The Role and Importance of Medieval Pilgrim Badges: The Case of the Badges of Wilsnack
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| Year of publication | 2022 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | The town of Wilsnack has become a major pilgrimage site when three, supposedly intact hosts were discovered after a fire in the local church, each with a drop of blood in the middle. Word soon spread that the blood is the blood of Christ and the hosts have healing powers. Pilgrims began arriving in the town. The hosts were subsequently consecrated by the local bishop, as to avoid idolatry and pilgrimages were approved by the Pope. On-site, many pilgrims bought so-called pilgrim badges. Such badges were common in medieval society. They had ecclesiastical as well as secular origins and had a significant informative value towards the surroundings of their wearer. Wilsnack badges have been found in various places within Germany and outside its borders. They are also depicted in many paintings and statues of saints in Germany. The purpose of this paper would be to look more closely at the role of Wilsnack badges in medieval society, the non-verbal message they carried and, if possible, to compare written records describing these badges. |
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