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. ************************************************************************ NOTICE - This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday. This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter. The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors. Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s). Thank you, Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous Stefan at florilegium.org ************************************************************************ 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" 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 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" Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: Pilgrimage Badge Pictures? Date: 12 Sep 1998 22:30:09 GMT Fvigil 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 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 To: "- Stephan's Florilegium" , - Authenticity List 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 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 PrŽ Argent (Hartshorn-dale, East) From: David Debono 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 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 Date: Thu, 05 Apr 2001 17:28:57 GMT mark shier 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 , Lux 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 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 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 Subject: Re: [Lochac] Badges To: 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 Date: January 30, 2009 11:29:46 AM CST To: 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 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/ >>> Edited by Mark S. Harris pilgrm-badges-msg Page 14 of 14