A liturgical comb is a decorated

comb A comb is a tool consisting of a shaft that holds a row of teeth for pulling through the hair to clean, untangle, or style it. Combs have been used since prehistoric times, having been discovered in very refined forms from settlements dating ba ...

used ceremonially in both

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and Orthodox Christianity during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, and in

Byzantine Rite The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, identifies the wide range of cultural, liturgical, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christian Church of Constantinople. The canonical hours a ...

to this day. The exact use of liturgical combs during the Middle Ages remains unclear. They may have been used in the ceremony accompanying the consecration of a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

, or before or during the celebration of

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different ele ...

. Liturgical combs are also known to have been venerated as

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

s of saints. Possibly they were also used in an everyday, secular context. Liturgical combs were distinguished from secular combs by their design and decoration. So for example were liturgical combs from the 9th and 10th centuries made from a single piece of material (often

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals i ...

) and had teeth on both sides, while ordinary, secular combs usually were made in several parts and had teeth on only one side. The decoration also differed in that secular combs from this period usually had abstract, geometric decoration while liturgical combs were decorated with religious scenes.

References

External links

*{{commons category-inline, Liturgical combs Catholic liturgy Christian religious objects Hairdressing Medieval art