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

Circular, ⅝” (0.65”) diameter. White metal, probably a tin-lead pewter alloy. The front with a cross within a circle surrounded by a radial border possibly alluding to the Wheel of Fortune as pagan beliefs were blended with the Christian religion. Reverse with four horse shoes surrounding a circle. The five representing the five wounds of Christ and the horseshoes probably, the journey. 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 their clothing.