c. 1355–1356

Early Lirey expositions and the pilgrim badge

A medieval badge depicts a full-length frontal and dorsal Shroud.

The badge, now in the Cluny Museum, is material evidence associated with Lirey and the de Charny family. Its precise date and relation to particular expositions are discussed.

The Lirey badge is a small lead-alloy pilgrim souvenir associated with the shrine’s displays. It shows a cloth held between clerics and includes heraldic devices linked to the families connected with Lirey. Such badges were portable signs of pilgrimage and devotion; their circulation also made a local cult visible beyond the village.¹

What the surviving source says

The artifact is usually dated to the later fourteenth century, but its exact production date and workshop are not written on it. It confirms that an exhibition and a cloth regarded as sacred were represented for pilgrims. It does not independently verify the cloth’s first-century identity or the claim that the badge reproduces every feature accurately.¹²

Historical significance and limits

The badge is valuable material evidence for the Lirey cult and for how the object was publicly presented. It is not a medieval photograph and cannot resolve the relic’s provenance before its appearance in France.²³

Sources and further reading

1. Lirey pilgrim medallion, artifact study and images. Consult the cited passage in the full source and its transmission context; the article distinguishes the source’s wording from later interpretation.
2. Otangelo Grasso, The Image That Should Not Exist: A Scientific Investigation of the Shroud of Turin (2026), ch. 2, “Origins and Historical Record,” pp. 23–31. Author synthesis; not an independent witness.
3. Otangelo Grasso, From Forensics to Faith (2026), ch. 3, “6th to 14th Century History,” pp. 126–194. The book advances an interpretation; this article separates that interpretation from the underlying document or measurement.
4. Otangelo Grasso, The Shroud of Turin: A Forensic Summary, 3rd ed. (2026), ch. 16, “The Hidden Thread,” pp. 276–294. The author’s proposed reconstruction is cited as interpretation, not corroboration.
5. Alan Friedlander, “On the Provenance of the Holy Shroud of Lirey/Turin”. Further reading or contextual source retained from this event’s earlier bibliography.
6. Andrea Nicolotti, The Shroud of Turin: The History and Legends of the World’s Most Famous Relic. Further reading or contextual source retained from this event’s earlier bibliography.
7. Lirey pilgrim badge preserved at the Musée de Cluny. Further reading or contextual source retained from this event’s earlier bibliography.
8. Image source: Lirey pilgrim badge preserved at the Musée de Cluny. a medieval devotional object, not a photograph of the Shroud.