Charlotte Wood

Research Topic

Combs and the Liturgy in Medieval England

My doctoral research explores the comb and its relation to ritual behaviour in early medieval Britain. This is an expansion of my Master’s thesis, which questioned the categorization of the ‘liturgical’ comb, and whether combs were used in association with the early medieval liturgy.

My current project spans the 5th-11th centuries, tracing the use of the comb in pre-Christian rituals to its inclusion in vesting prayers. I am particularly interested in why early medieval combs were grave goods in both cremation and inhumation rites, and whether their use in pre-Christian rituals influenced their later association with the liturgy.

I am interested in a cross-disciplinary approach using archaeology, history and anthropology. My research is supported by the Oxford-Anderson scholarship.

Supervisor: Dr Helen Gittos and Toby Martin