A CONTEMPORARY DIGITAL PILGRIM BADGE - CELEBRATING CHRISTIAN PILGRIMAGE
INTRODUCTION This digital Pilgrim Badge forms part of a contemporary artistic response to Christian pilgrimage, inspired by the life and journeys of Margery Kempe (c.1373–1439) and by the long tradition of pilgrimage badges carried as signs of devotion, memory, and movement. The work has been conceived as a quiet, personal artwork for contemplative use or as a personal commemorative object. While rooted in the historic form of the pilgrim badge, it is designed to be experienced not as a static image but through gentle, periodic rotation.
PROVENANCE AND CONTEXT This Pilgrim Badge draws directly on the sculpture ‘A Woman in Motion’ by the artist Rosemary Goodenough, created in 2023 to mark the 650th anniversary of the birth of Margery Kempe. Artist’s Proof #1 was inaugurated into the Permanent Art Collection at Lambeth Palace in June 2025, where it is placed on permanent display at the entrance to the Archbishop’s Chapel. The architectural image of the chapel appears on the face of the digital Pilgrim Badge. In addition, #1 of the limited edition of twelve of the sculpture was commissioned to be permanently installed at the Minster in King’s Lynn, Margery Kempe’s birthplace. This placement situates the work within a wider ecclesiastical and artistic context concerned with pilgrimage, movement, and devotion.
THE PILGRIM BADGE. This Pilgrim Badge is a digitally animated artwork that slowly and rhythmically periodically revolves between two ‘sides’ some seconds apart. The face of the pilgrim badge depicts Margery Kempe moving towards the Cross at the altar of the Archbishop’s Chapel in Lambeth Palace. The reverse carries words celebrating Christian pilgrimage. The measured, periodic motion is central to the work, inviting the viewer to move between image and text over time, echoing the physical and spiritual rhythm of pilgrimage itself. The badge is intended for personal, reflective viewing and may be enjoyed as a looping display on a personal device or indeed as a screen-saver.
PILGRIMAGE AND GIVING As part of this project, ten per cent of proceeds are donated annually on Margery Kempe Day (9th November) to charities that support Christian Pilgrimage. This reflects the project’s grounding in lived pilgrimage practice.
VIEWING THE WORK This Pilgrim Badge is designed to be experienced in motion. The still images shown here below indicate its two ‘sides’, but do not convey the full character of the work as a moving image.
Institutions and pilgrimage organisations are welcome to use the page you are on now as a contextual resource. This work forms part of Rosemary Goodenough’s ongoing exploration of medieval women, pilgrimage, movement, and devotion.
