Pilgrim Souvenirs And Secular Badges (Medieval Finds from Excavations in London) - Hardcover

Spencer, Brian

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0112905749 ISBN 13: 9780112905745

Publisher: The Stationery Office/Tso, 1998

Synopsis

This is the first major catalogue in English devoted to medieval badges. These fascinating objects provide us with a guide to the popularity of different cults and pilgrim centres, supplying evidence of the sometimes arduous journeys not only to famous and far-off sanctuaries like Compostela, but to native shrines such as that of St Thomas Becket at Canterbury, or the tombs of local, unofficial saints. Often mass-produced and sold in tens of thousands, pilgrim souvenirs offer pointers to fashion in contemporary precious jewellery. The secular badges include a wealth of non-religious imagery, playful and amatory, satirical, celebratory and heraldic. Illustrating nearly 800 items of popular medieval jewellery, the catalogue contained within the book describes previously unpublished finds retrieved from datable archaeological London waterfront deposits, and provides the basis of a chronological framework for future excavations.BRIAN SPENCER was the Senior Keeper at the Museum of London, with special responsibility for the Museum's collection of medieval everyday objects.

About this title

About the Author:

BRIAN SPENCER was the Senior Keeper at the Museum of London, with special responsibility for the Museum's collection of medieval everyday objects.

Review:

It is good to see that these riches - long concealed in the layers of mud beneath our capital city - have been excavated, restored and put on view. --The Art Newspaper

[A] valuable volume. --Mediaevistik

The need for more copies of this invaluable reference work in the wake of the success of the Portable Antiquities Scheme is evident. --Medieval Archaeology

About this edition

• Publisher: The Stationery Office/Tso
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0112905749
• ISBN 13: 9780112905745
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 362