Brian Spencer, former Keeper of the Museum of London, was a major scholar of medieval popular culture. He almost single-handedly established the study of pilgrim souvenirs and secular badges. He defined what these objects were and ascertained their function, manufacture, style, and iconography with a careful use of primary documents and intricate stylistic analysis. He identified every major souvenir and badge discovered in Great Britain during the last few decades. He also made prominent contributions to the field of seal matrices, gaming pieces, and horse paraphernalia. What bound all of these interests together was his understanding that the study of these artefacts could shed light on the beliefs and practices of a large number of people. This is reflected in the frequency with which his work is cited. This volume is a collection of essays written by those who worked with Brian directly and those with whom he corresponded.

• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Preface
• Publications - A Select List of Brian Spencer’s Publications
• Obituary
• Chapter 1 - Brian Spencer Born April 18th 1928. Died April 3rd 2003
  • Notes
• Chapter 2 - The Expert and the Collector
  • Notes
• Chapter 3 - Brian Watson Spencer’s Good Work
  • From my correspondence with Brian Spencer
  • Notes
• Chapter 4 - The Depiction of St James Compostela on Seals
  • Introduction
  • The iconography of St James
  • Depictions on seals
  • St James and relics
  • The change to St James as a pilgrim
  • St James as a patron saint
  • James as a name with a depiction of the saint
  • Heraldry of St James
  • St James as an equestrian figure
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
• Chapter 5 - Pilgrim Ampullae of York Minster and the Healing Oil from the Shrine of St William
  • Life and death of William Fitzherbert
  • Pilgrimage to York Minster
  • Ampulla with solid sub-trapezoidal frame
  • Ampulla with openwork penannular frame
  • More ampullae from York?
  • Practical value and contents of the ampullae
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
• Chapter 6 - A Pilgrim’s Badge and Ampullae Possibly from the Chartreuse of Champmol
  • Notes
• Chapter 7 - Crossing the Pilgrimage Landscape: Some thoughts on a Holy Rood Reliquary from the River Tay at Carpow, Perth and Kinross, Scotland
  • Introduction
  • Discovery and description
  • Forms and functions: True Crosses, Holy Roods and their reliquaries
  • The reliquary’s local context: a pilgrim’s journey
  • Notes
• Chapter 8 - Amulets: prescriptions and surviving objects from late medieval England
  • Notes
• Chapter 9 - Imaging Sant Magí: Souvenirs of a Catalan pilgrimage
  • Portable objects and materials
  • Digital objects
  • Static objects
  • Cultural tradition
  • Wood-cut and other printed stamps
  • Hermits, capelettas, souvenirs
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
• Chapter 10 - The Portable Pilgrim: Possible links between the iconography of early Romanesque tablesmen and church sculptures, and a review of some elements of the Gloucester Tables Set
  • Notes
• Chapter 11 - The Cat in the Badge–the iconography of late medieval bicaudal and other felines...
  • Notes
• Chapter 12 - Pilgrimage and Protest: badges at the British Museum relating to Thomas of Lancaster and Isabella, queen of Edward II
  • Notes
• Chapter 13 - King and Cleric: Richard II and the iconography of St Thomas Becket and St Edward the Confessor at Our Lady of Undercroft, Canterbury Cathedral
  • The Pilgrim Badge
  • Iconography of the Virgin
  • Iconography of the saints
  • The cult of Our Lady of Undercroft
  • The cult of the Undercroft, pilgrim badges, and artistic reception
  • Notes