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Copyright of Specula is the property of SPECULA UCV and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Studia Academica Šumenensia is the property of Konstantin Preslavsky University of Shumen and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Archeologické Rozhledy is the property of Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Institute of Archaeology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Migrating from Greek mythology to scripture and ecclesiastical writing, sirens are best known for the perils they put on the road of Odysseus, and conversely, on that of the crucified Christ and on that of the pilgrim, two significations that Odysseus, the eternal voyageur tied to the mast, came to symbolize in the Middle Ages. Long acknowledged in past scholarship, the siren motif was perceived of as a multi-layered image, whose negative Homeric connotations suited an even vaster range of destructive meanings, moral, social and political. More than sheer misogyny, the hybrid sirens represent violation of social order, mainly that of the manly world. It is therefore no coincidence to find them dwelling in the biblical debauched town of Babylon, and in the land of Edom, destined to be destroyed, alongside hybrid centaurs, both in the Septuagint and in the Vulgate. These beasts gained much popularity throughout the Middle Ages, and embody the ultimate significance of evil in the medieval bestiary, as well as in a wide-ranging exegetical literature. This development may stand for the immense dispersion of the siren motif in Romanesque sculpture. Meant at an edifying purpose, sirens associated with urban destruction, lust, and avarice, signify the menace of sin they seduce humanity to fall into. The virtuous Christian, recognizing the long-enduring classical motif in its new Christian context should take the paradigm of Odysseus in his Christological typology, and restrain from evil. Though constituting a rather popular motif of Romanesque sculpture in general, sirens seem to inhabit many of the churches of the Auvergne and the Velay regions of France, along pilgrimage shrines, located lengthwise the Via Podiensis and crosswise routes, thus forming a marked feature of the local imagery. More than sheer enthusiasm for the antique, as past scholarship would have it, sirens seem to have chanted a very specific local chant in Auvergne-Velay. Constituting a major motif, which testifies to a profound understanding of their contextual implications, they represent a multifaceted image, denoting didactic, apotropaic, liturgical, social, and political messages. The context of pilgrimage and pilgrimage roads seems to have constituted a perfect setting for this multitude of sirens. The Via Podiensis was known as particularly uninviting. The mountainous topography, infested with thieves and brigands, provided lucrative opportunities of ambushing pilgrims on their way. It is the purpose of this paper to uncover the versatile imports of the siren antique motif in Romanesque Auvergne-Velay, by pointing out their meticulous perplexing delineation in the context of actual hardships pilgrims and congregants endured within pilgrimage shrines and roads. The first part of this paper will survey the range of allegorical significances of sirens from Homer to Jerome and to medieval exegeses, followed by a description of sirens in Auvergne-Velay. Then, I would like to suggest a new reading of the particular rendering of sirens in the small church of Pont-du-Château and in the pilgrimage church of Notre-Dame of Orcival, which may bear a local historical significance, resulting from the conflicting situations of pilgrims, on their way to worship the celestial realm.

The article presents a report from an April 21-25, 2015 conference in Weingarten, Germany on the history of holy objects and saints hosted by the hagiography department of Rottenburg-Stuttgart diocese academy and the Middle Ages and Early Modern sacrality and sacralization working group of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft research society. Topics of presentations delivered included the design and use of cast metal pilgrims' badges in the Middle Ages, descriptions of relics in the medieval manuscript "Flores epytaphii sanctorum" by Thiofried von Echternach, and the deification of swami Vidyatirtha of the Srngeri Hindu temple in India as the god Svayambu-Linga.

The article presents a study that investigates the existence of pilgrim medieval badges in the rivers. It states that the evidences of badges in rivers suggest that numerous pilgrims cannot distinguished the distinction of venerable images which are mass produced and those sold in pilgrimage centers. Moreover, it cites that pilgrims' metal signs are evidences of the development of image theory.

The development of devotion to saints and the development of pilgrimage are closely linked. The urge to mark one's pilgrimage can be traced from the 11th century. Before then, pilgrimage souvenirs were made of fragile materials: ceramic or glass ampullas, pieces of cloth, earth, palm leaves and similar. In the period between the 11th and 15th century, we can observe the development of pilgrim badges made of lead and tin alloys. At the beginning, such badges represented a certain personal status symbol. In the 14th century, their mass production began, and in the 15th century they obtained the role of amulets or ornaments. Pilgrim pendants are tin objects which were worn as pendants on a ribbon, or sewn onto clothes. Their shape and method of production do not allow their classification in the medal category, but put them much closer to pilgrim badges. This paper presents eight pilgrim pendants found within the territory of Croatia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Archeologické Rozhledy is the property of Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Institute of Archaeology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

It is highly probable that Gutenberg came to the idea of mass producing books via his involvement with another mass production enterprise - the production of wildly popular, and affordable, pilgrim badges. Little notice has, however, been given to this important component of Gutenberg's expertise and career trajectory. Similar, to a certain extent, to modern-day souvenirs, these late medieval mementos of pilgrimages were, in addition, coveted tokens of piety, devotion, and belief, not unlike manuscripts and books, which, both before and after Gutenberg's revolution, were prized and revered objects. In the course of examining the relevance, to the development of moveable type, of Gutenberg's involvement with the manufacture and marketing of mirror pilgrim badges, consideration will also be given to the expertise in metalworking he brought to both tasks, as well as to the ways in which beliefs about mirrors and their imagined magical powers relate to printing and reading. Gutenberg's achievement will be presented accordingly not as an isolated invention, but rather as an achievement reflecting his having been influenced by, and having capitalized on, the convergence of several technologies and manufacturing enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on an April 2010 conference in Prague, Czech Republic, titled "Medieval Pilgrim Badges. Prospects of European Research - Perspektiven der europäischen Pilgerzeichenforschung." The meeting addressed such topics as European pilgrimage medallions, such medals discovered in the southern Baltic region, and the use of metal detectors to locate the badges.

The article focuses on the study regarding materials used and their meanings in pilgrims' signs, including badges, tokens and ampullae, which were made of lead. It states that most of the signs acquired by pilgrims as souvenirs are made out of lead, because the material is inexpensive, faster to produce and malleable. It cites that signs were prevalent across Europe, including the miracle collections, wherein its origins and usage were traced in the late Middle Ages. Wearing of signs believed to have started with the use of scallop shells from a pilgrimage in Santiago de Compostela.

The article discusses a 13th-century document signed by Pope Gregory IX in 1228, which deals with the rights of the chapter of St. Peter's Cathedral with regard to the production and distribution of pilgrim badges. After providing background information on the social and historical significance of medieval pilgrim batches and on the administrative processes involved in papal grants in the Middle Ages, the author points out that, unlike similar, previous papal decrees, this source was not entered into the papal registry of legal documents. He suggests possible historiographical interpretations as to the meaning of this fact.

The article explores connections to possible pilgrimages in the manuscript "Belles Heures" commissioned by Jean de Berry. It discusses marks possibly left by Jean de Berry and the manuscript illuminators, the Limbourg brothers, on the manuscript of Belles Heures which started in the form of badges imprinted on a blank page. The imprints of the badges appearing in the manuscript are described and the late 15th century practice of adding badges commemorating pilgrimages to devotional books is also explored.