Princess Nest’s Comb

This bone comb is believed to date from the early 12th Century, from the time when Cardigan Castle was still a wooden fortress held by the De Clare family. The castellan was Stephen de Mareis, who in 1116 married Nest, the daughter of Rhys ap Tewdwr and sister of Welsh Prince Gruffydd ap Rhys. It is almost certain that the comb was used by one of very few women who lived at the castle at that time – men’s combs being unlikely to be so fine. Therefore the comb is likely to have belonged to Nest, or at the very least to one of her ladies-in-waiting.