misericord

thumb|upright=1.2|Misericord from the Florence Charterhouse|Charterhouse of Florence (Tuscany, Italy), depicting a mascaron (a decorative face) thumb|upright=1.2|With the seat lifted (as at left), the misericord provides a ledge to support the user.A misericord (sometimes named mercy seat, like the biblical object, sometimes misericordia) is a small wooden structure (a sort of shelf) on the underside of a hinged folding seat in a church which, when the seat (or 'stall') is folded up, is intended to act as a ledge to support a person leaning against it in a partially standing position during long periods of prayer. They are usually wooden, often intricately and artistically carved, and have been created and used since at least the 11th century AD. Misericords are most often found under the stalls in the part of a church named the 'choir', close to the altar, as well as in the churches of or attached to monastic communities.

==Origins==