Misericordes
A misericorde
In the Middle Ages, priests and monks sang in their church choirs just as people do today. Sometimes they had to sing for hours, standing up, and their legs would get very tired. But they weren't supposed to sit down.
So the monks built folding wooden seats into their church choirs, where the choir stood (It's called the choir because that's where the choir stands). These seats had to be folded up when the choir was supposed to be standing up, but they had little shelves built onto them so that you could lean on them and still look like you were standing up. People called these seats with the shelves "misericordes," (MEE-ser-i-CORDS) because that means "pity" in French, and these were seats that took pity on your tired legs.
To find out more about Gothic cathedrals, check out this book from Amazon.com or from your library:
Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction, by David Macaulay (1981). Beautiful drawings and clear text explain exactly how medieval craftsmen built a cathedral, from foundation to the stained glass windows. For kids.
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