St. Lucy Badge

St. Lucy was a 4th century Christian martyr who had sworn her virginity to God. Her mother, who hadn’t gotten the memo, betrothed her to a wealthy pagan. After her mother was miraculously cured at the shrine of St. Agatha, Lucy convinced her to give away a large proportion of her wealth to the poor. The suitor had counted on that money for himself as part of the dowry, and he looked into the matter, then denounced Lucy to the authorities as a Christian. The governor of the district ordered her to be put into a brothel but the soldiers sent to convey her were not able to move her even with a team of oxen. They then tried to burn her where she stood but the fire wouldn’t light. Finally they put a sword through her throat and after some backchat she died.

Because Lucy’s name means ‘light’ she is the patroness of the blind and a protectress of the sight (in some versions of her legend her eyes are put out by her torturers). Because of the sword through the throat incident she protects against throat disease.

Our St. Lucy badge is a replica of a pilgrim sign from Steensel (where the tower of the late fourteenth-century church still stands). The original badge is dated to the second half of the 15th century.

This pilgrim sign is offered in four versions. You can have it with a pewter, copper, or brass sheet for the backing – or you can buy it with no backing and put in a paper, parchment, or cloth backing of your own choice. If you choose the DIY option we include a paper pattern to copy.