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Actions Displays	Pilgrim badge Remove from selection Add to selection Reproduction Download mediaDownload as zip file Object number21754.1145 TitlePilgrim badge DescriptionThis intricately detailed sculpture is a pilgrim’s badge dating from c1380-1430. It is a copy of the Rood of Grace from the long defunct Boxley Abbey near Maidstone in Kent. The pilgrim badge is a fine example of the Cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. The figure of Christ is cast in minute detail: above His crown of thorns hangs a plaque with the letters ‘INRI’ – from the Latin for ‘Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.’ There are delicate trefoil shapes around the edges of the cross and a tiny figure of a pilgrim reaching towards the alter, rosary beads in hand. So much to look at in an object that measures only 9cm. Medieval society was made up of God-fearing individuals. People believed that prayer, piety and pilgrimage helped to save them from the dreadful abyss of hell. The primary purpose of pilgrimage was to seek out the power that saintly relics were believed to hold. Pilgrims purchased badges, staff heads and other souvenirs – treasured mementoes of the journey and a useful source of funds for the shrine itself. Some of the most visited shrines sold up to 100,000 badges per year. The Rood of Grace at Boxley Abbey had a life-sized figure of Christ very much like the one on the badge. The Abbey was visited by large numbers of pilgrims travelling from London en route to Canterbury to see the shrine of St Thomas Becket. It was taken down in 1538 during the dissolution of the monasteries on the orders of Henry VIII. Production placeEngland Production date 1380 - 1430 Object nameBadge MaterialPewter Dimensions Height: 90 mm

Reproduction

Download mediaDownload as zip file

Object number21754.1145

TitlePilgrim badge

DescriptionThis intricately detailed sculpture is a pilgrim’s badge dating from c1380-1430. It is a copy of the Rood of Grace from the long defunct Boxley Abbey near Maidstone in Kent. The pilgrim badge is a fine example of the Cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. The figure of Christ is cast in minute detail: above His crown of thorns hangs a plaque with the letters ‘INRI’ – from the Latin for ‘Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.’ There are delicate trefoil shapes around the edges of the cross and a tiny figure of a pilgrim reaching towards the alter, rosary beads in hand. So much to look at in an object that measures only 9cm. Medieval society was made up of God-fearing individuals. People believed that prayer, piety and pilgrimage helped to save them from the dreadful abyss of hell. The primary purpose of pilgrimage was to seek out the power that saintly relics were believed to hold. Pilgrims purchased badges, staff heads and other souvenirs – treasured mementoes of the journey and a useful source of funds for the shrine itself. Some of the most visited shrines sold up to 100,000 badges per year. The Rood of Grace at Boxley Abbey had a life-sized figure of Christ very much like the one on the badge. The Abbey was visited by large numbers of pilgrims travelling from London en route to Canterbury to see the shrine of St Thomas Becket. It was taken down in 1538 during the dissolution of the monasteries on the orders of Henry VIII.

Production placeEngland

Production date 1380 - 1430

Object nameBadge

MaterialPewter

Dimensions

Height: 90 mm