Medieval Pilgrim badge pendant "Phallus-Ship".
Here you can buy a detailed replica of a pilgrim badge pendant from the Middle Ages that shows a ship with several penises.
This extraordinary medieval pendant with phallus ship was made after a historical model dating from
1350 to 1425 AD and is now in the possession of the Langbroek, Van Breuningen collection.
Link to the original Phallus-Ship...
The pilgrim badge shows a ship with penis birds in the rigging, manned by penis sailors. It
represents a satire on a popular pilgrim badge from Canterbury, showing St Thomas Becket sailing back home from exile in England. Thomas Beckett, as St Thomas is known, was one of the most revered figures in medieval England.
Link to the original pilgrim badge...
He became very popular among the people of England immediately after his murder by the
Knights Henry 2. The murder caused great public outrage and Becket was soon canonized as a holy martyr.
In the context of the spread of the cult of Thomas Becket,
many pilgrim badges were also created for those pilgrims who visited those holy places where St Thomas had stayed.
The medieval pendant has an eyelet on the back to attach it to clothing or to wear it
as a pendant around the neck. The badge can also be sewn onto the garment very well at the various openings. A black leather strap in 1 m length is included.
The medieval phallus ship
measures 2.7 x 2.7 cm.
You can buy this pilgrim's badge in
bronze or in real
silver-plated.
Alternatively, also available in 925
sterling silver (Please note the delivery time).
Alloy...
The phallus ship is a parody of a Christian pilgrimage symbol, which parodically depicts a story from the
life of St. Thomas, who returns to England on a ship.
The creator of the phallus ship thereby took aim at the
sanctimonious attitude of his medieval contemporaries and at the same time alluded to the motif of the "ship of fools", which became widespread in the Middle Ages.
Thomas Becket, also known as St Thomas of Canterbury, was
murdered in 1170 AD. He was once a close friend of King Henry II, but as a later archbishop, he became embroiled in a long-running dispute with the royal family over the distribution of power between the church and the monarchy.
Becket was eventually put to the sword in front of the altar in
Canterbury Cathedral by King Henry II's knights, who, it is unclear, had over-interpreted an angry pronouncement by their king. Only three years after the deed, Becket was canonized.
Numerous European churches are dedicated to St Thomas or bear his name, and his life has been adapted into various historical novels and plays
Because of his popularity, Canterbury became one of the
largest pilgrimage centres in medieval Europe and miracles were often attributed to St Thomas because of his popularity with pilgrims.
Subsequently, St Thomas became the patron saint of the
English monarchy, particularly in relation to their French ambitions. In 1415, after the Battle of Azincourt, Henry V personally came to Canterbury Cathedral to thank Thomas Becket for his war victory.