St John the Baptist

Pilgrim badge of St John the Baptist from the shrine at Amiens in France. The cult began at Amiens in 1206 when the crusader Walon de Sarton brought back part of John the Baptist’s skull and its silver dish after the sack of Constantinople. Pilgrims flocked to Amiens cathedral to see the relic and bought souvenirs of their visit. This badge is in the form of a circular plaque with four stitching loops, which would have been used to sew the badge onto a pilgrim’s clothes. In the centre of the badge is the over-sized head of John the Baptist, which is being held by a priest standing behind it. The head has a cleft chin, rounded cheeks and hair which falls down each side of the face to the level of the saint’s smiling mouth. The head is flanked by two angels who are kneeling and holding lighted torches. This scene probably represents the annual ceremony held on the saint’s birthday (24 June) and the following two days, when the head was shown to pilgrims. The pilgrims would have been able to touch the head with their badges, thus absorbing some of John the Baptist’s virtue.