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A short thread about a rather special find that I made in November of 2018. I discovered this small copper alloy item in a field that several of the Roman brooches that I shared earlier came from. It’s very fragile & to begin with, I had no idea what it was...
..I could see the tower to the left & a figure to the right, but I had no idea of its significance. A friend told me that it was a pilgrim badge, which has since been confirmed by the Birmingham museum. The figure is a representation of Saint Barbara & her tower...
..Saint Barbara was an early Christian Greek Saint & martyr. Today she is the patron saint of armourers, artillerymen, military engineers, miners, people who work with explosives & mathematicians. According to legend, Barbara was the daughter of a rich pagan man named Dioscorus..
..her father kept her locked up in a tower to protect her from the outside world. Unbeknownst to Dioscorus, Barbara had secretly converted to Christianity. When he discovered his daughters conversion, he attempted to kill her...
..but Barbara’s prayers created an opening in the towers wall & she was miraculously transported to a mountain gorge where 2 shepherds watched their flocks. Dioscorus hunted his daughter, but she was protected by the first shepherd. The second shepherd however, betrayed Barbara..
..for doing this, the second shepherd was turned into stone & his flock was changed to locusts. Bit harsh on the sheep if you ask me 
Following her capture, Barbara was cruelly tortured, but she stayed true to her Christian faith & every morning her wounds were healed..
Following her capture, Barbara was cruelly tortured, but she stayed true to her Christian faith & every morning her wounds were healed..
..eventually Barbara was condemned to beheading, her father, Dioscorus, carried out the sentence. As punishment for this, during his journey home, he was struck by lightning & his body was consumed by flames...
..this particular badge depicting Saint Barbara & her tower dates from the late medieval period, between the years 1400 & 1500 to be more accurate. I often think about the pilgrim it would once have belonged to & how it came to rest where I found it..
.. as it happens, a 15th century French retelling of Barbara’s story credits her with 13 miracles, many of which reflect the security she offered that her devotees would not die before making confession. This version of the legend would’ve been about the time the badge was made..
..And if the person whose badge this belonged to was hoping for some divine intervention for that very reason, I really hope that it served them well 
