Badge, devotional badge

Badge with openwork design, depicting a pelican 'in its piety', feeding three young birds in a nest, set within a circular frame with a beaded outer edge. The pelican was believed to pierce its own breast to nourish its young with its blood – perhaps a misunderstanding of a bird seen plucking its breast feathers to line its nest. The bird therefore came to symbolise Christ, who shed His blood for the sins of mankind. It also symbolised the blood of Christ during the celebration of the Eucharist. This badge is probably not a pilgrim badge from a particular shrine – it is more likely to be an aid to religious devotion.