Pilgrim badges and ampullae
Signacula
- Known today as
- Small badges of lead and tin, and tiny flasks called ampullae, sold at shrines as tokens of pilgrimage.
- Kind
- Sacramental, in 1 older authority
- Earliest authority here
- The Catholic Encyclopedia (New York, 1907–1914)
Revised October 1, 2026: An authority added from a text read in full. Version 1, first published September 28, 2026.
Pilgrim badges and ampullae: what was it used for?
Pinned to the hat or cloak as proof of the journey and as protection; the ampullae held holy water or oil from the shrine, like the “water of St. Thomas” of Canterbury, mixed with a trace of Becket’s blood.
Pilgrim badges and ampullae: what does modern science say?
Shrines still sell medals and badges as tokens of pilgrimage.
What Medicine Makes of It
- The Cures at LourdesSeven thousand claims, seventy miracles, and the criteria of Benedict XIV.
Pilgrim badges and ampullae: what lore surrounds it?
The scallop shell of Santiago became the pilgrim’s emblem. Thousands of badges have been recovered from the Thames and the rivers of the Low Countries, some perhaps cast in deliberately.
Pilgrim badges and ampullae: what did the older authorities say?
- The Catholic Encyclopedia
- The Catholic Encyclopedia records that at Compostela “the custom of those who bore back with them from Galicia scallop shells as proofs of their journey gradually extended to every form of pilgrimage,” and that the old feast of St. James “is still celebrated by the boys of London with their grottos of oyster shells.” In the article on medals it notes that a pilgrim's “insignia” were blessed, “but by this term were only meant his scrip and staff … not the leaden tokens,” and that “the gradual substitution of more artistic bronze and silver medals for the rude pilgrim's signs at such great sanctuaries as Loreto or St. Peter's, did much to help on the general acceptance of medals as objects of devotion.”
Sources
- Spencer, B. (1998). Pilgrim Souvenirs and Secular Badges. London: Museum of London. Book, seen in reviews
- The Catholic Encyclopedia (New York, 1907–1914), “Pilgrimages.” newadvent.org/cathen/12085a.htm Standard reference work
- The Catholic Encyclopedia (New York, 1907–1914), “Medals, Devotional.” newadvent.org/cathen/10111b.htm Standard reference work
Verification
- Checked
- October 1, 2026
- Passes
- Every dated or regulatory claim checked by category across the database
- Each quotation from the older authorities checked word for word against the text, read in full
- Sources
- 3 cited: 2 standard reference work, 1 book, seen in reviews.
- Corrections
- None were needed.
What was checked, how, and what was found is set out on the Verification page. A checked source is one whose record was found; it does not make the entry medical advice.
Cite This Entry
Version 1 · first published September 28, 2026 · last revised October 1, 2026
- Chicago
“Pilgrim badges and ampullae.” In Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1. The Thinking Press, 2026–. Last modified October 1, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/pilgrim-badges.
- MLA
“Pilgrim badges and ampullae.” Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema, version 1, The Thinking Press, 1 Oct. 2026, thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/pilgrim-badges. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.
- APA
Pilgrim badges and ampullae. (2026, October 1). In B. C. P. Statema (Ed.), Materia medica (Version 1). The Thinking Press. Retrieved October 8, 2026, from https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/pilgrim-badges
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See Also
Also in The Catholic Encyclopedia
The prologue of John in The Catholic Encyclopedia · Paschal candle in The Catholic Encyclopedia · The Roman Ritual in The Catholic Encyclopedia · Palm and olive branches in The Catholic Encyclopedia · everything The Catholic Encyclopedia names →
Drawing on the same sources: Spencer
Nearby in the alphabet
Plantain (Plantago major) · Pilewort · Poison fire coral (finger-like fungus of Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia) · Periwinkle (the lesser periwinkle, a trailing evergreen with blue flowers) · Pokeweed (the American pokeweed) · Peony (the kind formerly grown for its medicinal root) · Polypody of mercurialis, syrup of · Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium)
Historical description, not medical advice.