Saint Barbara

Description

Pilgrim badge: Saint Barbara

Time period: Late 15th to early 16th Century
Origin: Netherlands
Materials: Pewter
Product Dimensions: 2.1cm width x 3.3cm height

Further details:

Saint Barbara holding a martyr’s palm, standing next to her emblem of a tower.Saint Barbara was a late 3rd century virgin martyr. Legend says that she was shut in a tower by her pagan father, Dioscorus, where she was converted to Christianity by a disciple disguised as a doctor. Refusing to renounce her new faith, Dioscorus took her to a mountain top where he beheaded her. A tempest then arose and he was struck dead by lightning. Barbara is therefore invoked against thunderstorms and explosions and is the patron saint of artillerymen and gunsmiths. In this badge St Barbara is shown standing next to her emblem of the tower in which she was imprisoned and holding a martyr’s palm.