misericord

Noun

misericord (countable and uncountable, plural misericords)

1. Relaxation of monastic rules.
2. The room in a monastery for monks granted such relaxation.
3. A ledge, sometimes ornately carved, attached to a folding church seat to provide support for a person standing for long periods; a subsellium.
   • Misericords are a very humble form of medieval art and it is unlikely that the most distinguished carvers of any period were employed in making them, except, perhaps, during their apprentice years.1969, M. D. Anderson, The Iconography of British Misericords, G. L. Remnant, A Catalogue of Misericords in Great Britain, page xxiii
   • A misericord - a hinged projection on the underside of a choir seat - dates from about 1200 and is possibly the oldest in England.1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 223, about Hemingbrough
4. A medieval dagger, used for the mercy stroke to a wounded foe.
   • The word misericordia implies an act of mercy but despite its amiable name, it refers to coercing or forcing a spirit to pass through the Gates of Death. In the age of medieval chivalry, knights carried a dagger called the misericorde that was used to strike the coup de grâce upon mortally wounded...2024, Rob Douglas, Nonie Douglas, “Pathways to Resolution” (chapter 12), in Unquiet Voices: The Magical Art of Laying Ghosts, Llewellyn Worldwide, →ISBN, page 223

   Synonyms:

   subsellium