Radboud University Nijmegen builds pilgrim database of Medieval pilgrim signs
The Kunera website – containing the Nijmegen University research project of the same name – gives access to a database including more than 15,000 badges and ampullae of both religious and profane nature. The places of pilgrimage and the locations of the objects found have been mapped making visible the objects' distribution and the people's travelling behaviour at a single glance.
These badges and ampullae are material witnesses of the rich and interesting visual culture of the Late Middle Ages. Although these days no more than some unique copies or some recovered identical specimens are involved, at the time they were made they were produced in series sometimes even leading to mass production. Depictions on badges and ampullae vary from images of Christ, Maria and various saints to utensils, plants and animals as well as images related to literature and even sexuality. Pilgrimage souvenirs that were made in the one place and got lost in the other give a clear view of people's travelling behaviour in those days. Where were pilgrims travelling to? What distances were covered?
For more information please visit www.kunera.nl.
