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Abstract
Tracing the devotional beliefs and practices of everyday people during the late Middle Ages through documents is tricky, as most were written with other purposes in mind. To make up for this, it is necessary to examine the abundant material culture that survives from this period. By analyzing a variety of finds and comparing them with well-known objects used by the upper classes, it becomes evident that ordinary people shared the same religious views and practices. Both classes were interested in pieces that inspired active devotional and amuletic practice. They were intended to be gazed at and handled, then rested on a tabletop or nailed to a wall. Some folded, some rang, some could be blown through, while others were gazed upon. Lower quality materials and production of pieces had no impact on their ultimate use in the home.
Highlights
Ages through documents is tricky, as most were written with other purposes in mind
Some pilgrim badges with moveable parts, such as the tiny swords with scabbards produced at Canterbury as souvenirs of the martyrdom of Becket and at Mont-St-Michel as an emblem of the Archangel Michael, were not necessarily designed to create a personal devotional object (Spencer 1998, pp. 93–9, cat. 66–72c)
Koldeweij 2006, pp. 153–57, on coinage adopted for pilgrimage and amuletic which attached to a larger chain, though there are instances of suspensory loops dangling miniature reasons)
Summary
“It is notoriously difficult to assess how well ordinary people of the late-medieval period understood the theological significance of the mass—or the basic tenets of their faith in general”. This essay proposes a way to begin to fill this somewhat-overlooked area by examining how mass production of interactive pieces, with similar forms and iconography as more-expensive objects, reveals that the lower classes were aware of and up-to-date on the latest developments in personal devotion and amuletic practice. Some pilgrim badges with moveable parts, such as the tiny swords with scabbards produced at Canterbury as souvenirs of the martyrdom of Becket and at Mont-St-Michel as an emblem of the Archangel Michael, were not necessarily designed to create a personal devotional object For public display, attached to clothes, or worn around the neck.4 At times, though, their owners transformed them into private devotional objects.
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