Medieval badges bearing obscene motifs.
Medieval badges bearing obscene motifs. kunera.nl

Medieval badges and their risqué designs

A look at the badges people wore in the Middle Ages reveals many designs that one would not normally associate with the period: fantastic creatures made out of genitalia call into question how prudish people really were in medieval times.

Jasmin Mollet

Jasmin Mollet

Jasmin Mollet is an art historian currently working as an assistant curator at Basel Historical Museum

These badges from the late Middle Ages are cast in tin-lead alloy, are hardly bigger than a franc coin and come with a pin or eyelet so they can be attached to clothing. Thousands of these badges were mass produced from the 12th to the mid-16th century. These small trinkets are still being found near water today, mainly in the Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom and Scandinavia and are entered in the kunera.nl online database.

The small accessories come in all shapes and sizes. They include simple ornaments, depictions of animals or badges in the form of the scallop shell. People acquired the badges with the scallop shell or other sacred depictions at holy sites. The small tin-lead symbol reminded pilgrims of the site they had visited and revitalised them with its powers. By attaching the badge to their clothing, people carried its inherent powers up close to their body, giving them the strength to continue their journey.
Badge made from tin-lead alloy in the shape of a scallop shell, the person portrayed is the apostle James the Greater. Spain, 1450-1500.
Badge made from tin-lead alloy in the shape of a scallop shell, the person portrayed is the apostle James the Greater. Spain, 1450-1500. kunera.nl
However, among the pilgrims’ motifs and the decorative, brooch-shaped badges are many more risqué designs: genitalia with arms and legs attached converted into fantastic creatures. A vulva riding a horse and taking aim at itself with a bow and arrows. A winged penis wearing a crown with a bell around its neck. Three penises walking together in procession carrying a crowned vulva on a litter.
Procession of three phallic figures carrying a crowned vulva on a litter. Bruges, 1375-1424.
Procession of three phallic figures carrying a crowned vulva on a litter. Bruges, 1375-1424. kunera.nl
A vulva figure dressed as a pilgrim with rosary in one hand and pilgrim’s staff in the other.
A vulva figure dressed as a pilgrim with rosary in one hand and pilgrim’s staff in the other. kunera.nl
When we see these designs today, they raise all sorts of questions: how can it be that genitalia were so openly on display in the allegedly prudish Middle Ages? Is the procession maybe a glorification of the female gender or is it a parody of the veneration of saints by the church?

The badges are not the only objects from the Middle Ages with the power to provoke and that are present in obscene as well as in sacred settings. Many medieval churches do not only have sculptures from biblical stories, there are also naked figures, with their vulvas in full view, gargoyle waterspouts with their bare backsides sticking out or holding an erect member by hand. The prominent pudenda of the sheela-na-gigs in the United Kingdom are supposed to encourage the fertility of the land and Christian community. Meanwhile, the obscene figures in the churches on the Camino de Santiago protect the places of worship from demonic forces, using their grotesque expressions and surprising nudity to shock the demons and drive them away.

This tactic of fighting fire with fire also applies to the badges. Art historian Ruth Melinkoff even contended that the pilgrims wore the badges displaying genitalia together with the Christian pilgrim badges as extra protection against demonic forces. This position is backed up by both types of badge (religious and obscene) having been found at the same sites meaning they were made on the same premises. However, whether a demon was really shocked by a winged penis or riding vulva, which appear rather tame when compared to the grotesque church sculptures is another question. According to another theory, the genitalia are intended to satirise Christian activities, such as processions or pilgrimages. They should be seen as objects of discussion and humour and not taken too seriously.
Obscene gargoyle waterspout at the Hospital de los Reyes Católicos in Santiago de Compostela.
Obscene gargoyle waterspout at the Hospital de los Reyes Católicos in Santiago de Compostela. Wikimedia / Luis Miguel Bugallo Sánchez
Humorous depictions of an upside-down world where monkeys play music, hares hunt people or snails rule the world, can be found in the margins of many illuminated manuscripts from the Middle Ages. The secular and the sacred intermingle there as well: there are Christian texts, Liturgies of the Hours and psalms for example, with fantastic drawings in the margins as well as tales from the Bible. The illuminators’ fantasy seems to have known no bounds: nuns pick phalluses from trees and monks do their business directly above the heads of kissing couples. These illustrations bore the closest resemblance to the badges in the Middle Ages. The depiction of a flying phallus with wings, legs, a crown and a bell around its neck, exists both as a badge and as an illustration in a Code of Canon Law.
Phallus-picking nuns in the margins of the ‘Roman de la rose’ (medieval French poem) from the 13th century.
Phallus-picking nuns in the margins of the ‘Roman de la rose’ (medieval French poem) from the 13th century. Bibliothèque nationale de France
The portrayal of genitalia in a Christian setting was thus far from unusual in the Middle Ages. So, maybe we are actually more prudish today than people were in medieval times to be so surprised to find these depictions in a Christian context. The interpretation of the badges is impaired as we now see images differently, especially those depicting private parts. So, must we view the portrayal of genitalia as not being obscene to understand the ‘obscene’ badges?
Illustration in the Decretals of Gregory IX of 1392
Winged phallic animal wearing a crown and a bell around its neck. Netherlands, 1375-1424.
The flying phallus with wings, legs, a crown and bell around its neck exists as a badge and as an illustration in the Decretals of Gregory IX of 1392. Bibliothèque Nationale de France Bibliothèque Nationale de France / kunera.nl
Put yourself in the place of a pilgrim in the late medieval period: you go on a pilgrimage to a holy site and see various badges for sale at a stall. Besides the holy figures and scallop shells, you find some small badges showing fantastic creatures made from genitalia, an obscene saying or turn of phrase. You smirk and think of your friends at home. What a great talking point it would be at the next carnival or similar. Because the upside-down world portrayed in the marginal illustrations of illuminated manuscripts comes to life at the carnival. Ultimately, that is what three penises carrying a crowned vulva in a procession comes down to: unbridled jester’s licence. The private parts detach themselves from the body and create their own fantasy world.
Upside-down world: the margins of the Alexander romance of 1338-1410 are replete with all kinds of strange drawings, for example hares hunting people as shown above.
Upside-down world: the margins of the Alexander romance of 1338-1410 are replete with all kinds of strange drawings, for example hares hunting people as shown above. Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
The large number of badges still around today shows that it wasn’t against the rules to wear these designs and that they were probably not worn only at carnival. The emblems are also so diverse that they cannot be for just one purpose or have just one meaning for everyone. Still, one thing is certain: the pins on the back, some of which have remained intact, show that people openly wore these badges on their clothing. That means these statement pieces were a conversation starter and prompted mirth on occasion – highly eye-catching accessories.

Published on: 23.05.2024

Modified on: 07.10.2025

URL: https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/en/2024/05/medieval-badges-and-their-risque-designs/

More of: Middle AgesReligionSocietyFashionJewelry

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