Misericord

Prayers in the early medieval church for the daily divine offices (Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, and Compline) were said standing with uplifted hands. Those who were old or infirm could use crutches or, as time went on, misericordia (literally "act of mercy"). Seating was constructed so that the seats could be turned up, the undersides being provided with a small shelf thus allowing a person a small level of comfort by leaning against it. Like most other medieval woodwork in churches, they were usually carved with skill and often show detailed scenes which belie their hidden position underneath the seats.

Misericords in English churches date from the thirteenth century up until the beginning of the eighteenth century. The earliest set of misericords can be found in the choir stalls of Exeter Cathedral and date from the middle of the thirteenth century. The vast majority of English misericords date from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.

Many of the stalls with misericords were once part of monastic or collegiate churches, but with the coming of the Reformation many were either destroyed or broken up to be dispersed amongst parish churches. Those that survived were subject to further depletion at the hands of the seventeenth century iconoclasts and the Victorian reformers (one set at Chester being destroyed by Dean Howson because they were deemed improper). Others have been destroyed by fire or by natural decay. Fortunately there are many hundreds left.

References

Remnant, G. L. (1969). Misericords in Great Britain (re-issue 1998). Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-817164-1