Devotional

Pilgrim badges were made in large quantities during the medieval period, eagerly purchased by the growing crowds of pilgrims as visible evidence of their journeys of faith. This triptych may have served as an object of personal devotion on return from pilgrimage. Kings Lynn was a major stopping point on the Pilgrims trail with nearby Walsingham known one of the holiest places in England alongside Canterbury, it was visited by many English monarchs including Edward II, Edward III, Henry VII and Henry VIII. The collection is very strong within the service and especially so at Lynn Museum, this is mainly thanks to Thomas Pung, a jeweller in Kings Lynn in the 19th century who paid local children to search the mud of the Purfleet for dropped badges.