Silver gilt, 6.87 grams, 28.37 mm. 14th-16th century AD. An openwork capital 'E' with fleur-de-lys tracery ornamentation. The inner field of the letter is gilded; the catchplate and spring lugs are intact on the reverse, pin missing. This class of brooch was used as a pilgrim's badge, an outward display of religious devotion. The 'E' is usually associated with the cult of St. Edward the Confessor, an 11th century Anglo-Saxon royal saint whose remains were housed at Westminster Abbey, London. Reference: Mitchner, M. Medieval Pilgrim and Secular Badges, Sanderstead, 1986 p.89. Extremely fine condition. Provenance: from an old English collection formed in the 1930's. This antiquity is accompanied by an XRF metal test certificate from Oxford X-ray Fluorescence Ltd.