hatbadges.htm
~Asfridhr
From: Dan Towse <dantowse at btinternet.com>
Date: January 30, 2009 11:29:46 AM CST
To: <pewterersguild at yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [pewterersguild] Hundreds of Pictures of Badges
In case anyone is not aware of this resource, The University of Nijmegen Centre for Art History has a fabulous online collection of Pewter badges
http://www.let.kun.nl/ckd/kunera/ Choose from either Profaan (Secular) or Religieus (Sacred)
From: Guillaume de Garrigues <guillaume at garrigues.net>
Date: January 31, 2009 6:59:25 PM CST
To: pewterersguild at yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [pewterersguild] Re: Hundreds of Pictures of Badges
Great site. I added it to http://pewterersguild.org/Main/Links (other links you want to see there? let me know...)
I noticed you can also browse the same site in (mostly) English, by using this link:
http://www.let.kun.nl/ckd/kunera/index.php?lang=uk
Guillaume
<<< The University of Nijmegen Centre for Art History has a fabulous online
collection of Pewter badges
http://www.let.kun.nl/ckd/kunera/ >>>
<the end>