True or False: Medieval pilgrims often wore badges or symbols showing where they had been.

The story behind the answer

Pilgrims to famous shrines commonly bought or received inexpensive pewter badges to pin on their hats or cloaks, each bearing the shrine’s emblem: the scallop shell of Santiago de Compostela, a sword or mitre for Thomas Becket at Canterbury, the Jerusalem cross, or little flasks (ampullae) filled with blessed water or oil. These served as visible proof of the journey, devotional keepsakes believed to carry protective power, and sometimes as de facto “passes” signaling piety and safe intent on the road.

Mass-produced in molds near major shrines from the 12th to 15th centuries, badges were the medieval equivalent of souvenir merch and helped fund the holy sites. Archaeologists find thousands in rivers like the Thames—lost on bridges or perhaps deliberately cast off at journey’s end.