About
Dr Helen Gittos is a Senior Lecturer and Fellow in Medieval History at Balliol College and Brasenose College, University of Oxford. She holds a PhD in early medieval history from Oxford, following an undergraduate degree in English Literature at Newcastle University. Her research focuses on medieval church history, liturgy, and the role of language in religious practices, with expertise in archaeological evidence and textual analysis. She teaches British and European medieval history at both undergraduate and graduate levels, including the MSt and MPhil programs in Medieval History.
Her major publications include Liturgy, Architecture and Sacred Places in Anglo-Saxon England (2013) and co-edited volumes on medieval liturgy. Current projects explore the use of English in medieval liturgy and collaborative research on Cerne Abbas’s early medieval history with archaeologists. She leads the Oxford Centre for Early Medieval Britain and Ireland and participates in interdisciplinary initiatives like the Worked in Stone project.
Dr Gittos actively supervises DPhil students in areas related to her research, with recent advisees focusing on topics like shrines, liturgical charms, and Anglo-Saxon burial practices. She is also a media commentator, appearing in BBC News and podcasts discussing Anglo-Saxon history and archaeological discoveries.
