In Christian church architecture: A bracket on the underside of the seat of a hinged choir stall which, when turned up, serves as a support for the occupant while standing during a long service.

a carved wooden rest designed to give some comfort to the monks during the very long hours of service

a folding chair which has a little shelf on the underside of the seat, so that when standing for long periods, in front of the folded - up seat, ones, um, afterparts have a bit of a place to settle

a hinged wooden seat designed to provide relief during both the "sit down" and "stand up" parts of a religious ceremony

a tip - up pew seat or choir stall with a carved shelf for resting the monks posteriors during frequent and long services

a tip-up seat which one could lean on during a long service

1) a swing up seat in the choir of a major church, allowing clergy celebrating divine office to rest their weight while standing up; 2) a room in a monastery where the inhabitants were allowed occasionally to eat meat (Latin misericordia = pity, compassion)

A type of ledge used in Medieval choir stalls to provide relief for the priests during lengthy services. They often feature examples of subversive carving.

a carved bracket under a hinged seat in the choir stalls giving support or 'mercy' to the clergy during the long services at which they were required to stand

(Lt. mercy)- pivoting wooden seats in choir stalls. They were lifted up to provide relief for clergy who had to stand during long church services. Misericords are often highly carved. More at Resources: Misericords.

This is a page about the church ornament. For the knife, see Mercygiver.