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

Circular, under 3/4” (0.72”) diameter. White metal, probably a tin-lead pewter alloy. The front with a cross with crossed beam terminals.  The Jerusalem cross form, making it five crosses in one, commemorating the five wounds of Christ. The back with a wheel od Fortune motif, embracing the Pagan past. The top with a loop for fastening to a garment, usually a hat. These were produced in the Holy Land for pilgrims who wore them at home as prestige symbols. They were 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. Exceptional preservation.