Signs of Emotion: Pilgrimage Tokens from the Cathedral of Notre-Dame of Chartres

This chapter focuses on the surviving pilgrimage tokens from the Cathedral of Notre-Dame of Chartres, together with those known from documentary sources. It presents evidence for the ways in which such tokens were produced, sold, handled, worn, used to heal or protect, kept, donated, or ritually discarded. The uses of these small but powerful objects provide significant evidence for their ability to produce and regulate the emotional states of the people who used them, and demonstrate that their emotional value, based in both belief in the supernatural virtues of the tokens and their ability to evoke memory, could far exceed their monetary cost. By standing in for the Virgin Mary or St Lubin and transmitting their power, pilgrimage tokens could be used to alleviate fear, represent gratitude, or demonstrate pride in personal or regional identity.