Lifting the Veil on Pilgrim Badges

A. M. KOLDEWEIJ

The Sign of the Cross

Conventionally pilgrim badges were used by devout Christians to identify the

wearerasa pilgrim, and to protect themfromharm. Thedevil's child RobertIe
Diable,Robertthe Devil, aftera lifetime spent robbing,murderingandraping,
suddenly repented his sins and resolved to go on a pilgrimage to the Pope in
Rome. He made his preparations for the long journey and, according to the
Middle Dutchversionprinted in 1516, '... madethe sign ofthe Holy Crossand
rode through the forest straight to Rome'.1 By crossing himself, Robert the
Devil made himself recognisableas a pilgrim, a traveller in God'sname.
Recognisabilitywas important, for pilgrims were tolerated as mendicants
whocould rely on receivingChristiancharity,hospitality andgenerosityfrom
their fellow men. A pilgrim's privileges included exemption from paying tolls,
shelter and free board and lodging in monasteries or special hospitals.
Pilgrims were not only licensed to beg, but encouraged to do so; indeed,
accomplishing the journey in absolute poverty was considered particularly
virtuous. It was thus a good deed to give one's fellow men an opportunity to
practise Christian charity. The essential point for the pilgrim was that s/he
could count on protection from above as a matter of course: anyone who
robbed a pilgrim, maltreated them or worse, would instantly incur the wrath
of God.
So the sign of the cross placed Robert under special protection as well as
identifyinghim as a pilgrim. We do not know whether his cross was made of
cloth and sewn onto his garments, whetherit was a badgepinned onto them,
whether it was painted, or whether it was simply a gesture sketched by his
right hand. In view of the date of the story, the second half of the thirteenth
century, the first suggestion seems most likely, but 'crossing' oneself could
assume very physical and extreme forms, as for example in a painting of St

Robrecht deDuyvel, ed. R. Resoort, Populaire Literahiur 2 (Muiderberg, 1980), 85, line
516-18: '. . . teekende hi metten heylighen cryce ende reedt doer dat foreest den
rechten wech na Romen'; p. 123 n.

161
 A. M. Koldeweij

Rocheasa pilgrimintheAustrianBenedictineabbeyofAdmont(Plate2).2 The

saintisdepicted ashavingtakenthedrastic stepofincisingthesignofthecross
in his chest so deeply as to draw blood.
Sucha representation, withthecrosscutintotheflesh,seemsexcessive,but
was closer to reality than might be expected. Seventeenth-century sources
mention the considerably older tradition of the tattooed pilgrim's sign. The
crusaders aresaidto havehadthemselves tattooed asevidence ofa visit to the
Holy Grave and, in doing so, to have followed a much earlier tradition of
tattooed Christian symbols goingback as far as the first centuries AD.3 A
copper engraving of 1676 by Hans Martin Winterstein documents the signs
whichOtto von derGrossen ofHamburg causedtobetattooed onhisleftand
rightarmswhenhevisitedtheHolyLandin1669.TheyincludetheJerusalem
cross, a crucifix, the resurrected Christ and the Chapel of the Holy Grave.
Another traveller to Jerusalem, the seventeenth-century Dutch Catholic
martyr and Franciscan monk, Hieronymus vanWeert(c 1522-1572), had a
tattooed Jerusalem cross on his chest and right arm. 4 Before Hieronymus
became one of the nineteen Martyrs of Gorcum, who were hanged by rebel
Protestants on 9 July 1572, the eye-witness and hagiographer Rutger van Est
(Estius) recorded that thehangmen brutally cut theJerusalem cross out ofhis
Hesh. 5 Travel reports of pilgrims to the Holy Land also mention tattoos,
sometimesin minutedetail.Thechronicleofa towninHolland,forexample,
describedhowpilgrimswereliterally andphysicallymarkedwiththecrossin
Bethlehemin the earlyseventeenthcentury:
They have numerous wooden stamps in which the marks are incised and
whicharethenplacedonthearms:everybodycanpicka stampofhischoice.
Coal-dust is rubbed into the indsions in the stamp, which is then placed on
thearmsoasto transfer theincisedmark onto theskin. Thena manholdsthe
arm in his left hand, stretching the skin tight, and in his right hand is a
narrow pipe with fwo needles, which from time to time he dips into ink
mixed with oxgall and with which he pricks along the lines left by the
wooden stamp. Thisispainful, andusually leaves a scab for a while; for two
orthreedaysthearmsareswollentothreetimestheirnormal size.Afterall
the lines havebeentraced with theneedle, the arm is washed andexamined

2 UteHimmelstoss(ed.), KunstschatteniiitdeBenediktijnerabdijvanAdmont/ Merveilles

de'l'abbayeBenedictmed'Admont/Kunstschatzeausdem Benediktinerstift von Admont,
EuropaliaS7,Oesterreich(Tienen, 1987),pp. 124-5 catalogueno.30
3 C. Ruhnke/Die Tatowierung, eine sozw'-kulturelle und medizinische Betmchtung
(Marburg, 1974),pp. 47-9.
4 W. Lampen, 'HoUandsche Jerusalemvaarders in vroeger eeuwen', Bijdragen
Geschiedenis van het Bisdom Haarlem 45 (1928), 278-80.
5 Estius,HistoriaMartyrumGorcomiensium(Douai,1603);reprintedinActaSanctorum
]uiiiU (Venice, 1747)",c.7, col. 799:'.. . figuras crucis Hierosolymitanae, quaeilli, ut
Terrae'Sanctae peregrino, erant m pectore et dextro brachio ita certa ratione
inscriptae, ut came integra deleri non possent, adhuc viventi e canie htimines
inimici, crucis ChrisKcrudeliter exsciderunt'

162
 Lifting the Veil on Pilgrim Badges

for mistakes. If any are found, the procedure is repeated, three times if
necessary. When it is finished, the arm is tightly bandaged. The scab which
forms on thepricksor theprickedhanddropsoffaftertwo or threedays,but
the blue marks remain and will never fade,becausethe blood mingleswith
the concoction of oxgall and ink, which penetrates the skin and produces
marks.6

Metal Badges

Fora fargreaternumberofpilgrims in the late MiddleAges (from thetwelfth

to mid sixteenthcentury) badgeswere sewn onto the characteristiccloak, hat
or bag.Thecompleteensemble,plus a staff,identifiedthewearerasa pilgrim.
Usually these badges were either shells or cheap trinkets cast in a lead-tin
alloy. In the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, examples stamped from
wafer-thinbrass also became popular. Well-heeledbelievers could purchase
moredurablevariantsincopperorbronze,or costlyspecimensfashionedfrom
silver, silver-gilt or gold. They were sold, and perhaps in some cases issued as
well, as devotional souvenirs in the vicinity of miraculous statues and shrines.
Thebadgesshowedwhichholyplaceshadbeenvisitedandplacedthepilgrim
under the protection of specific saints and shrines. Essentially they were
Christian amulets or charms, believed to guard the wearer from evil. Each
referred in detail to a legend or cult and had its own iconography and
meaning.
The cultural references carried by such badges have made them a popular
subject for study. Those made of lead-tin were cheap and produced in bulk.
This, and theirabilityto survivein somecircumstances,means that theyhave
been found in large numbers by treasure-seekers, amateur archeologistsand
professional excavators since the middle of the last century. Conditions
suitable for the preservation of badges often occur in the Netherlands and
here, over the past twenty years, thousands of badgeshave been located by
metal detectors. 7 One remarkable feature of these finds is that assorted secular
badges are nearly always discovered among the religious material, under

Lampen 1928, op. cit. note 4, pp. 278-80, quoting from D. B. van Schoorl, Chronyk van
Medenblik (Hoom, 1767), p. 120, who obtained this information from a Simon
Pietersz Poorter, h-aveller to Jerusalem in 1614.
Metal detectors are used by archaeologists, but also by h-easure-seekers and clandes-
tine diggers. It should be pointed out that the large majority of small metal objects
discovered by the group euphemistically referred to as 'amateur archaeologists'
werefoundduringgroundremoval (with machines,asinurbanrenewalprojects, or
nahirally, due to shifting river beds). Once uncovered, these objects are doomed to
corrosion within a short space of time. Archaeological facilities are inadequate,
unable to cope with the examination of the vast quantities of old habitation layers
removed m ihis way. Ihe activities or the so-called grey circuit' di-c iiifcrefi. ire the

only means by which these important objects have been preserved.

163
 A. M. Koldeweij

exactlythesameconditionsandinexactlythesamecontexts(Plate1).Itseems
that/inthelateMiddleAges,peopleworenotonlyreligiousbadgesbut^also
similar,mass-produced,inexpensivejewelleryofa secularnature.Thesubject
matter covered bythesecular badges isextremely varied, including represen-
tations of utensils, courtly scenes, proverbs and popular stories, aswell as
what,to themoderneye,arebizarre,eroticfantasies.

The State of the Investigation8

Althoughbothreligiousandsecularbadgeshavebeenfoundtogether,they
havelargely beenstudied inisolation, orelse segregated in someThe
other'way,
for example with expensive badges being treated as jewellery. earliest
publicatYononpilgrimsignsdates'from1848andconcernsa fewbadges,in^the
^

British Museum. 9"However, the first wide-ranging research into badges was
undertaken bythecollector Arthur Forgeais, prompted bythenumerous items
found intheSeine. 10Forgeais' workwaspublished privately andinitially was
only followed up on a small scale, with work on new material aPPearmg
sporadically inlocalandregionalpublications. Almost a century lateraneven
more ambitious investigation was undertaken by Kurt Koster, who conceit
trated~onmvestigating"specific case studies and establishing well-founded
classifications. RegreUably,workonthecomprehensive catalogueofpilgrim
badges (Pilgerzeichenkartei) which Koster had initiated and whichwas
supported bytheDeutscheForschungsgemeinschaft, endedwithhis. deathm
1986. The German bell specialist, JorgPoettgen, continues to publish fairly
regularly onbadges, specifically those whichwere castonto bells" and,in

8 An earlierversionof thissurveywaspresentedata symposiumin the^Boijmans

Van"BeuningenMuseum, Rotterdam, 1994-.A. M. Koldewei),'Laatmiddeleeuwse
onderzoek,
s7 VCTzamelgeschiedenis stand
en van
cultuuyh lstons^
^

^rofaan: Laatmiddeleeuwse insignesincu}tuurhistori^hperspech^

edrA"M.'Koldeweij and A. M. Willemsen (Amsterdam, 1995)^pp. 14-16. For^
mor'eextensive literature onwhichthissurvey isbased,seeH.J.E.Beunmgen andA.
M. Koldeweij, Heilig en Profaan: 1000 laatmiddekeuwse msigneswt decollect^ ^ l. ^.
wn'Bemmg^RoHerdam 'Papers 8 (Cothen, 1993); R M. van, Heermgen', A;,M
Kold"eweij"mdA. 'A^Gaalman, Heiligenuit demodder. Inzeeland8ewndenPel8rims-
1987),
tetens/da nsKunsthistorische Monografieen 4 (Utrecht/Zutphen, 143^8^
9 R. SmitVReUgioussignsortokensoftheMiddleAges',CotlectaneaAntiqua1 (184S),
10 A. Forgeais, Noticesw desplombs histories trouves dansla Seine, 5 vols. (Paris,
1863-i866), ^ ^ ",.. "." , c,.... _., ;...k^p;!.,.,r
" Mostrecently,andforreferencestoearlierwork,seeJ. Poertgen,'E"ruPalsche;'^er;
zeichenforschungVDieZentrale Pilgerzeichenkartei (PZK)KurtKosters^(^1986)^i^
^amber'g"tmd"Ser~Forschungsstand nach 1986', Jahrbuchfur Ghckenkunde 7-8
(1995-1996), 195-206.
164
 Lifting the Veil on Pilgrim Badges

1995, Andreas Haasis Berner obtained an MA degree with a dissertation on

pilgrim badges to c. 1350. 12
In England, pioneering work similar to that ofKurt Koster hasbeencarried
out by Brian Spencer at the Museum of London, albeit solely on English
material. Hispublishedworkincludessometwenty-five relevantarticles,plus
books on the collections of badges in Salisbury Museum, Wiltshire, and on
material from Norfolk. 13Spencerisnowretired butcontinues toworkandhas
completed his magnum opus on badges from London, particularly those
foundintheThames.14Unfortunately,institutionalcontinuityseemsunlikely.
In France, Colette Lamy-Lasalle, also now retired, researched badges after
the war. Her work, and indirectly also that of Arthur Forgeais, has been
continued by Denis Bruna, who wrote hisdissertation onreligious and secular
badges attheUniversite deParisI.Valuable publications ondiverse aspects of
the field have followed, including the comprehensive catalogue of badges in
the Musee de Cluny. 15Valuable work has also been carried out on Scandina-
vianbadgesby Niels-Knud Liebgott of the Nationalmuseum in Copenhagen
and LarsAndersson of the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm. 16
In the Netherlands, the spectacular finds made in the Zeeland delta area
were first highlighted in an exhibition in Utrecht, 1981. A wider range of
medieval and post-medieval material, including both religious and secular
badges found in the East Schelde river, was subsequently exhibited in
Schelde in Bergen-op-Zoom, 1987. The lewd and erotic subject
Treasures fro m the
matter ofsome oftheprofane badges caused a commotion, triggering a revival
of interest in this material, much of which had actually been published in the
nineteenth century. 17In 1986/1987 the author of this article, in collaboration

12 A.HaasisBemer,PilgcrzeichendesHochmittelalters:UntersuchimgzuihrerEnj.stehung
und Bedeutung, MA thesis, Albert-Ludwigs-Universitat, Freiburg im Breisgau
(privately printed, .1995).
13 B. Spencer, Pilgrim Souvenirs and secular Badges Salisbury Museum Medieval
Catalogue Part 2 (Salisbury, 1990); B. Spencer, Medieval Pilgrim Badges fro m Norfolk
(Norfolk Museum Service, 1980).
14 In a letter of 25 November 1994, Brian Spencer told me that he had finished his
catalogue ofpilgrim signsand similar badgesfrom medieval sites atLondon. This
extensiveworkhasbeenavailabein typescriptfor sometimeandwaspublishedin
the last weeks of 1998.
15 D. Bruna, 'Les Enseignesde pelerinage et les enseignesprofanes au_moyen age,
Paris,1995'(unpublisheddoctoral thesis,I'Universitede ParisI, 1995);&Thermes
Bruna,
Musee National du Moyen Age,
Enseiyies de pelerinage et enseiyies profanes,
deCluny (Paris,1996). ....... ..,.,.
I6 N.-K.Liebgott,'Freslevklokkensrelieffer',HistoriskSamfundforPraestoAmbt.Arbog
1971-1972, .291-315; N.-K. Liebgott, 'Dobefonten i Varde Jacob; Kirke', Natioml-
museets Arbejdsmark (1973), 31-44; L. Andersson, Pilgrimsmarken ochvallfart (Lunds
Universitet,i98cn.
17 A. Forgeais, Priapees (no place, no date, probably Paris 1858;I am indebted to D.
Bruna for sendmgme a photocopyof thisextremelyrarebooklet);T. Wright The
Worshipof the Generative Powers'diiring ihe Middle Ages of Western Europe (1866),
165
 A. M. Koldeweij

with R. M. Heeringen, by then the Provincial

van Archaeologis t of Z^eLmd,
:nd1 Ae ^t ^^K^^
^tor^A. Gaalma^compiled a
f^up'to thatpointinZeeland"Themateria^^^^ t^e^
M^leuZMiddellburg:-and the Museum voor
KeligieuzeKun^ ^enjh^e
^d'fu^have^ntmued tobedocumented ^. M^n^^
ho7e'ofT998to"1991arepublishedintheArcheologischeKroniek^nWand^
^T9 93±some of'the private collection of badges amassed by^J. E. van

Beunmgen;Iwhkh"demonstrate thespectacular nature^eDu^d^-

^

^sl "w&ere' extubited'm Van Beuningen Museum,

the Boijmans Rotterd^
?hceae^bUro n'was"combined with a conference, the P'-°ceedingsofwhKh
w^e^u'bseq'uentfy published. " A sequeltothe1993P"blicatl°^COTdm5
preparaton
aboutT2 0o7u7her badges unearthed in the Netherlands, is now m

:^uwm^am^e"a^mpanied by an exhibits ^ ^m^^

B^mngen"M"useum mRotterdam. ThelargenumberOHmds^^Ne^
l"acnds"in^ecent'de"cades hasalsopromptedanambitious^archProiec^th^
cTh&ol;cl cUniv7rsity'ofNi}megen, where international ^datab^e ^^oth
an

successor to Koster-s
re ligious and secular
modern
badges isbeing set up as a

p!'SC^Te Tt udies which have breached national

boundaries concentrate

onW°gesL a7jewueiie ry;and\end to the

mclude^only fme^nd^os;^stlj,
^^^^^^^by^ws:^Z^ s?±^
T^'t^MWle "Ages and the Renaissance particularly in ^gland^
^blisbedm Oxfordin'1922.Thetraditionisc&ntinuedb^Y^n^^^
Cclh&21iTnd b7Ro""ald W'Lightbown, catalogue th^colkcti^n^of
whose of

E^pear:'ie wellery]nthe V^oria M^m'^°^^

and Albert

JrecentTy. 22'WhileHackenbroch concentrates onPrecious^bad^s

^dTrdTr ense'igrws,Lightbownalsodrawsattentiontocheapreligiousand
set:^esofpionee
badgesf-.an^ropolog.caL^^^^^^
vie^iZ^ red by the F^^^n:LlonelE50nn£m&re, 08^^
^]^arZi^perts'offolklore:and included themi"^ dis^ss1^
cZms:Bc:nnem^l~efthiscollection,mainlyofFrench^tena^totheM^
^^^'Arteet'Traditk, nsPopulaires inParis,andboththeassemblage
reprintedinA HistoryofPhatl.c Worship,2 vols.(NewYork,1992),II,pp.59-65and
^-x.
18Van^Heeringen,KoldeweijandGaalman^op. ^w^ ^ ^^^ ^95
^ ^ ^e^|cen' anTKoldewei, 1993:^cit, note8;KoldeweijandWillemsen 1995,
. 0 ^^^^a. ed.riy^^^^^^^^SS
AV"^."Koldcew"eTDepTrtinenVof Art History, Catholic^Umvers^oJ^
21
^^u^^^^^^^^^:^^^^^
V"Hale nbwch, 'Rewissance1ewellery (New York and Mumch, 1979); Y. tiacKen-

broch^Ens^sJRenaissanceHatJewels(Florence, ^O.catato^
^^^ ^o/(fe.
^^^^^^
collection ^ ^^
22 RI.'w.lUght^ownrM Jd^Y£uropCTn/^«ery-w a
m i

Victoria andAlbert Museum (London, 1992).

166
 Lifting theVeilonPilgrim Badges
andhisnotesweremadeaccessiblequiterecently. 23A widerfieldiscoveredin
the German standard work by "Liselotte Hansmann and Lenz Kriss-
Rettenbeck, with a survey of all kinds of amulet forms from prehistoric,
medieval and modern times. The late medieval secular and religious badges
formonlya modestpartofthiswork,butitdoespresenta wealthofmateml
that is doseiy related in form, subject matter, function and meaning. 24The
apotropaic aspects ofboth secular and religious badges -various
that ofbnnginS
articles by
I lu ck and warding off evil - stressed
have also been in

Ae Dutch art historian. JanBaptist Bedaux. 25Finally, a catalogue and exhibi-

tion'heTd in London in 1991; Treasures and Trinkets, has documented the
jewellery collection of the Museum of London, includinS_late m, edie^al
badges/withanemphasisonthesymbolismandassociationsofjewellery^
Foracademicsthegreatvalue ofreligious andsecularbadgesisthat^they
were cheap, mass-produced items, worn by ordinary people The surviving
examples represent aspects ofthose ordinary people's thoughts andbel fs_
The"badgesras objects therefore provide a point of departure for broader
discussions. Asthissurvey oftheliterature shows,muchworkhasnowbeen
done on describing and recording the badges and identifying their^associa-
tions, particularly in the case of the religious material. Some of the other
relevant visual andwritten sources have also nowbeen identified. None the
less,'research has asyet lifted only a corner of the veil. These late medieval
gewgawsanddevotionalia canonlybeunderstood if definedin anthroP0-
logicaTterms andstudiedwithintheiroriginalcontexts. Thereisanincrcdlble
aboundance of religious badges, and new types and variants are constantly
being found. Moreover, theSeemingly inexhaustible supply of other source
material, providing explanation or identification, can only gradually be
digested. , .__,. _:.
"The situation is more problematic in the case of profane, secular material.
Thebadgesthemselves survive in an amazingly rich and intriguing assort-
ment ofsubjects and themes, with numerous variants and anever-widening
rangeofVepresentations. However, unlike theirreligious counterparts, there
23 L.BormemeTe, Amulettes ettalismans:LacollectionLionelBonnemere, ed.M.BouteiUer,
No'tes~e7Documents des Musees de France 23 (Paris, 1991).^ Bonnemere^ was
cofounderinl886 of the Revue desTraditions Populaires andpublished some
articlesin thisperiodicalbetween1886and 1898.
24 L'. Hansmann mdL. Kriss-Rettenbeck, Amulett undTalisman: Erscheinungsform
Geschichte (Munich, 1977). _ .,., .
25 T. B. Bedaux, 'Laatmiddeleeuwse sexuele amuletten: Een sociobiologisc
'rmK7, ~m'AnnusQuadrigaMundi:OpsteUenovermiddelceuwsekimstOP8edraSen^anf"'^
dr"^nw"C. "£sm^aavisKunsthistorische Monografieen 8 (Utrecht, 1989)^1^30;
J."B."Bedaux, 'Functie en betekenis van randdecoratie in middeleeuwse^hand;
'schn{tenrKunstlicht-14(1993),2.^-33;}.B.Bedaux,'Profaneensacraleamuletten', m
KoldeweijandWillemsen1995,op.cit.iu)te^ pp.26^-35. ^ ^ ^ ^^ ^ ^^
26 T'.'MurdocMed. ), Treasures and Trinkets: Jewellery in London fro Pre-Roman Times to
m

the 1930s (Museum of London, 1991).

167
 A. M. Koldeweij

arefarfewerothersourceswhichrelate tothesebadges.Although wehavethe

actual objects, we haveno illustrations or descriptions of them, little or no
information about who produced them, what inspired them, who bought
them or why. Onewayof overcoming these difficulties and furthering this
fieldofstudyistotaketheviewthatbothreligiousandsecularlead-tinbadges
wouldbebetter understood ifseenassimilarandclosely related objects, rather
than asartefacts which belonged to quite separate spheres. 27

Under the Guise of a Pilgrim

It wasprobably around 1470or 1480that Hieronymus Boschdrew the two

surviving sheets covered with sketches of beggars cripples and street
musicians/ nowinBrussels andViennarespectively. 28Inthesejottings Bosch
drewtheragtagandbobtailelementsofsociety,equippingthemwitha variety
of props, such"as a lute or pair of bellows. A few of the beggars, lame or
otherwise, alsosportbadges, three ofwhichareidentical. Plate3 shows oneof
thesefigureswearinga badgeidentifiableasthepilgrimsignassociatedwith
the town ofWilsnack, northern Germany. Thisbadge isa representation ofthe
Three Miraculous Hosts ofWilsnack, asshown in Plate 18 (top). 29
In the context of these sketches, Hieronymus Bosch surely intended this
badgeto denote something other thanthe conventional view ofthe devout,
respectable pilgrim. Rather he shows how the attire of the pilgrim was a
convenient cloak for social outcasts. The three linked circles on the Wilsnack
badge represent the three hosts, a sign which could be quickly drawn and
whichwould be immediately recognisable.TheWilsnackbadgewasappro-
priate to thequestionable atmosphere inwhichBoschplaces it here, forthere
wassevere theological criticism ofthedevotional aspects ofthisshrine andthe
badgeitself.Themiraclewasnotconsideredallthatcredibleandthewearing
oftheHost- thebodyofChrist- asa badgewasregarded bysomeasintoL.
erable. 30Despitesuchcriticism,however,peoplecontinuedtoflockthereand

27 A. M. Koldeweij, 'The wearing of significative badges, religious and secular. the

social meaning ofa behavioural pattern', in Representation ofSocial Positions, ed. W.
BlockmansandA.Janse(Tumhout,inpress);A.M.Koldeweij,'Sacredandprofane:
medievalmass-producedbadges',inArtandSymbolisminMedievalEurope,ed.^dc
Boe and F. Verhaeghe, Instituut voor het Archeologisch Patrimonium 5 (Zellik,
1997), pp. 135-7. _ . "... ^... ^__^^
28 Brussek',RoyalLibrary,PrintRoom;Vienna,Albertina no.43.154.Opi"ions^differas
tothedatingofthesetwosheets.SeeT.Frenken(ed. ),fheronymusBosch(Noordbra-
bantsMuseum,'s-Hertogenbosch,1967),cataloguenos.49-50.
29 ForWilsnack. seeVanBeuningenandKoldeweij 1993,op.cit. note8,pp. 145-6and
figs. 130-7. , _ ..,. _,,,_
'W O'-P.Gandert 'DasHeilige Blut von Wilsnack und seinePilgerzeichen' in Branclen-
burgischejahrhunderte: Festgabefit r]ohannes Sdiultzezum 90. Ceburtf. tas (Burim, 19/1),
pp. 73-90.
168
 00t5Q 0^)0
oooyf oQooftr wif
t'y '?
.A
.
^.,v

&
^i
T'^
f^- ^ ^

rr ^ ^ r
p .

cyw
008\t oofei
*-<<
%.1 ^

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'oobbT OOia^ 00^\ ob^

-./I \^
^ Plate 1 Religious and seculdi^badges, ex/avated in the Netherlands, leafftin, c. 1350-1525.
Cothen, H. J. E.van BeuningenCollection. (Copyright: Cothen, Stichting
Religieuze en Profane Insignes; photograph Tom Haartsen).
 ',.*. ;^s
^'/.. ""s

r^,..\

;^
;;<rZ,
?^ ». --. '..^
V"' ^
^... >;
i!' '>.'"/
jf-y
i> s

Plate 4 Pieter Bruegel the Younger, Flemish proverb: a

burgherhandinganarrowto a younglady,oil onpanel,
diameter 16.5 cm, Christie's Amsterdam, summer 1987.
(FromChristie's InternationalMagazine1987,op. crt. note 73)
Plate 2 St Roche with the angel, detail
of a Calvary, tempera on pine, 70x 57.4
cm, Styria or Carinthia, c. 1460. Admont
Abbey, Styria. (From Himmelstoss 1987,
op. cit. note 2, p. 125).

^ji.
^ ^^?yf
Plate 3 Hieronymus Bosch, lame beggar with
a pilgrim sign of the three miraculous Hosts
lit Wilsnack, detail from a sl'iect with thirty-
one beggars,pen in grey-brown,28.5 x 20.6
cm. Vienna. Albertina, inv. no. 43. 154.
(From Frenken 1967, op. cit. note 28, p. 50).
a6s6
Plate 5 Badge: crowned vulva as an archer
on horseback, her crossbow taut. Lead-tin,
1375-1425, found in Amsterdam, h. 31 mm,
w. 21 n'i;n. IE. J. E. idn Beur"nge;i Qilli-^ti:. ;.
Cothen, inv. 1, 1323. (Copyright: Cothen,
StichtingReligieuzeen Profane Insignes;
photographTom Haartsen).
 Plate 6 Phallusglass, darkblue-green
glass, found at Mainz, first half of
sixteenth century. Krefeld, Karl Amendt
Collection. (From Baumgartner 1987,
op. cit. note 67, p. 104).

Plate7 Phallusglass,blue-green andblueglass,first halfofsixteenth

century. RheinischesLandesmuseum, Trier, inv. no. GG735.
(From'BaumgartnerandKrueger1988,op.cit.note67,p.422).
 .^

^ ..;..^-^"">'
iHr ...
. .fe.
^y-^
'iy&LA ^A...^
'^..^
''^ '.... :.,

I ,»t" . '. -. <"*...

^-, ;:' ^''in.
t-. ^"^' . }IM.
!:, ^M. - - .. ' ^<ltii<
',^. "/., r < . I^R. ).. '-

Plate8 A youngwoman'sarrowstrikesa wingedphallicbeastwitha belltiedroundits'neck'.Marginmustratlon m

a 1392copvofJohanmsAndrea, Novella inlibrum tertium Decretalium GregoriiIX,Paris,Bibliotheque Nationale,
T>T T ^ 40-1 i <:.-.1 1 rFmm Ttprlaiiv 10Q5. on. rif. note 25. p. 29).
 Plate 9 Badge: female smith forging a phallus.
Lead-tin,fourteenthcentury, foundatKonstanz,
Fischmarkt. (FromFlueler 1992,op. cit. note70,
P.435). QL^QQ^
w

f
.
4-

<,, ',

*I

Plate 11 Fragment of a badge: vulva-

Plate10 Badge:vulva-pilgrimwith
phallus staff and rosary, wearing a
pilgrim wearing a phallus badge.
Lead-tin,1375-1425,found at
pilgrim's hat and wooden pattens. Rotterdam, h. 36 mm, w. 21 mm.
Lead-tin, 1375-1425, found at
Reimerswaat, h. 33 mm, w. iy mm. : I. J. E.van Beuningen Coi'"ction.
Cothen, inv. I, 2056. (Copyright:
H. J. E. van Beuningen Collection,
Cothen, inv. \, 2184. (Copyright: Cothen, StichtingReligieuzeen
Cothen, StichtingReligieuzeen
ProfaneInsignes;photograph
Tom Haartsen).
Profane Insignes;photograph
TomHaartsen). ^
 pfe,
1^- -v.
.

'-, "' \' '

. »\-'
A rs^ '. ..

^g=^ /'->f^Y fff~^ ~^<^

/ -'~ .; iv /ftt:^?'~-^. c'.l
< ." .
-», ^^-i . '
'.
'
^ 'r^^T^r?.
; i". .
? > ? lf.
' ^i*\.\. . KjL2'i/''^
KJL-u
- ':l ^}
\ ;
[-j. y\;s^^
r'-'v "h I.VT J

u. -^w
/ t
/ .
< -
' "» .
'
\,
'^
$ l;<».l

Plate 12 Itinerant beggars. Woodcut, title-page of the first

edition of the 'Liber Vagatomm', 1510. (From Boehnke and
Johannsmeier 1987, op. cit. note 31, p. 78).

'i..

Plate 13 Cockle-shelL 1400-1450,pilgrim Plate 14 Vera Icon badge from Rome.

badge from Santiagode Compostela, Stamped brass, 1475-1525, excavated
excavated at Nieuwlande, flooded land at Rotterdam, h. 31 mm, w. 31 mm.
ofZuid-Beveland, h. 65 mm, w. 71 mm. H. J. E. van Beuningen Collection,
H. J. C. van Beuningen Coileclion, Cothrin, Cochen,inv. i, 2364. (Copyright:
inv. \, 1652. (Copyright: Cothen, Stichting Cothen, Stichting Religieuze en
Religieuze en Profane Insignes; Profane Insignes; photograph Tom
photograph Tom Haartsen). Haartsen).

m^j ooffso
 Plate 15 Badge: arrow. Lead-tm, 1375-1425, excavated at Nieuwlande,
flooded land of Zuid-Beveland, h. 71 mm, w. 15 mm. H. J. E. van
Beuningen Collection, Cothen, inv. I 1622. (Copyright: Cothen,
Stichting Religieuze en Profane Insignes; photograph Tom Haartsen).

Plate16 Pilgrimbadgeofthe 'Engelweihe'at Plate 17 St Anne pilgrim badge

Einsiedeln. Lead-tin, 1400-1500, excavated at
Nieuwlande, flooded land of Zuid-Beveland,
h. 76 mm, w. 63 mm. H. J. E. van Beuningen
Collection, Cothen, inv. 1, 1392 (the cross at
the top is a replacement). (Copyright: Cothen,
StichtingReligieuzeen PrnfaneInsignes;
photograph Tom Haartsen).
OOlf^'b
from Diiren. Lead-tin, 1475-1525,
excavated at Dordrecht, h. 36 mm,
w. 18 mm. H. J. E. van Beuningen
Collection, Cothen, inv. 1, 1669.
(Copyright: Cothen, Stichting
Religieuze en Profane Insignes;
photographTom Haartsen).
m^

Plate 18 Fir-wood support with a pilgrim's
sign from Wilsnack and one from Blomberg.
Tin-lead badges, 1450-1500, excavated at
Amsterdam in 1973, h. 14 cm, w. 7.9 cm.
Amsterdams Historisch Museum.
(Photograph: Buren, A. M. Koldeweij).
... !^
^
v^/ji^A^ ^y4?
Plate 19 St Odiliapilgrim signfrom
Odilienberg (Alsace). Lead-tin, 1400-1450,
excavated at Nieuwlande, flooded land of
Zuid-Beveland, h. 65 mm, w. 46 mm.
H. J.E. van BeuningenCollection, Cothen,
inv. I, 0848. (Copyright: Cothen, Stichting
Religieuze en Profane Insignes; photograph
Tom Haartsen).
oo^b
u
 .
t-

1, ^«». . .,

"k t .. t .. ..' . . : >.

i 1b
^ ' . < *^

..
..1

A /?
-/^</. u . O. ^. ^. L" .....^ }-^
..^^t -" ;. ~J.. ^,.. ,,, ^.
^^^'

*...
J/
.

. £.< \. ti
Plate 20a
-1^,..... - ....

.., (.:

.. *l* >^-*--7
I

<t- - I

^J<^,,.~, _^,. ^..^

s. ^'. ^..,,

pi?
^..-
y

Plate 20b
 /..,,../ ^ ^ ^ft^

Plate 20c

Plates20a,b andc Recordsoftrial, 'Verzeichnisder Bettler, diezum Bundschuh

gehoren', 9 September 1517.Karisruhe, Generallandesarchiv Karlsruhe, Breisgau,
Generalia, Aktenband 79/3384.
Plate21 Pilgrim's horn,pipe-clay, partly glazed,1300-1400,excavated at
Utrecht, w. 355 mm. H.]. E.van Beuningen Collection, Cothen, inv. 379/F. 99
(Copyright: Cothen,StichtingReligieuzeenProfaneInsignes;photograph
Tom Haartsen).

Plate 22 Beggar'sbadge of the city ofAnhverp, 1565,

stampedbrass,h. 62mm, w. 62mm. Antwerp,
MuseumMayervandenBergh,inv. 1756.
(Photograph: Brussels, IRPA-KIK).
 Lifting theVeilonPilgrim Badges

Wilsnack remained a tremendously popular pilgrimage goal until the Refor-

mation.
"The misuse of pilgrims' garb and badges is documented elsewhere,^
exampleinthedescriptionofspuriouspilgrimsintheLibervagatomm orBook
12). Under the
ofVagabonds, printed around 1510 in Germany (Plate Lower

headmg^Christians andSwindlers'thebooksays:'These arebeggarswhoPm

shells and otherl
badges"to their hats, especially Veronica of Rome, signs-

ea'chofthemsellsthese'signstotheother,sothatpeoplebelievetheyhavebeen
toalFtheplaceswhosesignstheywear,althoughtheyhaveneverbee^therc^
And'because theydeceivethepeople inthisway,theyarecalledswindlers. 'AJ
The"bookwas a'fsuccess and was reprinted, revised and translated several
times. 'A'slightly longerversion inDutchappeared inAntwCTp in156332and
thebookwasemulated inEngland. 33Inaddition totheswindlers orCalmieren,
twenty-seven other kinds of beggars and charlatans were Usted.^ pugrims,
occupieda prominent placeamongthem.Peopledefinedaso^fm,U
, theBregern, were described as either not wearing pi lgrim DaagesaTa"'
or^earingonly a few.Theyapproached people witha modest, simple mien,
: onTyfor aimsfor the sakeofGod andOurLady.Theywereseen as
. in that they begged out of necessity and abandoned the practice as
^oon"a's some'means oFsubsistence offered itself. 34 The second^group^Ae
Stabuj7r, were deemed less honest. They were not really criminals, but
badandhalfgood;notallofthemarebad,butmostare'. 35Thesewereitinerant
beggarswho"tooktheirwives,childrenandtheirpossessionsontheirPercgrl-
na^nsfrom oneplacetoanother. Theywereprofessional pilgrims, begging
their way through life, ablebut unwilling to work Their cloaks are
, erand, like their hats, studded with pilgrim badges. 36
"The'only two pilgrim badgesmentioned specifically inthe Libervagatorum
31 -. . .Christianern undCalmieren. DassindBettler^dieZeichen andenHut^en tragen^
besonterr omisAVeronika'undMuscheln und andere Zeichen. Und gibt ^weils
Mcne'r'demandemZeichenzukaufen, dassmanglaubensoll, siese;enandenS^^^^
^

n"wovonsiedieZeichentragen,obwohlsiedoch"iemals^orthin
ko'mmen"U&ndsie"betrugen die Leute damit;die heissen Calnnerer. ' ^ 'Liber_vag^-
to"rum''7m"Da~s ~Buch~de7vaganten: Spider, Huren, D'utbetruger, ed. and trans. H.
BoehnkeandR. Johannsmeier(Cologne,1987)^p.93. ^ ^ ^_^_ , ^^.,
32 D^^Rabauwmoftder'Schalken Vocabular (JandeLaet,Antwerp^563^ modem
DutchtransiatTon inVanSchelmenenschavuiten: Uatmiddekeuwse vasabmdtekstm. ,e^
H"pTei)TA msterdam, 1985). Also on this genre, see W.
^L^Braekman; 'Or^t^
bero'ep'sgehdmenTanbedelaars:eenheelbijzondere"ordoimantie"',Volkskunde96
33 iSe ley, The Fraternity of Vagabonds (London, ^^T. Hannan^Cam^r
'Co^m7nC'ursitors, VulKarfy'calledVagabonds(London,1566);bothreprintedinA.V.
]udges', 'TheElizabetltanUnderworld(London,WO) PP;50-60and61-n8'
34 Bo'ehnkeandJohannsmeier 1987,op.cit.note3-Lpp.der
8"-1-, _ ^ ^^ Boehnke and
35 uuclhaTbtel seJunThalb"gut, nicht alle sind bos, aber
Teil'.
grossere
Tohannsmeier"1987,op. cit. note 31,pp. 80-1.
36 BoehnkeandJohannsmeier1987,op.cit. note31,pp. »U-1.
181
 A. M. Koldeweij

were the 'Veronica of Rome and shells'. 37 These were two of the best known
pilgrimsigns;thecockle-shellbeingstronglyassociatedwithpilgrimagetothe
shrine of St James at Compostela, and the veronica (the representation of
Christ's face on Veronica's sudarium) with the journey to Rome (Plates 13 and
14). They were much more widely used, however, being made and sold in a
great many other places, using a variety of materials and techniques. Carved
jet badges in the form of a shell were probably not produced specifically as
Santiagosouvenirs38whileeightunusedspecimensofStVeronica'ssudarium,
notevencut outoftheparchmentonwhichtheywerepainted,werefoundin
the monastery at Wienhausen, north Germany, where they may have been
made for sale. 39 A slate mould dating from the late fifteenth cenhiry, used to
make pilgrim badges with a representation of the True Image or Vera Icon, is
alsothoughttobeofGermanorigin,perhapsfromtheUpperRhine.40
The associations between badges and pilgrims had long since become
generalisedand,by the time the Libervagatorumwaswritten at thebeginning
of the sixteenthcentury, pilgrim badgeswere associatedto some extentwith
cheats and frauds. As time went by and the metal pilgrim badges were
gradually replaced by little paper pennants, medals and other souvenirs,
figuresportrayed as the wearersofbadgesacquiredan increasinglynegative
image. Remarkablyaccurate informationaboutthree fakepilgrims and their
identifying badges is preserved in the record of evidence given by a prisoner
called Michelvon Dinkelsbuhlin 1517.41 Michelwaspart of the Bundschuhof
1517. Der Bundschuhwerethe four revolutionary plots or conspiraciesof 1493,
1502, 1513 and 1517, which were followed by the peasant uprising of
1524-1525 in south-west Germany. The plots of 1513 and 1517 employed a
wide network of informants, some of whom operated as itinerant beggars.
Michelwastakenprisonerandinterrogated.Hedescribedtheappearanceand
clothingof the conspiratorswithwhomhe hadbeenin contactin astounding
detail. He had evidently been familiar with the activities of tramps and
vagabondsfora considerabletime. Manyofthemcouldberecognisedbytheir
clothes,theirgenuineorcounterfeitdisabilitiesandtheirhabits.Michel'sinter-
rogators obviously attached importance to the tiniest details of his account.
Oneoftheringleaders,hesaid,worea whitecloakedgedwithblackvelvetand

37 '... romisch Veronika und Muscheki'. Boehnke and Johannsmeier 1987, op. cit. note
31,p. 93.
3s K. Koster, Pilgerzeichen und Pilgermuscheln von mittelalterlichen Santiago-Strassen,
Ausgrabungenin Schleswig:Berichte und Studien 2 (Neumiinster, 1983), 141-55;
VanHeeringen,KoldeweijandGaalman1987,op. cit. note 8, especiallypp. 59-63.
39 HorstAppuhn,KlosterWientiausen,BandIV:DerFundvomNonnenchor(Wienhausen,
1973), pp. 19-21 (with additional literahire).
40 J. De Coo, Museum Mayer van den Bergh, Catalogus 2: Beeldhouwkunst, Plaketten, Antiek
(Antwerp, 1969), p. 272 catalogue no. 2347.
41 Albert Rosenkranz, Der Bundschuh, die Erhebun^en dessudwestdeutschen Uauernstandes
in den Jahren 1493-1517, 2 vols. (Heidelberg, 1927).

182
 LiftingtheVeilon PilgrimBadges

couldberecognisedbya silverarrowonhiscap.42Amonghismanyfollowers
werea mancalled KilianRatzwhoseidentifying signwasa white feather inhis
cap, and another man called Allexander, who always wore a black cap with a
giltmedal. 43ThreeofthebeggarswhoworkedfortheBundschuhpretended to
bepilgrims. Oneofthem had two bad legs, wore a tattered black cloak, a black
hatandhadtwopilgrim badgesonhvoboards, oneofOurLadyofEinsiedeln,
the other of St Anne.44 Another, with a long red beard, wore the large, grey
smock of a carter and /vil heiligen' (many saints). According to another tran-
script of the same text 'wol acht zeichen' (as many as eight signs) were on his
hat,- including badges of St Odilia and of the fourteen auxiliary saints (Plate
19).45And finallytherewasa manwitha longcoatthecolour ofiron,with/das
kindlinvanTrienf (theChristChildofTrento) onhisredcap.46
The first three, more secular, capornaments - thearrow, the featherand the
gilt medal - cannot be precisely identified, but contemporary illustrations
show figures from humbler walks of life with similar ornaments, and some
examples have been found in excavations (Plate 15). 47The form of the pilgrim
badges described by Michel can be identified with greater precision. Einsie-
deln was a popular pilgrimage goal, especially in the fifteenth century, and
several variants areknown ofthebadgesshowing the dedicationbyChristand
angels ofthechapel withthemiraculous statue oftheVirginMary (Plate 16)48
Badges ofStAnne wereparticularly associated with Diiren (Plate 17).49The
badge of the fourteen auxiliary saints probably refers to the Vierzehnheiligen
monastery in Franconia, but Jena in Thuringia is another possibility since
badgesrepresenting all fourteen auxiliary saintsplus theInfantJesus,with or
without hismother, were sold atboth places. 50The Odiliabadgewasprobably
from Sankt-Odilienberg in Alsace (Plate 19). 51 The custom of fixing the
extremely fragile lead-tin badges to a piece of wood, mentioned by Michel in
relation to Einsiedeln and St Anne, has been archaeologically documented. A
fir-wood panel measuring 14. 3 by 7.9 cm, discovered in Amsterdam, had the

42 Rosenkranz1927,op.crt.note41,II,p. 269:/. . .einsilberinpfil imbaret'.

43 Rosenkranz 1927, op. cit. note 41, II, p. 279: '. . . ein swarz biret und ein vergulten
pfenning daran'.
44 Rosenkranz1927,op.crt.note41,II,p.280:'... zweizeichenufzweienbrittlin,dasein
unser frauwvon Eynsidel,dasandersanctAnn'.
45 Rosenkranz 1927,op. cit. note 41, II, p. 281: '. . . nemlich die 14nothelfer und unser
Frauwen, sanct Otilien'.
46 Rosenkranz 1927, op. crt. note 41, II, p. 282.
47 VanHeeringen, Koldeweij andGaalman 1987,op. cit. note 8,pp. ^19-20, no. 42.
48 VanHeeringen,KoldeweijandGaalman1987,op.cit.note8,pp.119-20,no. 42.
49 VanBeuningenandKoldeweij1993,op.cit.note8,p 123,no. 23.
50 Kurt K6ster, 'MittelalterlichePilgerzeichen',in WallfahrtkenntkeineGrenzen,ed. L.
Kriss-Rettenbeck and G. Mohler (Miiruch/Zurich, 1984), p. 219, fig. 97 a-b.
51 VanBeuningenandKoldeweij1993,op.cit.note8,p.-182,no.296;E.vanLoon-vande
Moosdijk, 'StOdiiiaaufwesteuropaisi-hen Giocken: Pilgt.'rzeichen aus dem Elii.iss'
Jahrbuchfur Glockenkunde 7-8 (1995/1996), 185-94.
183
 A. M. Koldeweij

badgesofthenorthGermaneucharistpilgrimage destinations, Wilsnackand

Blomberg, nailed onto it (Plate 18).52 Similar boards have been found
elsewhere. 53
Michel's remarkable testimony suggests that badges of all types were
frequently worn by ordinary people, including the more subversive elements
of late medieval society, and were used aspersonal identifiers. The marks of
nine beggars whowere members of the Bundschuhwere recorded in a short
papertitled 'DangerousBeggarscanberecognisedbytheirMarks'(Plates20a,
b andc).54Thisdocument, now in the Generallandesarchiv in Karlsruhe, was
probably written as an appendix to a report on members of the Bundschuh
which was sent by the municipal authorities of Freiburg to the town of
Villingen. 55 The nine marks used as signatures by the conspirators were
described and drawn in this record, and six of them referred to pilgrims and
pilgrimages.Thetraitorsweresaidto'visitthecountrylikebeggars'.Onewore
a cockle-shell with two crossed pilgrim staffs, while the sign of another was a
butcher's chopper stamped with a cockle-shell. 56 The other four included
Michael'sorAachenhorns;a longswordanda Michael'shorn,a scytheandan
Aachenhorn,a Michael'sorAachenhornwithanowlandanotherwitha dung
fork.57In thelateMiddleAgesthesehorns,alongwiththebag,hat,staffand
cape,werepartofa pilgrim's standardequipment. Theyweresmall,trumpet-
like instruments, made of either earthenware or metal, sold at pilgrimage
places and blown by the faithful at reliquary processions and the like (Plate
21). 58Thiscustom wasparticularly well knowninAachen,andinother towns
in the area. Presumably they were also popular at destinations which
venerated StMichael. A pilgrim blowinghishorn isrepresented onone ofthe
romanesque capitals in the abbey at Mont-St-Michel, Normandy, and pilgrim
horns,albeitofa muchlaterdate,havebeenfoundthere.59Thedrawingsofthe
marks show the two types ofhorn that were used: one of them short and only

52 J. Baart, W. Krook, A. Lagerweij, N. Ockers, H. van Regteren Altena, T. Stam, H.

Stoepker,G.Stouthart,M.vanderZwan,OpgravingeninAmsterdam:20jaarstadskern-
onderzoek(Haarlem, 1977), pp. 392-3.
53 U. Muller, HolzfundeausFreiburg/ AugustinerklosterundKonstanz(Shittgart,1996),
p. 180.
54 Rosenkranz1927,op. cit. note41,pp. 292-^,no. 33.
55 Rosenkranz1927,op. cit. note41,p. 291,no. 32.
56 Rosenkranz 1927,op. crt. note 41,pp. 292-94: '. . . in bettlers wis daslant besuchen';
'... einjacobsmuschel und2 jacobsstebcrutzwisdodurch';'...einfleischmesser und
ein muschel dorin'.
57 Rosenkranz1927,op.crt.note41,pp. 292-94:'. ..einmichels-oderacherhomundein
ulendoruf;'. . .einlangschwertundeinmichelshom';'...einmisthackenundein
michels- oder acherhom';'.. . ein senessenund ein acherhom .
58 Van Heerinsen, Koldeweij and Gaalman 1. 987, op. cit. note 8, p. -140;Van Beuningen
and Koldeweij1993,op. cit. note », pp. 305-,, nos.931-8.
59 Fragmentsofredclayhorns(seventeenth oreighteenthcentury) areintheMuseede
Normandie,Caen;C. Quetel, Le Mont-Saint-Michd(Paris,1991),p. 106.

184
 LiftingtheVeilon PilgrimBadges

slightly curving, imitating ivory hunting horns, the other long and narrow,
with one or morecoils, copied from metal horns.
In these cases both pilgrim badges and secular insignia were adopted as
identifiers fornefarious purposes. Pilgrimbadgesmay havebeenparticularly
popular among thelame or deformed. Inanycasetheyhadtheadvantage of
making the trappings ofpoverty respectable and mightencourage donations.
All thesebadgeswereprobably alsoseenaslucky charmsand,inthissense,at
least,theydifferedlittle fromtheexampleswhichwereadoptedbythedevout.
The lead-tin badgeswhichcause most surprise in modern times, and most
interpretative difficulty, are those known as the erotic badges. They include
what would nowadays be seen as deeply offensive parodies of pilgrims and
their signs. Onepopular theme isa vulva - the female sexual organ - disguised
asa pilgrim withthecharacteristic staff,hatandrosary. Thestaffissometimes
surmounted by a phallus (Plate 1, bottom left; Plate 10). 60The visual game is
takenfurthestinthevariantinwhichthevulva-pilgrimhaspinnedonherown
badge,whichis in the form of a phallus (Plate 11).Excavations inbothFrance
and the Netherlands have yielded some ten variants on these lines.
Many of the erotic badges have been found alongside their more strictly
religious fellows. 61They have, also, been found in large numbers and cannot
be regarded asisolated, late-medieval curiosities. Because they are so alien to
modern Europeanlife theyneed to be placedwithintheir own, now extinct,
tradition, and seen in a broad anthropological context. For this reason the
medieval phallicbadgesweredisplayed sidebysidewitha number ofRoman
phallic charms in the Sacred and Profane exhibition at the Boijmans Van
Beuningen Museum in 1993-4. This juxtaposition also served to demonstrate
the high degree of abstraction among Roman erotica, compared with the
almostabsurdly realistic medieval fantasies. Parallels forthe decorative useof
phalluses andphallic animals arebestknown in antiquity, forinstanceinthe
Greek vase decorations of the sixth and fifth centuries BC which include
wingedphalluses,phallicbipedsandquadrupedsandunattachedphalluses. 62
Such representations are generally thought to have been intended to bring
luck and ward off evil. Ofcourse this much older material may not be seen as a
direct precursor of the medieval tradition. However studies of erotic illustra-
tions in themargin ofa Roman de la Rose manuscript ofc. 1350have also inter-
preted them asapotropaic. 63

60 E.PocheandJ.Pesina(ed.), KatalogSbirkyStredovekehoUmeteckehoRemesla(Prosinec,
1986, Onor, 1987),p. 24,catalogue no. 176;VanBeuningen and Koldeweij 1993,op.
cit. note8,p. 264,catalogueno. 663-6.
61 VanBeuningen andKoldeweij 1993,op. cit. note 8,pp. 254-64, figs. 610-68.
62 In addition to the literature cited by Jones(M. Jones, 'Eenanderekijk op profane
insignes',inKoldeweijandWillemsen 1995 opcit. note8,pp 73-4), seeforexample
E, C Keuia, Tte Reiyi ofik" Ph. tlhis: Si'xual Athens
rWf'^ ". A»ic;rn? (Berkeley/Los
Angeles/London,1985).
63 A. M.Koldeweij,'ABarefacedRomandelaRose(Paris,BNMSh-an^ais25526)and
185
 A. M. Koldeweij

Illustrations like these aswell assome later medieval texts, notably in the
Oldftenchfablwux, show that erotic representations were not
restric ted^ to the
formofbadges.64TherearedirectparallelsbetweensomemarginmustratK)ns
and'badges.Ynthemarginofa pagefroma copyofJohannisAndrea,NoueUa^n
Ub'rum't^tium DecretaUum Gregom IX, for instance, there is a winged
beast,a belltiedroundtheshaft,beir
ahuntress;'a~theme whichisalsoknownonbadges(Plate8). 65Otherparallel
are'foundon everyday items suchasutensils, for example a late ^
ce ntury e~arthemware plate (a waster) from Aardenburg in Zeeland, Flanders,
^de"corated"inwhiteandyellow slipwitha largephallus. 66Ofslightly later
date"thelatefifteenthandsixteenthcenturies,arethephallusdrinking gksses
made'm Germany and probably also in the Netherlands lafyo nde Venise^ a

(Plates6 and7).67There'arecountlessotherlatemedievalparallels 1
1 be found inboth literary and visual sources.
"(STthe whoYe~it seems that it isstill quite difficult for us,andespecially for
lie,torealisethatthismaterialhasa placeinourimmediatepast,
in'th'e Christian, late medieval Western world. That is why medieval erotica

some Late Medieval Mass-Produced Badgesof Sexual Con,tent''m, Ftond^ln;

w"n Perspec tive Man'uscript UOOm Flanders and
Hlumination around Abroad,^
^^^T^^'r^'^u^WS^p^^Sl^^th^^^rg^
U^usb'a^ns'se^aiso^Camille, /m.^ on C. Ed^ Th^rS^M^^^
^nd"on7l99^pp"147--9;G. Bartz, A.};amem^d^C. Lange^^^
^Stuttgart/^rkh, 1994), pp, 5^55;M^uUer, M^^^^^^^^^^
rhrhunderts. Pictura Poesis 7 (Cologne/Weimar/
'Z^Uu^7es^undl4''fa et

64 S^wo6f)'s5d ^ in which such analogies are drawn, but without establishing

c^n-'es'P'ondenceTso'obvious astopermitadetaUedinterpreta^on^^o d^n^^

^Td"eS7ep^ntations;arre;Beda'u7l995, ^^^
]^ ^^ote^pP"6^J: vanOs, ;SeksindelMe^euws^a^aux; liter^^
^^e^^^schSgne^^^
8"TO"'^43"For:the/fl «7see°amongothers,R.HowardBloch,TheScandalof-the^
Fa^M7(Chicago^986), whoexplidtly1, tates(p. 63):;Detacheds^xual^gjm^^
integralpartoTth'erepresentation ofthebodyinthefabliauxandmore I
65 ?aeriesxBeiSe que Nationale, MS Lat. 40]4jol. 1. Bedaux^993, op. ^. note^^p. 3^
^dTu^T995-^7;t/note 25;pp. 28-9; Malcolm Jones^-Sex and S^alityjn^ate
MTd^CaUndEarly Modem'Art', m Privatisierung derTmbe: Sexualitat ^fr^n
'Muz'«{,ued"D. Eri'ach,'M.'Reisenleitner andK.Vocelka(Frankfurt amMain,1994),
66 ^fo w in the collection of the Municipal Archeological Museum
at Aardenburg.
^ A^
^"'Aar'denburgse potterbakkerswaar', Mededelinsenblad^ derland^
'V^gmgvTn'VriendenvanSe C^ramiek72(1974),2^12;fig_5^A. ^^ DonSer^t
geTr'Soomerpakdraagteken', inKoldeweijandWillemsen1995,op.cit.note8,
67 ^. Baumgartaer, G;«s dcs spaten Mittelalters: Die Sammhmg KarlAmendt (^eld0^
1987),p. '104,catalogueno. l26;£.Baumgdrcnerandj.Krucger,l;"u"^^»^^^"^
As"ch^Gla7deTMitioelalters (Munich, 1988), pp. 421-2, catalogue no. 530;Koldeweij
1995, op. cit. note 8, pp. 1&-20.
186
 Liftingthe Veilon PilgrimBadges

are frequently unrecognised or misunderstood, or dubbed 'antique', 'Roman'

or 'pagan'. A late medieval woodenphallus dug up on the Norwegiancoast
nearBergenis a casein point,beingpublishedasa toy, amuletor votive gift.68
Reactions to badgesaresimilar. A striking example isfound in the 1976pewter
catalogue of the Kunstgewerbemuseum in Cologne, in which two badges in
the form of winged phallic beasts, one of them with a bell, are classified as late
antique, while an ummistakably medieval phallus of gigantic proportions,
beside a man with a small dog and surrounded by an illegible banderole, is
described as an unidentifiable object. 69 Another medieval erotic badge
remained unrecognised inbothprint runs ofthe exhibition catalogue Stadtluft,
Hirsebrei und Bettelmdnch. 70 This unusual find from Konstanz was described in
thecatalogueas'unclear'andasa 'nude,femalefigure,evidentlya blacksmith,
seeing that she is forging a piece of iron on an anvil in front of a blazing fire'.
What the unclothed female smith is shaping from the incandescent metal is a
winged phallus (Plate 9).
In somecasesthesubjectmatter is ambiguous.Shoulda pin shapedinto an
arrow71ora bowandarrow72beassociatedwithmarksmen'sguildsandsuch
like, or should they be seen - and in my opinion this is more likely - as
amorous or erotic allusions? Is there, for instance, a parallel among erotic
badges with a late sixteenth century tondo by, or in the manner of, Pieter
Bruegel the Younger showing an archer, his bow stretched taut, offering a
gailyplumedarrowtoa ladyleaningagainsta tree(Plates4 and15)?73Canthis
be compared to a badge like the crowned vulva on horseback with a taut
crossbow shown in Plate 5?74
Thisandothereroticbadgesseema farcry from thepilgrimsignsandother
devotional badges. Nevertheless, they all belong to the same large and
extremely varied group of late medieval mass-produced popular jewellery.
Where archeological conditions were conducive to the preservation of late
medieval small metal objects, badges of every category have been found in
close proximity to one another and often in amazingconcentrations. Badges or
brooches which in our eyes have very different themes were worn in the same
society, perhaps even simultaneously by the same people, or by different

68 A. E.Herteig, Kongershavnoghandelssete:Fradearkeologiske undersekelserpaBryggen i

Bergen 1955-68 (Oslo, 1969), fig. 18.
69 H.-U. Haedeke, Zinn(Cologne, 1976),p.56,catalogue nos. 9a-bandp. 74,catalogue
no. 67.
70 M. and N. Fliieler, Stadtluft, Hirsebrei und Bettelmmch: Die Stadt urn 1300
(Zurich/Stuttgart, 1992),pp. 434-5.
71 VanBeuningen andKoldeweij 1993,op.cit. note 8,p. 315, fig. 989.
72 Van Beuningen and Koldeweij 1993, op. cit. note 8, p. 280, fig. 771 and p. 310, figs.
959-61.
'-' Auctioned at Christie's, Amsterdam, in the summer of 1987: oil on panel, tondo,
diameter 16.5 cm. Christie'sInternationalMagazine,May/June1987
74 VanBeuningen and Koldeweij 1993,op.cit. note 8,p. 262, fig. 656.
187
 A. M. Koldeweij

, le inthe same context. All types ofbadgeswereincredibly popular and

^ must all surely have held their place in the late medieval imagination as
luckycharms.'Ingeneral,itseems,badgeswereobjectswitha magicalcharge,
whether religious or proiane. ^ ^ ^
In the late fifteenth century and especially in the sixteenth, the practice .
gences and the indissolubly connected phenomenon of the itinerant
3iS wereseverelyfrownedupon.Theunfavourablelightthisshedonthe
, ii^rim'was "not"entirely due to malpractices within the Roman churcK
A'noVhercausewere the social developments whichculminated in groups '
I vagabonds, likethosedescribed above,beingaccorded thestatus
of^gnms~0n°theone handsocietyexcludedtheimpoverished^labellmg the
-^s"such-byobligingthemtowearbadgesverysimilartopilgrimbadges
[plate'22); ontheother"handthepooropportunistically exploited theimage
and concomitantadvantagesof the pilgrim.

TranslatedfromtheDutchby RuthKoenig.

188