Landscapes of devotion: pilgrim signs in their wider context

This paper examines both the positive and negative evidence of Portable Antiquities Scheme data for medieval pilgrim souvenirs, to better understand pilgrimage in relation to three female saints’ cults: Our Lady of Walsingham, St Margaret of Antioch and St Winefride. In particular, distributional patterns of these data are analysed to examine issues of movement and variation in usage. For example, suggestions are given for the lack of material evidence for some cults, such as that of St Winefride, considering the possibility that a quantity of pilgrim souvenirs were either organic or were naturally occurring. Also discussed are broader cultural trends across the medieval religious landscape, as well as directions for future study.