Medieval pilgrims’ badges in rivers: the curious history of a non-theory

Abstract

Medieval pilgrims’ badges are most often found in water. The idea that pilgrims tossed their badges into rivers analogously to modern tourists tossing coins into fountains is often accepted uncritically. As scholars in other fields increasingly take interest in pilgrims’ badges, this idea provides an unreliable art historical foundation for interdisciplinary studies. Investigation into the emergence of this theory reveals not only that is it unsupported by evidence, but that it was not necessarily embraced even by those writers who popularized it. This essay suggests that the theory of ritual deposition was intended to be appealingly familiar to a lay audience. Another interpretation, compatible with modern archaeology and visual studies, may now prove more satisfying to both lay and professional audiences in the twenty-first century.

Keywords

• badges
• pilgrimage
• archaeology
• rivers
• Canterbury
• London