The Virgin Mary

Part of a pilgrim badge from a shrine of the Virgin Mary. The badge has a lozenge-shaped beaded frame and a depiction of a lily pot (the lily flower was the symbol of purity and innocence and was an emblem of the Virgin Mary). A lily growing from a pot often appears in scenes of the Annunciation (the moment when the Angel Gabriel announced to the Virgin Mary that she was to give birth to Christ). On the pot is the word ‘AVE’ (‘Hail’) and a crowned ‘M’ for Mary. This is a reference to Gabriel’s greeting to Mary during the Annunciation. The Virgin was thought of as the Queen of Heaven and a universal protector. Most churches had an image of the Virgin Mary as a focus for worship and some cult figures became pilgrimage sites, attracting visitors from beyond their local area. It is uncertain where this badge of the Virgin and Child was produced – there were many cults of Our Lady in medieval England and abroad.