St Leonard

Pilgrim badge from the shrine of St Leonard at Saint-Leonard-de-Noblat, France. This badge is in shape of a prison tower. St Leonard is depicted listening to the prayers of a manacled prisoner. At the top is an inscription on the battlements of the tower: ‘LEONARDI’. The back is decorated with a cross pattée. There are two circular stitching loops at the bottom, and two angled loops (one missing) at the top which double as supports for the battlements. These loops would have been used to sew the badge onto a pilgrim’s clothes. St Leonard is shown standing on the right, with his right hand raised in a gesture of blessing. A naked prisoner kneels on the left. Manacles hang from the wall above his head.

St Leonard of Noblac was known as a liberator of prisoners and is often shown with fetters or manacles. His shrine at Saint-Leonard-de-Noblat in France was covered in fetters from the many prisoners who had offered them in thanks for their release. It was a popular stopping-off point for pilgrims on their way to the shrine of St James at Santiago de Compostela in Spain.