ENGLISH CHRISTIAN PILGRIM’S BADGE, 14TH-15TH CENTURY AD

Circular, 3/4” (0.76”) diameter. White metal, probably a tin-lead pewter alloy. The front with a cross with raised nubs at the center and junction voids representing the five wounds of Christ. Double hatched border. Reverse plain. Without a lug or bail for attaching to the clothing, this was probably a votive item deposited at the local church upon return from the Holy Land. These were produced in the Holy Land for pilgrims and sold at shrines of saints where holy relics of the saints, sometimes, the whole corpus, were preserved. The symbols are specific to the life and achievements of the saint. Pilgrims (known upon their return as “palmers” and thus originating the surname Palmer) wore them strung as necklaces, on hats, or attached to the clothing.