Abstract

Pilgrim badges are small metal objects that were worn on the hats or cloaks of pilgrims beginning in the twelfth century. Badges were bought at pilgrimage shrines across Europe and played many roles in medieval society including touch relics, communication devices, and protective devices. More than 20,000 pilgrim badges survive to this day, indicating their popularity and ubiquity. Around the beginning of the Reformation in the sixteenth century, pilgrim badges disappear from the archeological record. Why? What about pilgrim badges made them incompatible with post-Reformation religion and practices? Further, what can be learned about the Reformation by looking at pilgrim badges? What can be learned about pilgrim badges by looking at the Reformation? Using quantitative analysis of pilgrim badges from Saint Thomas Becket’s shrine at Canterbury, this essay suggests that the English Reformation eroded two institutions and beliefs that supported pilgrim badge production and use: the cult of saints and the locality of the divine. Pilgrim badge loss emphasizes the role of the cult of saints and the locality of the divine in pilgrim badge function and the profound impact the Reformation had on what ordinary people wore, what they kept in their houses, and how they communicated their identities.

Advisor

Mirza, Sarah

Second Advisor

Sene, Ibra

Department

History; Religious Studies

Disciplines

History of Religion | Medieval History

Keywords

pilgrimage, badges, saints, Thomas Becket, materiality, religion, Christianity

Publication Date

2025

Degree Granted

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type

Senior Independent Study Thesis

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© Copyright 2025 Melanie Olmsted